Salem-Keizer board to dig into school closures Tuesday. Here's how to weigh in
Quick Read
The Salem-Keizer School Board holds a special session from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, with school closures as the only item on the agenda.
The superintendent's plan would close Brush College, Candalaria, Cummings, Englewood, Liberty and Richmond elementary schools at the end of the 2026-27 school year.
People who want to speak must sign up on the school board's website before 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19.
A final board vote is expected Dec. 8, and applications for a boundary review task force are due Oct. 21.
The seven members of the Salem-Keizer School Board, who have said little in public so far about the district's plan to close six elementary schools, are scheduled to spend much of Tuesday evening on it, according to Salem Reporter.
The board's special session runs from 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20, and school closures are the only item on the agenda, Salem Reporter reported Monday. Superintendent Andrea Castañeda said at a community listening session on Oct. 15 that the board is expected to discuss closures for at least two hours, with another two hours set aside for public comment, according to the outlet.
Anyone who wants to speak, in person or virtually, must sign up through the school board's public comment page before 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19.
How to take part
When: 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20
Where: 2575 Commercial St. SE, Salem, according to Salem Reporter
Watch: Livestreamed on YouTube in English and Spanish, according to Salem Reporter
Comment: Sign up by 3 p.m. Monday on the district's public comment page.
Contact the board: Contact information for individual members is on the district's school board page.
What's on the table
District officials released the recommendation on Oct. 9. It would close Brush College, Candalaria, Cummings, Englewood, Liberty and Richmond elementary schools, with districtwide boundary changes to follow, OPB reported. The closures would take effect at the end of the 2026-27 school year, according to the Statesman Journal. Willamette News covered the board's first meeting on the list, on Oct. 13.
The district has lost 5,000 students since its enrollment peak in 2017, which means less money from the state and a growing number of significantly underenrolled schools, Salem Reporter reported. Castañeda has said fewer than 2,000 students and about 250 staff members would be directly affected, according to the Statesman Journal.
At listening sessions last week, Castañeda told families the alternative to closures is more blended classrooms and fewer student support staff, including instructional assistants, behavioral specialists, reading interventionists and counselors, especially at the smallest schools, Salem Reporter reported.
"We can continue to try to operate all of the school sites we currently have, but very soon, as in within months, we will be forced to make very painful decisions about the amount of staffing support we can provide at our smallest school sites," she said at Claggett Creek Middle School on Oct. 15, according to the outlet.
Where the board stands
Board members spoke about closures for a combined 22 minutes at the Oct. 13 meeting, the first after the list was published, and some did not speak at all, Salem Reporter reported. On Tuesday, board members are expected to have time to ask the district questions and discuss the plan in public, according to the outlet.
Early statements suggest the board largely agrees with Castañeda that closures are essential given current and projected enrollment, Salem Reporter reported. Board member Satya Chandragiri called consolidation "necessary."
Board member Krissy Hudson, the only member to vote against the closure criteria the board adopted in September, said on Oct. 13 that the board must be "responsible stewards of public money." "Our obligation is not to preserve every existing structure at any cost. It is to preserve and strengthen the educational future," Hudson said, according to Salem Reporter.
Opposition from families and the governor's race
Every person who spoke during public comment at the Oct. 13 meeting opposed the closures, according to Salem Reporter's live coverage. Parents repeatedly called on the district to stop or pause the process, the Statesman Journal reported.
Both major candidates for governor have weighed in. Republican nominee state Sen. Christine Drazan of Canby said in an Oct. 14 statement that "School districts need to listen to families, slow down and exhaust every alternative before closing schools that communities depend on," and called on Gov. Tina Kotek to "step up," the Statesman Journal reported. Drazan also echoed parents who say taxpayers have invested millions in some of the schools through voter-approved bonds and that families need more transparency and data, according to the newspaper and KATU.
Kotek, a Democrat, sent an Oct. 13 letter urging Portland Public Schools, which is weighing up to 14 closures, to slow down and give families more time to weigh in, KGW reported. She did not send a similar letter to Salem-Keizer, according to the Statesman Journal. Her press secretary, Hazel Tylinski, told the newspaper the governor "is evaluating information from districts considering school building closures and is exploring ways to address this growing statewide situation."
What comes next
The board is expected to make its final decision on Dec. 8, according to the Statesman Journal and OPB. If a majority approves the plan, the six schools would close in June 2027, Salem Reporter reported. The district's closure process page also lists a board meeting on Nov. 10.
Boundary changes are on a separate track and are expected to go to the board for approval in February 2027, the Statesman Journal reported. The district is recruiting parents, students and community members for a Boundary Review Task Force that would meet from November 2026 through January 2027. Applications are due Oct. 21, and the district says it may not be able to accept every applicant.
Sources
Salem Reporter: SCHOOL BOARD: Salem-Keizer to have lengthy school closures discussion, take public comment at Tuesday meeting, by Eddy Binford-Ross (Oct. 19, 2026)
Salem Reporter: SCHOOL BOARD LIVE coverage of the Oct. 13 meeting, by Eddy Binford-Ross and Kent Friel (Oct. 13, 2026)
Statesman Journal: Live updates as board considers closure of 6 Salem-Keizer elementary schools (Oct. 13, 2026)
Statesman Journal: Kotek, Drazan weigh in on proposed Salem-Keizer school closures (Oct. 15, 2026)
KGW: Gov. Kotek urges Portland Public Schools to slow down plans to close up to 14 schools
KATU: Kotek, Drazan push for transparency as Portland and Salem-Keizer weigh school closures
OPB: Salem-Keizer proposes closure of 6 elementary schools, boundary changes, by Elizabeth Miller (Oct. 9, 2026)
Salem-Keizer Public Schools: School Closure Process page, board meeting calendar and Boundary Review Task Force application
Salem-Keizer Public Schools: School board public comment sign-up
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