Families outraged as Olympia School District votes to close three schools

The Olympia School Board voted Thursday to close three elementary schools ahead of the 2027-2028 school year.

Parents were outraged during that meeting, yelling at the board members for “making the wrong decision”.

The three schools on the docket to be shut down are Madison, McKenny, and L.P. Brown elementary schools.

Students who are set to attend or currently attend those schools will be moved to neighboring schools depending on where they live.

McKenny students will attend either Pioneer or Centennial elementaries; Madison students will attend Roosevelt Elementary; and L.P. Brown students will attend either Hansen or Garfield elementaries.

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The proposal to close them was first brought up by Superintendent Patrick Murphy in September.

He cited enrollment and budget concerns, among other issues, as the main reasons why the schools need to close.

Parents voiced concerns about how the closures would impact class sizes, commutes, friendships, relationships with teachers, and more.

“Our community is united; parents and teachers from every school are standing together. We will not let you close our schools; we are fighting this,” one parent said.

School Board Member Maria Flores was emotional as she expressed how she feels about the decision. She said she wishes the board would look into other options but feels that the group might not be suited for that.

“We have fallen apart. I feel hope with new members who are writing proposals and taking action, but I have to acknowledge that we haven’t been a functional board for a while,” Flores said.

The transition plans for the schools that are closing, nor the plans for what will happen to those staff members, have been released at this time.

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