Three Woodinville-area elementary schools — Hollywood Hill, Cottage Lake and Sunrise — could close under proposals being considered by the Northshore School District as part of a broader effort to address declining enrollment and uneven student populations across its schools.
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The district’s Enrollment Demographics Advisory Committee presented three scenarios to the School Board on Oct. 26. Each would close at least two elementary schools districtwide, including Moorlands Elementary in Kenmore, and change school boundaries to redistribute students.
Northshore addressed enrollment proposals in areas: north-side, west-side, south-side, and east-side. Woodinville schools are in the east-side area where enrollments have declined significantly in recent years.
The proposals differ in which east-side schools would close:
- Scenario 1: Close Cottage Lake and Sunrise elementary schools. Cottage Lake students would be reassigned to East Ridge, Wellington and Hollywood Hill, while Sunrise students would move to Hollywood Hill.
- Scenario 2: Close Sunrise Elementary. Its students would be reassigned to Cottage Lake and Hollywood Hill.
- Scenario 3: Close Hollywood Hill Elementary. Its students would move to Cottage Lake, Sunrise and Wellington.
The district estimates that approximately 900 to 1,178 elementary students would change schools in 2028, depending on the scenario, with additional boundary changes affecting students in 2030.
The district says the proposals are intended to address declining elementary enrollment and an increasingly uneven distribution of students among schools. Northshore has lost approximately 1,400 elementary students since 2020, and enrollment is projected to continue declining.
District officials identify approximately 400 to 700 students as a healthy enrollment range for an elementary school. Smaller schools can face challenges maintaining consistent staffing and providing programs and services such as counseling, nursing, music, physical education and library services.
Enrollment projections for 2028 show Cottage Lake with approximately 306 students, Hollywood Hill with 262 and Sunrise with 189, if current boundaries remain unchanged. These estimates do not include highly capable or sensory students, who will return to their home schools by 2030 under a new district effort.
The district says Scenario 1 would create the most stable long-term enrollment balance on the east side, pushing the remaining schools above 400 students. However, it would also close two east-side schools at once and leave some receiving schools close to capacity.
Scenario 2 would close Sunrise but leave Cottage Lake and Hollywood Hill open. Scenario 3 would close Hollywood Hill, but leave Sunrise as the district’s smallest elementary school, potentially requiring additional boundary changes within five years.
The proposals are recommendations for consideration, not final closure decisions.
The district is collecting community feedback through January 2027. EDAC is scheduled to present a final recommendation Feb. 22, 2027, with the school board expected to vote March 8. Any approved changes would take effect no earlier than fall 2028.
Under district policy, closing a school also requires a written analysis, a public hearing for each school under consideration and at least 90 days between the analysis and the board’s decision.
The district encouraged families to provide feedback as the board considers the proposals.
