About 744 students at three Olympia elementary schools would move to five other campuses under a closure plan targeting fall 2027.
Superintendent Patrick Murphy's proposal, first reported by The Olympian, routes McKenny Elementary students to Pioneer and Centennial elementary schools. Madison Elementary students would move to Roosevelt Elementary. LP Brown Elementary students would split between Hansen and Garfield elementary schools.
The reassignments would push every receiving school well above its current enrollment. Centennial would jump from 415 students to a projected 508 by the 2027-2028 school year. Pioneer would rise from 395 to 498. Hansen would grow from 341 to 494. Roosevelt would go from 349 to 478, and Garfield from 256 to 428.
Murphy says the closures would save about $3.1 million a year and help the district avoid $136 million in building modernization costs. The district operates 11 elementary schools serving roughly 3,500 students, using about 66% of its permanent building capacity.
Three hearings start Oct. 12
The Olympia School District Board of Directors must hold a public hearing for each school before voting. Those hearings are set for:
- McKenny Elementary: 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12
- LP Brown Elementary: 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15
- Madison Elementary: 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19
Residents can attend in person or join via Zoom. Speakers get up to three minutes. If more than 50 people sign up, the limit drops to two. Limited childcare will be available, according to the district's hearing notice.
Comment sign-ups open seven days before each hearing. McKenny sign-ups open Monday, Oct. 5. LP Brown sign-ups open Thursday, Oct. 8. Madison sign-ups open Monday, Oct. 12. Links will appear on the district calendar and BoardDocs.
The district asks speakers to comment at only one hearing so each school community has the greatest chance to be heard.
The board is scheduled to vote on the proposal Nov. 12.
Two parents question capacity at receiving schools
Marissa Smith, secretary of the Madison Elementary Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and mother of a first-grader and a third-grader at the school, told The Olympian on Thursday, Oct. 1, that two of her children's four years in Olympia schools have been spent under threat of closure. Madison was also considered for closure in 2023.
"It's really frustrating to be back in this place again," Smith said.
Smith said the district assumes 25 students per classroom for capacity calculations, while Washington state Senate Bill 5882 recommends about 17 in a kindergarten class. She raised concerns that cafeterias, hallways and playgrounds at receiving schools were not designed for hundreds of additional students.
Heather Matthews, a music teacher at McKenny whose two children also attend the school, told The Olympian on Wednesday, Sept. 30, that the proposal counts McKenny's stage as potential classroom space. She said extra classrooms cited in the plan are not built out for art and music programming.
District spokesperson Conor Schober told The Olympian in an Oct. 2 email that consolidation should let the district use staffing more effectively, with larger grade-level groups reducing the need for split-grade classrooms. He said the district will finalize its evaluation of receiving-school capacity beyond general classrooms after enrollment projections are set in late winter. If space concerns arise, the district may relocate programs such as preschools to other available sites.
Extra support staff were placed at LP Brown, Madison and McKenny beginning Monday, Sept. 14, as part of a student emotional-support plan, according to Murphy's community letter.
