Highline Public Schools may close Maritime High School at the end of the academic year, just five years after opening the specialized program. The school, created to introduce students to maritime careers through hands-on learning and industry partnerships, currently has 83 students, including 14 in ninth grade. That’s far below the 400 originally envisioned. According to a story in The Seattle Times, district officials say it costs approximately $10,000 more per student to operate than other Highline high schools.
“Because state funding and staffing allocations are largely driven by enrollment, lower enrollment means fewer resources to staff and operate the school,” a statement on the Highline School District website said. “After six years, enrollment has not reached the level needed to sustain the current model.”
Parents and students apparently learned of the closure recommendation, made by Superintendent Dr. Ivan Duran, school before the district announced it:
“Some families and staff may have heard about this recommendation before we could share the news directly with the Maritime community as planned. This is not how we wanted to communicate news of this significance,” district officials wrote in their website notice. “Superintendent Duran acknowledged that the community deserved to hear the news directly and have more time to process it. He apologized for how the news was shared.”
According to the Times, of Maritime’s 57 graduates, 35 went on to college, and eight entered the maritime workforce, including four who joined Washington State Ferries. Students, families, staff and community have three opportunities to testify about the proposal:
- November 18 during the Highline School Board
- December 2 during a public hearing about the proposal
- December 9 during the board meeting. A vote on the recommendation is scheduled for that meeting.
To sign up to testify, go to the district’s public testimony information page. Read more on this story.
