United States | Closing down schools in America

America’s schools are heading for a crunch

Enrolment is declining; budgets will follow

BOSTON - JULY 11: A finished clean room with stacked chairs in the science room at the Mildred Avenue K-8 School building in Boston's Mattapan, which were being cleaned for the reopening of school on July 9, 2020. Many measures are being taken by school systems to keep students safe from the COVID-19 pandemic including placing social distancing markers on the floors, increasing hand sanitizer stations, and increased cleaning. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) — Image: Getty Images

Mar 9th 2023

AT A MEETING earlier this year, board members in Seattle’s biggest public-school district were treated to a grisly chart. Over five years the number of full-time staff on the district’s payroll has drifted upwards, even as the number of pupils on its books has fallen. In September teachers won a pay rise following a strike that delayed the new school year. But enrolment could keep shrinking for a decade, reckon district leaders, who warn of budgetary black holes. Threatened bankruptcy may eventually require “consolidating”, which may mean shutting down schools.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “How not to close schools”