Salem-Keizer names six elementary schools recommended for closure in 2027

Old Garfield School in Salem, a former district elementary closed in 1973 and now on the National Register of Historic Places (Oct. 28, 2009). M.O. Stevens, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Garfield_School_front_-_Salem,_Oregon.JPG

Salem-Keizer Public Schools on Friday released its recommendation to close six elementary schools beginning in fall 2027, following weeks of anticipation that Willamette News previewed earlier this week.

The schools on the list are Brush College in West Salem, Candalaria and Liberty in South Salem, Richmond in Southeast Salem, Englewood in Northeast Salem, and Cummings in Keizer, the district announced. Officials also released a preliminary attendance-boundary redraw that would affect 16 schools. The district says roughly 95% of students would not be reassigned, and that fewer than 2,000 students and about 250 staff would be directly affected.

The school board is scheduled to hear a detailed presentation Tuesday, Oct. 13, with the meeting starting at 4 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. to leave more time for public comment. A final vote on the closures is set for Dec. 8. Boundary changes would be finalized later, in February 2027, according to the district.

Why these six

District leaders say multi-year enrollment decline left the system with more buildings than it can sustainably staff. Enrollment has fallen from a peak of about 42,000 students to roughly 36,000, the district said Friday — a drop of about 5,000 from the peak eight years ago that Salem Reporter and OPB also highlighted.

Superintendent Andrea Castañeda said the district would avoid closures if it could. “If there were a way to avoid this, we absolutely would,” she told reporters Friday, according to Salem Reporter and OPB. “Sometimes institutions have to respond to the reality around them and do it with as much care and empathy as possible.”

In the district release, Castañeda said the plan would reduce underused facility space by 332,000 square feet, avoid about $15 million in near-term deferred maintenance at the recommended sites, and lift elementary facility utilization from 64% to 71%. Four of the six buildings are more than a century old; Liberty, built in 1908, is the district’s oldest, Salem Reporter reported. Three — Richmond, Brush College and Englewood — are hosting less than 60% of the students they were designed for, based on this year’s enrollment projections, the Reporter said.

Deputy Superintendent Olga Cobb said the goal is to protect teaching conditions after two years of academic gains. “We need to begin shifting toward fewer, more fully-enrolled schools that we can staff,” Cobb said in the district release.

Pushback and other voices

Of the seven school board directors, only Krissy Hudson has publicly expressed hesitancy, Salem Reporter reported. Hudson voted against the closure policy in September, arguing that “before closing neighborhood schools, we should exhaust reasonable alternatives.”

Union leaders struck a more accepting tone after Friday’s list. Salem-Keizer Education Association President Tyler Scialo-Lakeberg called the plan “fair” and said it honored impacted staff, writing to Salem Reporter that lower enrollment had left some schools “very small, resulting in staffing challenges.” Zach Wilson, president of the Association of Salem Keizer Education Support Professionals, said he hopes the district and unions will “work through challenges together.”

Chief Operations Officer Paul Odenthal told reporters that more closure conversations — including at the secondary level — should be expected in coming years, OPB reported. Separately, the district is facing a projected $46 million budget shortfall for next school year; Castañeda has said closures are not primarily a cost-cutting move and would save less than $1 million per site in the near term.

What families can do next

The district scheduled five Listening and Learning sessions next week:

• Oct. 14, Leslie Middle School, 6–7:30 p.m.

• Oct. 15, Claggett Creek Middle School, 6–7:30 p.m.

• Oct. 16, Crossler Middle School, 6–7:30 p.m.

• Oct. 17, Straub Middle School, 10–11:30 a.m.

• Oct. 17, Waldo Middle School, 2–3:30 p.m.

Families can register for childcare or interpretation through forms linked from the district announcement. An online school-assignment lookup tool, draft boundary maps, FAQs and school summaries are on the district’s school closure and consolidation pages. Families affected by boundary changes may later apply for a continuity exemption to stay at a current school; transportation would not be provided, the district said.

Board meetings on Oct. 13 and Oct. 20 will also include extended public comment.

Parents helping younger children talk through a school change may find picture books such as First Day Jitters and School’s First Day of School useful conversation starters; the district has also posted its own tips for talking with K–5 students.

Sources

• Salem-Keizer Public Schools, “Salem-Keizer Public Schools Recommends Closing Six Elementary Schools to Protect Student Learning,” Oct. 9, 2026

• Salem Reporter (Eddy Binford-Ross), “Salem-Keizer plans to close six elementary schools. Here’s the list,” Oct. 9, 2026

• OPB (Elizabeth Miller), “Salem-Keizer proposes closure of 6 elementary schools, boundary changes,” Oct. 9, 2026

• Salem-Keizer Public Schools, School Closure & Consolidations FAQs and Community Conversations About School Closures

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