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After 8-year-old Rowan had his third surgery last year, half of his class at Olympia鈥檚 Boston Harbor Elementary School came by to drop off cards and offer support. His parents say the school鈥檚 tight-knit community has been a 鈥渨arm hug鈥� to Rowan as he deals with fibular hemimelia, a congenital condition affecting his mobility.

So when Olympia School District that Boston Harbor might be closing, Rowan and his family felt blindsided. (The Standard is only using Rowan鈥檚 first name due to his parents鈥� concerns about privacy.)

鈥淚 like my friends at my school,鈥� Rowan said. 鈥淚f they鈥檙e at different schools, then I can鈥檛 play with my friends.鈥�

Rowan鈥檚 parents are part of OSD For All, a group of parents and community members who are trying to prevent Boston Harbor Elementary鈥檚 closure.

Across the state, similar efforts are taking place to keep schools from closing as student enrollment drops and, as a result, district budgets shrink. In Washington, state funding is tied directly to how many students are enrolled in public schools.

The tradeoffs involved are complex. State officials don鈥檛 seem eager to prop up schools with declining enrollment. And education policy experts believe it鈥檚 often better to close one school than to spread resources thin across too many.

But to families like Rowan鈥檚, the long-term cost of closing a school is about more than just money and, in their view, just isn鈥檛 worth it.

鈥淭here are going to be so many kids who get lost in the shuffle,鈥� said Angela Vigil, Rowan鈥檚 mom.

鈥楾hey don鈥檛 live there鈥�

Vigil said her family moved out of Seattle to send Rowan to Boston Harbor Elementary.

Erin Mann, a preschool teacher whose students often go on to Boston Harbor, said generations within families have gone to Boston Harbor Elementary and that many have a sense of pride connected to the school.

The next closest school within the district is Roosevelt Elementary School, about a 12-minute drive from Boston Harbor. But Mann said Roosevelt is in a different community and that means that students and parents shifted there won鈥檛 be as invested in the school.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 live there. They don鈥檛 want their kids to be going there,鈥� Mann said.

Research on school closures is limited because historically, they aren鈥檛 that common, said Meredith Honig, a University of Washington education policy professor. Even so, she said it鈥檚 clear schools are important to the community fabric in many places.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of connection with neighborhood schools in this country. There鈥檚 a deep history with that,鈥� Honig said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a center of community for a lot of people.鈥�

School closures usually happen in lower-income, more diverse areas, making the relatively affluent Boston Harbor an outlier, said Marguerite Roza, who heads Georgetown University鈥檚 Edunomics Lab, a research center focused on education finance.

of recent school closures. In Washington, Bellevue presented the possibility of closing three elementary schools last year, eventually consolidating two of them. The seven schools considered for closure were some of the most diverse in the district,

State funding outlook

奥补蝉丑颈苍驳迟辞苍鈥檚 dropped by 47,885 students since the 2019-2020 school year, putting the state鈥檚 total number of students at 1,098,997 during this school year. During COVID-19, parents pulled their kids out of public schools 鈥� and the However, drops in enrollment predate the pandemic due to declining birth rates and other factors.

As federal COVID-19 rescue funds run out and state funding declines along with enrollment, many districts are heading for a financial cliff.

K-12 education is the largest category of state spending in 奥补蝉丑颈苍驳迟辞苍鈥檚 budget. But Larry Delaney, who heads the state鈥檚 public schools teacher union, the Washington Education Association, recently called the percentage of the budget devoted to education 鈥渋nadequate鈥� and said more funding is needed to prevent school closures, as well as staff reductions and other cuts.

not to close a school in 2024 after an outcry from families, choosing instead to ask the Legislature for additional money. Olympia School District will also advocate for more state funding, said Superintendent Patrick Murphy in an email to the Standard.

Gov. Jay Inslee said that while he鈥檚 concerned about declining enrollment, it shouldn鈥檛 be a surprise that the share of the budget spent on education will fall in tandem with the sinking student headcount.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 solve the problem of people having less children or they鈥檙e not going to public school,鈥� Inslee

Chris Reykdal, who heads the state鈥檚 Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, said that while he encourages the Legislature to consider how declining enrollment is hitting school budgets, closures may be necessary as district finances tighten.

Nobody wants to see a school close and education is 奥补蝉丑颈苍驳迟辞苍鈥檚 biggest priority, said Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, who sits on the House Education Committee. Still, asking for more funds to keep open schools with fewer kids is a 鈥渄ifficult ask.鈥�

鈥淪ince the pandemic, we have done everything we can to supplement school district budgets so that they can continue to operate and give them time to rebuild their student population. Each year that goes by, the harder that gets to do,鈥� Ortiz-Self said. 鈥淲e have to meet so many other needs. How much time do we give school districts to rebuild?鈥�

鈥楾ough decisions鈥�

Vigil, the Boston Harbor parent, believes Olympia鈥檚 district hasn鈥檛 thought about how closing a school could deepen enrollment declines.

鈥淚 think there will be a lot of parents who are so angry with the district that they will leave,鈥� Vigil said.

But Roza, at Georgetown, pointed to the competing factors in play.

鈥淭hese are tough decisions,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut you know what also doesn鈥檛 work? Spreading your resources so thin across a lot of half-empty schools so kids don鈥檛 get art and they don鈥檛 get music and they don鈥檛 have a counselor.鈥�

Roza and Honig said the best thing districts can do when faced with a potential school closure is to be transparent to parents and the wider community.

Delaney, with the teacher union, agrees.

鈥淚f there鈥檚 not that transparency, human nature is to think the worst,鈥� Delaney said. 鈥淚n a high stakes, high-stress situation like potential school closures, it鈥檚 not in anyone鈥檚 interest to create more tension and anxiety.鈥�

As for Boston Harbor, announced a plan to vote on consolidation of two different elementary schools, Madison and McKenny. Superintendent Murphy said the district will work with community members to make the transition 鈥渁s smooth as possible.鈥� But the Vigil family said they鈥檙e against closures 鈥� regardless of the school.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 want anybody else to feel the same way we do,鈥� Vigil said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com. Follow Washington State Standard on and .

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