Olympia superintendent proposes closing schools, new bond to build out others
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Murphy proposed closing some smaller elementary schools due to declining enrollment.
- Murphy recommended a consolidation plan and a bond measure to fund school improvements.
- The bond measure would appear on the Feb. 9, 2027 ballot if the board approves submission.
Olympia School District Superintendent Patrick Murphy told the Board of Directors on Thursday that enrollment continues to trend downward and there isn’t enough money.
Murphy called for the board to consider a bond measure and a school consolidation plan that could mean closing some elementary schools and building out other schools across the district.
The proposal came as a district Strategic Plan update at the Board of Directors’ July 16 meeting. Murphy said the plan recommends “increasing flexible and adaptable learning spaces.” He then said the board should pursue a school consolidation plan, as well as a bond proposal that would help pay for improvements at other buildings.
Murphy on Thursday said he will present more information to the board in August, and then bring a more comprehensive recommendation regarding closing schools to the board in September that will include specific schools. It was not immediately clear what schools are on the chopping block or when they could close.
When asked if specific schools have been identified and what the process of closure or consolidation would entail, district spokesperson Conor Schober directed The Olympian to the district’s long-term planning page, as well as a recap of the July 16 board meeting on YouTube.
The bond measure would appear in front of voters on Feb. 9, 2027.
Murphy said that the district has been trying to find a sustainable, long-term solution to its budget problems for some time. The Olympian previously reported that the district hired a consultant this spring to research enrollment and birthrate trends, as well as building use, capacity and enrollment boundaries.
The consultant recommended consolidating some elementary schools. Murphy said the district has “uniformly low-utilization rates,” and that there’s little to gain from changing enrollment boundaries.
Murphy said he previously recommended the closure of Madison and McKinney elementary schools in the 2023-2024 school year due to similar budget constraints. Money was cut elsewhere across the district instead, and closure was taken off the table for the time being.
Murphy said if funding and enrollment stabilize, OSD could keep all schools open until hopefully there’s a rebound in student population growth. He said they’ve monitored enrollment, they’ve sought out new revenue, and enrollment has not stabilized.
According to previous reporting from The Olympian, the board unanimously approved a $3.6 million reduction in force plan put together by Murphy this spring to address a $4.1 million budget deficit in the 2026-2027 school year.
Murphy’s ultimate goal is to reach a 7.14% ending fund balance by the 2028-2029 school year, according to previous reporting. That would mean ending that year with $14,277,000 in reserves. He told the board earlier this year that the goal of that is “to restore financial stability, maintain cash flow, and ensure the district can respond to future financial uncertainties.”
Murphy said the district is looking at an annual enrollment decline of 1%, closer to 2% at the elementary level. Projections show that’s expected for the next 5 years and beyond, given birthrate projections.
He said Boston Harbor Elementary can hold up to 250 students. The school had 173 students in the 2025-2026 school year. The population is projected to be 143 students in the 2033-2034 school year.
Centennial used to have more than 500 students, Murphy said. There were just over 400 this year, and the district is expecting below 300 by 2033-2034.
Madison was built for 250 students. Now it has 176 and is expected to have 150 students by 2033-2034, Murphy said. McKinney can hold 500 students, and it has hovered around 270 for a long time.
Roosevelt can hold 600, and it had about 324 this year, he said.
Murphy said Boston Harbor’s enrollment is expected to go down 2% a year, Centennial 4% a year, Garfield 1%, and Hansen 2%.
Murphy said the district has 11 elementary schools with an average size of 319 students. He said for comparison, North Thurston’s average is 524 per elementary school, and Tumwater’s average is 447 per elementary school. The average across several western and central Washington districts is 449 students per elementary school, Murphy said.
If OSD had one less elementary school, Murphy said the average would go up to 351. Two fewer schools would bring the average up to 390. To cut three schools would bring the average up to 439.
Murphy said these numbers aren’t a reflection of the value of education students are getting in Olympia. He said he knows some people have chosen Olympia specifically for the smaller elementary and middle schools.
“Our challenge for some time has been balancing those benefits of having some small schools with the financial reality that the state funds students, not buildings,” he said. “As enrollment continues to climb, we have to ask whether our current configuration would allow us to sustain the program, staffing, and educational experiences we want for students over the long term.”
Murphy said he wants to give the board and the community a sense of where he thinks they need to go over the coming weeks. He said there will be a work session Aug. 6 where he will share more information. In the meantime, he said staff will continue to look at enrollment, finances and facilities.
He said he would likely bring a more comprehensive recommendation regarding the number of schools up for consolidation to the board in mid-September.
He said the strategic plan calls for increasing “flexible and adaptable learning spaces,” which means more hands-on learning and time spent outdoors. He said some schools need better facilities, and a planning committee would be assembled to go to the board with a proposed bond to fund these improvements.
He said plans for a proposed bond measure will come before the board in November. If approved, it would need to be submitted to the county by Dec. 11, and it would appear in front of voters on Feb. 9.
“A school consolidation proposal and a bond should all be looked at altogether, so we can address the challenges that we face, but more importantly, embrace this as an opportunity,” he said. “There’s a great opportunity here. We have an opportunity to reinvest directly into our schools. A future bond can help us modernize and expand the schools that would receive additional students.”
He said through a consolidation and closure process, the district can address deferred maintenance and safety needs, improve learning environments and better support students.
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