Salem-Keizer board hears why six schools, as parents oppose closures
Families packed a Salem-Keizer Public Schools board meeting Tuesday as district leaders explained why they want to close six elementary schools, and more than 30 speakers lined up against the plan. No vote was taken. The board is scheduled to decide on Dec. 8.
The schools on the superintendent's recommendation are Brush College in West Salem, Candalaria and Liberty in South Salem, Richmond in Southeast Salem, Englewood in Northeast Salem, and Cummings in Keizer. Closures would take effect for the 2027-28 school year if approved. Willamette News previously covered the district's Oct. 9 release of the list.
According to Salem Reporter's live coverage, every person who spoke during public comment opposed the closures. The board plans another meeting Tuesday, Oct. 20, with more discussion expected.
Why the district says these six
KATU reported that Superintendent Andrea Castañeda told the board enrollment has fallen by about 2,600 students since she became superintendent, an estimated $26 million hit in annual state funding. Without changes, she said the district expects 13 elementary schools with fewer than 300 students within a few years.
"Over the long run our students and our staff will be better off," Castañeda said, according to KATU. "They'll be better off because they're in buildings that we are more able to staff." She added that those benefits would not necessarily show up immediately: "That is not the same as being better off today or better off tomorrow."
Keeping every elementary open, she warned, would mean blended grades, staff split across sites, and possible cuts to counseling and mental health services. Academic test scores were deliberately left out of the selection criteria, she said, because performance tracks closely with wealth.
Chief Operating Officer Paul Odenthal said staff reviewed all 42 elementary schools against 11 board-set considerations, including building condition, enrollment, space, transportation, programs and disproportionate impacts. The district did not use a fixed-weight formula. Staff also looked at whether nearby schools could take students and how specialized programs could move.
"While the buildings have shortcomings, these are great schools," Odenthal said, according to KATU.
In the presentation Odenthal walked through each recommended site:
Brush College: oldest school in the West Salem area, complex building problems, low enrollment across West Salem, about $3.8 million in deferred maintenance.
Candalaria: low enrollment, hillside accessibility limits, congestion for buses; the district said radon mitigation is in place but remains a long-term concern.
Cummings: about 69% of capacity, with nearby schools that have room; oldest in its area with drainage and traffic conflicts at drop-off.
Englewood: lowest educational-adequacy score in the district, three stories with no elevator, fire-code limits on younger grades upstairs.
Liberty: campus spread across separate buildings, accessibility problems, nearby schools that can absorb students.
Richmond: aging building, small site, three-story layout without an elevator; the district noted Richmond serves higher shares of students with disabilities and students in poverty than the district average.
Parents push back
Cummings parent Mandy Hansen told the board her school is "the heart and soul of our neighborhood," KATU reported. Kevin Jackson urged the board to take Cummings off the list, arguing that recent taxpayer-funded improvements and added special-education and transportation costs could wipe out savings. "Closing Cummings won't save money," Jackson said. "It will shift the financial burden to legal and specialized transportation budgets."
Parent and PTA President Daniel Sims asked for clearer comparisons between schools recommended for closure and those that were not. "So having clarity and understanding as to why those schools are being chosen and why other schools were not chosen is a simple ask," he said, according to KATU.
The district's Oct. 9 announcement said fewer than 2,000 students and about 250 staff would be directly affected, with roughly 95% of students staying put. Officials have also said the plan would avoid about $15 million in near-term deferred maintenance at the six sites. Castañeda has separately said closures are not primarily a budget cut and would save less than $1 million per site in the near term.
What comes next
Listening and Learning sessions continue this week, including tonight at Leslie Middle School from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Additional sessions are set for Oct. 15 through 17 at other middle schools. Draft boundary maps, FAQs and school summaries are on the district's closure and consolidation pages.
A separate board vote on boundary changes is expected in February 2027. No independent school board vote or alternate closure list has been adopted; until Dec. 8, the six-school recommendation remains a proposal, not a final decision.
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