FOSB Advocacy Update - Oct. 1, 2024

What's New

🚨 ATSS Community, We Need Your Support Now! 🚨

SPS is moving ahead with plans to use the BEX VI levy to build oversized mega elementary schools—without asking the public for input or proving these schools will improve outcomes for students.

It’s crucial that we act before the upcoming School Board meeting on October 9! 📢

Fund SPS has created a form letter urging the School Board to VOTE NO on the BEX VI Levy at that meeting. The letter calls on them to redirect BEX levy funds to middle and K-8 schools until a better, community-driven model is developed.

👉 Sign the form letter today and share it with your PTA communities! The BEX VI Capital Levy funds the construction, modernization, and renovation of school buildings to address overcrowding, safety concerns, and infrastructure needs across the district.

You can read more details here.

Calling Families of Students with IEPs, 504s, and/or Who Identify as Neurodivergent or Disabled!

Over 25% of Salmon Bay students have a 504 or IEP. That’s far more than nearby neighborhood schools and the trends hold true for other option schools as well. We know there are good reasons for that!

Please join us in highlighting these stories so decision-makers fully consider the impact closing option schools will have on our students. Ideas on the table include an email/letter campaign that highlights personal stories and school data, and being interviewed as a collective for the news.

Please email Caitlin Spence to get involved.

Complete our Community Survey

Please take 5+ minutes to anonymously share why you chose Salmon Bay K-8, the services your student(s) receive, and how it may impact your household if the school were to close. We will be sharing the collected data and stories with our community, SPS, and other decision-makers.

Save the Date

• 📓 Tuesday, Oct. 1 at 4:30 p.m. - School Board Special Meeting - This special meeting will be virtual only, with no public comment period.
• 🫖 Friday, Oct. 4 at 9:30 a.m. - Advocacy CommuniTea! Join us for a weekly chance to connect in-person over advocacy efforts. In the Salmon Bay Cafetorium immediately following Friday Sing.
• 📓 Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 4:15 p.m.: School Board Regular Meeting - Standard meeting format with open attendance, live streaming, and a public comment period.

Steps You Can Take TODAY

• Sign and share the All Together for Seattle Schools (ATSS) letter. ATSS is a parent/community-led advocacy group; their letter to SPS opposes the closure plan and calls for accountability and comprehensive planning to ensure a sustainable future for our schools. They have put together a NEW letter in light of the closure announcements. Sign the letter here.
• Contact our School Board members to let them know you (still) oppose the plan. These are the people who will be making the decision about the future of our schools - and now is the time to make our voices heard. You can use the School Board contact form, contact our District Director Sarah Clark, or any/all members of the school board.

Learn More

🔈 Listen: Seattle Hall Pass S2E5 - The Story of How We Got Here

"This episode focuses on three main stories converging in Seattle Public Schools and how these competing priorities create a complex, seemingly impossible situation for the district to resolve satisfactorily."

📖 Read: Post Alley: "Closing Seattle Schools is a Bad Idea. Better to Get Money from the State."

"The Seattle School Board’s plans for closing up to 21 elementary schools is audacious, but in ways that will disrupt the city rather than build a better future."

Our Commitment

FOSB remains steadfast in our commitment to support the needs of Salmon Bay K-8 students, families, staff, and community.

In line with Article 1 - Purposes from the FOSB bylaws, the Advocacy Committee aims to (b.) help educate the adults who are part of the school community on matters of interest, (e.) contribute the collective efforts to improve the education system in the Seattle School District and the State of Washington, and (f.) foster and maintain strong connections with the communities of which the school is a part. We do not agree that sweeping school closures are in the best interest of our community.

We will continue to demand transparency, equity, and accountability regarding these decisions, especially as it affects students systematically under-supported by our district and those furthest from educational justice at our school and around the district. Salmon Bay is an important place for our families, our teachers and staff, and—most importantly—our children.

Please share this email with your family, neighbors and community.

Anyone can advocate for our schools, whether they have kids currently in SPS or not.

This message is sent on behalf of FOSB. In-line with our mission to support and advocate for our school community, we will be sending out updates and ways you can become involved in advocacy for our Salmon Bay community.

SPS Safe Schools Hotline: 206-252-0510.

The Seattle School District Safety and Security Department is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.