Here's when Seattle Public Schools will announce possible school closures

The timeline to potentially close some Seattle schools is getting clearer.

The district has not yet identified any specific schools on the chopping block, but has said closures could happen in fall 2024 as part of a plan to address a $104 million budget shortfall fueled by declining enrollment.

“This year is going to be a tremendous challenge,” Superintendent Brent Jones said Wednesday at a school board budget work session.

Under the new timeline, Jones would lay out the budget proposal in mid-November, which would likely include a list of any schools being shuttered.

Leading up to that, in October, district officials plan to provide an update on the latest enrollment numbers and community feedback from its “well-resourced school” meetings over the summer, and share general budget cut strategies.

District officials were able to close an even larger shortfall last year by draining a $42 million rainy day fund and making more than $30 million in cuts in the central office.

But now, administrators said Wednesday that the district needs to focus on long-term, structural budget cuts — including likely school closures and consolidations.

Despite the Washington state Supreme Court’s landmark McCleary ruling that funneled billions of new dollars into schools, administrators say funding doesn’t allow for students to get all the resources they need in schools with lower enrollment.

“Small schools no longer match up with the state allocation model,” Art Jarvis, deputy superintendent of academics, said Wednesday.

By launching a multi-year budget planning process and starting that process earlier in the year, Jones hopes to head off future deficits. As of Wednesday, district officials project a $129 million shortfall for the 2025-26 school year.

“We need to make decisions and be thinking three moves ahead” said Fred Podesta, chief operations officer, “not just ‘How do we get to the next fiscal year?’”

The board's next budget work session is slated for Oct. 18. On Nov. 15, Jones will present his official recommendations for 2024-25 budget cuts.

The board would then vote on the recommendations on Dec. 13, though the budget won’t be finalized until next summer.