Olympia families worried about the future of three elementary schools have two chances to tell the school board exactly how they feel. The Olympia School District is holding a public hearing at LP Brown Elementary School on Thursday, October 15, and another at Madison Elementary School on Monday, October 19, both starting at 6 p.m., as part of a broader push to gather feedback on a proposal that would close and consolidate Madison, McKenny and LP Brown elementary schools.
A Proposal Months in the Making
A Proposal Months in the Making The district's consolidation analysis was being released the week of September 17, according to theolympian.com. As reported by KIRO 7 News Seattle, the district is holding public hearings across Olympia to gather community input on the potential consolidations, with the first town hall allowing attendees to participate either in person at LP Brown or via Zoom. If the school board ultimately approves the plan, the schools would close ahead of the 2027-28 school year, per a separate report from theolympian.com.
The hearing schedule has been laid out plainly by the district itself. According to Olympia School District, sign-ups are open for the LP Brown hearing this Thursday at 6 p.m. and for the Madison hearing on Monday, October 19, also at 6 p.m. The district planned three public hearings in October at the schools being considered for possible consolidation, including a hearing at McKenny Elementary on October 12.
What's at Stake for Families
Each hearing is meant to be more than a formality. The district describes it as an opportunity for families, staff and community members to share feedback before any final decision is made, and KIRO 7 notes that meeting participants must submit comments ahead of time or sign up in person within the first hour of the meeting. Under those terms, anyone hoping to speak needs to plan ahead rather than show up expecting an open floor.
If the proposal moves forward, the plan would redistribute students rather than simply shutter buildings. Students from McKenny would move into Pioneer and Centennial elementary schools, Madison students would shift to Roosevelt, and LP Brown students would move to Hansen and Garfield, according to theolympian.com's reporting.
The Budget Math Behind the Plan
Money is the driving force behind the proposal. Murphy said in a September statement that the closures could save the district an estimated $3.1 million annually, a figure echoed in district materials describing approximately $3.1 million in recurring annual savings, according to the Olympia School District. The district has also said that removing the three schools from its long-range capital plan would avoid roughly $137 million in projected facility investments.
This isn't the first belt-tightening Olympia schools have faced. Since 2023, the district has made successive annual budget reductions of approximately $7 million, $1.3 million, $364,000 and, most recently, $3.5 million, per the district's own account. An initial 2026-27 budget-reduction proposal was expected to save around $3.8 million, according to thejoltnews.com, which also reported that enrollment had dropped by 792 students, or about 8.2 percent, since the 2019-20 school year, including 722 elementary students. A separate report from komonews.com put the enrollment decline at 1,000 students compared with 2019-20, a discrepancy the available reporting does not resolve.
How Olympia Compares to Neighboring Districts
The district's own figures suggest Olympia's elementary schools run smaller than many of their regional counterparts. Olympia operates 11 elementary schools serving approximately 3,500 students, averaging 319 students per school, while comparable districts reviewed average roughly 449 students per elementary school, the district says. North Thurston, with nearly 6,000 more students districtwide, operates 13 elementary schools averaging 524 students per school.
Olympia isn't alone in confronting this kind of reckoning. Bellingham Public Schools has scheduled its own hearings on proposed closures of Columbia and Carl Cozier elementary schools for November 2 and November 3, after Superintendent Greg Baker announced his decision to close those schools on September 29 due to declining enrollment and persistent financial challenges, according to cascadiadaily.com. As in Olympia, Bellingham's school board still needs to approve the closures before they become official.
What Happens Next
Olympia's school board is scheduled to vote on the consolidation proposal on November 12, and district materials are explicit that the plan remains contingent upon that final approval. Under Washington law, specifically RCW 28A.335.020, a district's closure policy must include hearings for each school proposed for closure and provide reasonable notice to affected residents, a requirement this week's sessions at LP Brown and Madison appear designed to satisfy. For now, the outcome rests with families willing to show up, sign up and make their case before the board makes its final call.
