District Headlines

Board votes to close North City, Sunset; move Room Nine and HEE

Dear Shoreline Schools Community,

On Monday, April 16, the Shoreline School Board of Directors made the very
difficult decision to close North City and Sunset Elementary Schools at the
end of the 2006-07 school year. This decision reflects the declining
enrollment in the Shoreline School District for the past ten years, as well
as the increasing and unfunded costs confronting all school districts in the
State of Washington. The students, parents and staff of the North City and
Sunset communities will be most significantly affected by the Board’s
decision but the impact will be felt across the entire District.

The closure of the two elementary schools was one of the recommendations
made by the District Advisory Committee for Program and Operations (DACPO)
and proposed to the School Board on January 8, 2007. In addition to the
closures, the Board has voted to move the Room Nine Community School Program
to an existing elementary school site and move the Home Education Exchange
Program to a site yet to be determined. Earlier this year, the Board voted
to return to the six-period day at our two middle schools.

The DACPO recommendations were developed in an effort to better align
District expenditures with revenues, create more efficient District
operations, and protect instructional programs and supports for the students
and families of the Shoreline School District. The recommendations were a
continuation of the budget reduction process, which began in the Spring of
2006 with cuts across the District of $4.7 million in staffing, supplies and
materials.

During the past 90-day period since the recommendations were presented to
the Board, separate hearings were held on each closure recommendation. At
these hearings, Board members received testimony on issues related to each
proposed closure of a school and/or facility. Constructive comments received
from our community were sincerely appreciated and thoughtfully considered
when making this decision.

All of these efforts are focused on the outcome of adopting a balanced,
non-deficit budget for the 2007-08 school year. It is not until the District
can re-establish a balanced budget with an appropriate ending fund balance
that we will be able to consider restoring items in the budget such as
smaller class-sizes, professional development, curriculum, and
facility/maintenance services that our community and staff expect and
deserve.

Next steps:
• Boundary and Transportation Advisory Committee (BTAC) development of
proposals for the new attendance areas and program placements associated
with the nine new school communities.
• The District will publicize the boundary proposals, as soon as they
are available.
• Input into these proposals will continue to be taken throughout the
process. A public forum is scheduled for April 24 at 6 PM in the Shoreline
Room at the Shoreline Center and feedback will be taken through the email
addresses set up on the BTAC site on the Shoreline website
(www.shorelineschools.org).
• BTAC recommendations are scheduled to go to the Board on May 2, 2007
at a special board meeting held at the Shoreline Center at 6:30 PM.
• Public input will be taken at the regular board meeting scheduled for
May 7, 2007 at 7:30 PM.
• Final boundary decisions by the Board are scheduled for May 21, 2007.
• Transition plans will be in place at each school to ensure that
student needs are met during the transition phase.
• Students will be attending new schools for the start of the school
year in September 2007.

The Board and District leadership would like to acknowledge the impact of
these decisions on the entire Shoreline Schools Community. As District
leaders, we are committed to supporting students and staff in a variety of
ways, as they transition to new communities in the Shoreline Schools. It is
our sincere hope that we can unite, put this challenging process behind us,
and re-establish our focus on instruction and outstanding educational
programs for children and the families of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park.

Sincerely,
Mike Jacobs, President of Shoreline School Board
Sue Walker, Superintendent

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