On Monday, district staff presented the board with three potential scenarios. All scenarios included redrawing district boundaries in the north and eastern parts of the district and closing Moorlands Elementary School in Kenmore. Other possible school closures include Sunrise Elementary in Redmond, Cottage Lake Elementary in Woodinville and Hollywood Hill Elementary in Woodinville.

Every 10 years, the district looks at potential long-term solutions to enrollment changes, said Dri Ralph, executive director of support services and capital projects, in an interview with The Daily Herald. Monday’s proposals came from the district’s Enrollment Demographics Advisory Committee, which is composed of students, parents and community members who serve three-year terms.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment has dropped at the district, especially among the K-5 population. In 2019, K-5 enrollment was about 10,800. This year, it’s about 9,200.

“Districts as a whole are still really determining what that new normal looks like,” Ralph said.

The top factor of declining enrollment is declining birth rates, she said. In Snohomish and King counties combined, birth rates have decreased by 22% in the past 10 years, according to state health department data presented by the district.

Also in the past several years, there’s been a significant shift from single-family home development — which typically brings in more students — to multifamily homes. People are also staying in their homes for a longer period of time, Ralph said.

The district aims to have each elementary school house between 400 to 700 students, Ralph said. When a school gets below 400 students, the cost per student rises. It’s also more difficult to balance classes, leading to more split-grade classes, Ralph said. Staffing is also a challenge. For example, a school needs 685 students to fund one full-time nurse.

Currently, elementary school enrollment ranges from 197 to 695. The school closures and boundary changes aim to even out the enrollment across the district.

“I know how harmful it is to our communities and what it means to families and staff and students,” board President Sandy Hayes said Monday. “I need to know these recommendations are the last resort.”

Closing Moorlands would move students to Arrowhead and Woodmoor elementaries, also in the southern part of the district. Arrowhead currently has 263 students, compared to 440 at Moorlands and 516 at Woodmoor. The plan also takes into account Moorlands’ small site space. Staff said that Arrowhead would have more room for a larger rebuild in the future. Moorlands would be available for other uses, staff said.

If the board approves any school closures, the district likely wouldn’t have to remove many staff positions because of the current level of attrition, Irish said. Many staff would also follow students to their new schools, he said.

On Monday, some Moorlands community members raised concerns that the committee only presented options that included closing the school.

“We were blindsided and left without any options,” said a Moorlands alum and future parent who identified herself as Nicole.

One Moorlands parent who spoke, Michael Loughry, also serves on the advisory committee.

“The Moorlands community is feeling hurt, sad and angry,” he said. “All those feelings are valid, but having been on the committee, I’ve had a month to process the news, and I’ve seen the underlying data and justifications. So I get it.”

The committee’s preferred option, in addition to closing Moorlands, was to close both Sunrise and Cottage Lake. The other options were only closing Sunrise or only closing Hollywood Hill.

Many Sunrise parents spoke at Monday’s meeting, urging the district to consider other options. Brita Norvold, a Sunrise parent, said her parents pulled her out of private school to attend Sunrise.

“They knew that the public education at Sunrise easily rivaled top-tier private institutions,” she said. “It was a common trend then, and it remains true now. Parents choose this neighborhood specifically because Sunrise offers a small-town premium foundation within a large suburban area. The relationships built in those hallways last a lifetime.”

In addition to the closures, each scenario includes boundary adjustments in the northern and western parts of the district. In those portions of the district, there isn’t as much of an issue with low enrollment.

In 2024, Snohomish County expanded part of its Urban Growth Area, which included part of the Northshore School District. While enrollment in the rest of the district decreases, the district expects a small increase in the north, including near Fernwood and Ruby Bridges elementaries.

The boundary adjustments would send more than 100 Fernwood students to Canyon Creek to make room for the expected increase. The changes also move several Kenmore Elementary neighborhoods to Lockwood Elementary.

The committee also proposed boundary adjustments for middle and high schools. At middle schools, some Canyon Park students would move to Kenmore, and some Skyview students would move to Canyon Park. At high schools, several North Creek students would move to Woodinville and Bothell.

Board members said Monday that many of them have students who will be impacted by the proposed closures and boundary changes.

“We are grieving right along in real time with everyone here,” Hayes said.

Monday’s presentation was the beginning of “robust” community engagement regarding possible school closures and boundary changes, Ralph said.

“I really have faith in our community that they’ll be able to look at the information and really want what’s best for the district in the long term and what’s best for the students overall,” she said.

The board will hold another meeting regarding potential changes in January. It is scheduled to make a final decision in May to give families a year to prepare.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.