In January, the Seattle school board controversially voted in favor of closing down schools and relocating many programs which will go into effect in the fall. The public meeting to decide the fate of the schools was attended by many parents and the local branch of the NAACP. The vote of approval for the school closures was met with a tremendous outcry. The school closures disproportionately affect minority students in Seattle, many of which have a 99% minority enrollment rate.

The reason given by the school board for the closures was a $24 million funding gap in next year’s budget. All in all 5 schools and 8 after-school programs will be closed as of the beginning of the next school year. The school board members in favor of the closures argue that it will help balance enrollment, expand student access to academic programs and save money for the district. What the school board members fail to explain or discuss is that earlier this year the city approved funding for a $200 million prison to be built in the near future.

Many of the parents argue that the school closures are setting their children up for failure because they will now be on the streets instead of receiving additional learning time in secure after-school programs. The sad irony is if the schools don’t receive additional funding, some of the future occupants of the new $200 million prison may very well be the very children who were denied access to education today.

The school board’s decision took only seconds but the consequences of their vote will last for decades. The people who lose the most in this terrible situation are the children and their parents. Many parents will now have to find alternative after-school childcare, and most of those affected by this decision can ill afford additional childcare costs. And if they can’t afford it many will be faced with no other option but to leave their children unsupervised instead of learning in a safe environment with their peers.