School Capacity and Utilization Task Force Opens Third Year of Work

On Tuesday, September 30, 2025, the School Capacity and Utilization Task Force (SCUT) will hold its first meeting of the 2025–26 school year at the Karshner Museum. This will mark the third year of SCUT’s work studying space and capacity challenges across the Puyallup School District. 

Since its launch in 2023, SCUT has played an important role in helping the district adjust and respond to overcrowding, with the ongoing goal of providing every student with a safe and comfortable learning environment. 

Purpose and Role 

SCUT’s charge is to review district-wide enrollment and facility use to identify strategies that address school space challenges. While the task force examines capacity, transportation, and housing trends, no schools are closing at this time. SCUT is not making closure recommendations. Instead, its role is to ensure that the School Board has accurate, data-driven information if decisions are needed in the future. 

Why the Work Matters 

Most elementary and high schools across the district are currently over their built classroom capacity. Portable classrooms help manage some of the pressure but have limitations, including class size targets, site and property restrictions, utility access, and security considerations. 

Without new Bond funding for school construction, the district must identify short-term and creative solutions to continue supporting students in the best possible learning environments. 

Community Engagement 

SCUT includes 22 members, including staff, representing a cross-section of the district. This fall, representatives from Spinning Elementary and Waller Road Elementary will temporarily join as non-voting participants to study challenges and opportunities specific to their schools. 

Last spring, after the district failed to attract enough voters to validate the second bond measure that would have replaced two of the district’s most critical buildings, the School Board directed SCUT to conduct a feasibility study of the potential impact of closing Spinning and Waller Road Elementary Schools. 

What is a feasibility study? 

A feasibility study is simply a way of gathering facts before any decisions are made. It looks at different possibilities, weighs the potential impacts, and helps leaders understand what might happen if a certain path were ever considered.  

This study is not a decision to close schools. Instead, it is about understanding the ripple effects on students, families, staffing, transportation, and surrounding schools. The Board wants a clear picture of what those impacts could look like so that if the topic ever came forward in the future, they would have the necessary information to guide thoughtful and transparent conversations. 

Next Steps 

SCUT will meet regularly this fall, with scheduled meetings on September 30, October 14, October 28, November 13, and December 2. A preliminary feasibility study update for Spinning and Waller Road will be provided to the School Board during a December 12 study session.  

What This Means for You 

• SCUT is conducting a feasibility study, not making a decision. 
• No schools are closing at this time. 
• The process is transparent, data-driven, and inclusive of staff and community perspectives. 

Through its work, SCUT continues to provide an avenue for the community to engage in the district’s ongoing efforts to balance growth, space, and resources for students across Puyallup schools. 

The district is committed to making thoughtful recommendations to the school board, ensuring that proposed changes align with its mission to provide high-quality education in a safe, supportive learning environment for all students.  

To stay updated on SCUT’s work and view meeting materials, visit the SCUT website: puyallupsd.org/SCUT.