It’s been about three weeks since Oregon’s two largest school districts announced plans to close up to 20 schools, combined. Portland Public Schools has outlined two scenarios, one with 14 closures and another with 11, mostly elementary schools with one middle school. The Salem-Keizer Public Schools has proposed closing six elementary schools.
Both district plans would affect more than just the schools up for closure. Between boundary changes and program moves, dozens of campuses and thousands of students would be affected. But there are more similarities than that; school communities are frustrated, the Governor has issued a statement, and both districts will have to have financial conversations in the year ahead. But each district — and in Portland, an individual school board member — is approaching closures differently.
Portland and Salem-Keizer are far from the only districts dealing with school closures; across the country, districts from Oklahoma to New Hampshire are announcing closures. Conversations have been stalled or postponed in Buffalo, Minneapolis, and Miami. Public school enrollment is declining everywhere, and districts are faced with complicated, emotionally fraught decisions.
What’s similar between Salem and Portland?
No one is happy.
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone excited about closing a school, especially in a state like Oregon, with such strong support for public education. In Portland and Salem-Keizer, schools are critical to their neighborhoods and the communities they serve. Families in both districts are raising concerns about these proposals…