The panel made the following recommendations:

Close Viewlands Elementary School Close John Marshall Building; Relocate Programs Close the Sacajawea Program and Building Merge Fairmount Park Program and High Point Program in the High Point Building Close Fairmount Park Building Close Genesee Hill Building; Relocate Pathfinder K-8 Program to Boren Building Merge Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary with T.T. Minor Elementary for 2006-07 Close the Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary building Combine the Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary and McGilvra reference areas for 2007-08 Close Hughes Building Merge Whitworth and Dearborn Park Programs in Dearborn Park Building Close Whitworth Building Close the Emerson Elementary Program Close Graham Hill Building; Considering Merging the Montessori Program with Another School Close South Shore Building; Relocate New School to Emerson Building Central Area Study: District Work with Schools and Stakeholder Communities to Develop Consolidation Plan and Close One Building (The Central Area schools are Leschi, Bailey Gatzert, Thurgood Marshall, and T.T. Minor, after its consolidation with Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary).

See the committee's complete report [pdf file].

Seattle school officials said closing as many as 12 schools could save more than $5 million a year.

At a series of community meetings, parents have come out fighting to save schools that appeared on an initial list of schools targeted for closure.

Many parents said they are angry at the district's financial mistakes.

"We, the public, are paying the consequences for the lack of good financial decisions," said Rocio Luguero, the parent of a child at Graham Hill Elementary School.

Some parents are not convinced the savings from closing 12 schools will be significant enough to justify the closures.

They told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that the district's financial figures don't include the costs to mothball closed buildings or the one-time capital costs to renovate closed schools to accommodate new programs.

The Seattle Public Schools Board will make the final decision in July.

For more information visit the Seattle Public Schools Web site.