A bill to split the Seattle Public Schools into two separate districts died quietly Wednesday when a legislative cut-off deadline passed.
State Reps. Sharon Tomiko Santos and Eric Pettigrew, both south Seattle Democrats, introduced the bill, arguing that the school district pays less attention to the multicultural, blue-collar south Seattle than to the more affluent north side. They said a smaller school district would lead to better attention to in-the-trenches matters.
The bill would have forced the breakup by forbidding the existence of any school district with more than 35,000 students. With roughly 52,000 students, only Seattle fits that description.
Their bill made it to the House Rules Committee -- the legislative equivalent of baseball’s on-deck circle -- where majority caucus leaders decide what measures will go to floor votes. But the leadership decided against moving the bill forward.
Wednesday was the final day for bills to receive approval in their house of origination.
