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December 3, 2008 12:00 AM

Seattle School District must first save money, then spend it

If the Seattle School Board is to make good on a five-year strategic plan to improve academic achievement, it must begin investing heavily in its schools. That is not the only reason for the school closures plan but it doesn't require much of a leap to grasp that fewer schools means fewer general fund dollars paying for maintenance, custodial staff and utilities.

Remaining schools will have more students, but also more state funding. School improvement rarely works when education funds are spread thinly across many schools and programs. Money must be concentrated in targeted schools for specific strategies such as expanding libraries, hiring more teachers and other instructional staff and paying for new curriula when the old is found lacking. According to a 2007 district report, similar investments were made with money saved from closing schools two years ago.

Back then, school officials estimated saving $2.4 million. The savings turned out to be $1.9 million, half of which the School Board voted to add to the district’s general fund. The money was then spent largely on schools receiving students from the closed schools. It paid for elementary school math adoption and mini-libraries for kindergarten through second grade. In addition, every elementary and alternative school got $3,700 in extra funding, every middle school $7,800 extra and $10,000 extra for high schools.

Not as much money as the district would have if the state fully funded education, but the above savings represents something and debunks the popular myth that money gained from closures would not be felt in the classroom. I discuss this more in my column and podcast.