BELLEVUE, Wash. — It was just eight weeks ago that the Bellevue School District announced that it would be closing some elementary schools for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year.
Originally, seven elementary schools had been proposed as options for closure but in a final recommendation by Interim Superintendent Dr. Art Jarvis, two schools will close.
The board voted in favor of the recommendation to close Wilburton and Eastgate Elementary Schools. Three board members voted in favor and two abstained. Beginning in the fall, students from Wilburton will attend Clyde Hill and Enatai and students from Eastgate will attend Spiritridge.
“I’m very disappointed,” Tianxyin Wang, a parent at Eastgate, said.
Other parents voiced their concerns in February.
Jarvis said this was necessary because of a budget deficit within the school district and declining enrollment. However, his term ends this summer.
“He’s not going to be here to see the fallout,” Kelly Smith, an Eastgate parent, said. “He’s not going to be here to watch our kids drive by our school with other kids taking residence, he’s not going to have to bare the brunt of emails or phone calls from parents.”
The district said transition planning will now begin to get ready for the 2023-2024 school year.
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