Denver Public Schools will close seven schools and reduce the number of grades served by three others at the end of the current academic year, a move by Colorado’s largest district to prevent a financial crisis as K-12 enrollment continues to plummet statewide.
The district’s Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday evening to approve Superintendent Alex Marrero’s consolidation plan, which he announced two weeks ago. The superintendent only needed the board’s approval to close schools, but his plan to restructure the other schools hinged on the board’s closure decision.
“We are tasked with making sure that the district stays financially viable,” board President Carrie Olson said before the vote, adding that the closures “will allow us to allocate our resources more efficiently.”
More than 88,000 students were enrolled in DPS schools last academic year, a 4% drop over the district’s enrollment peak five years ago. DPS has lost tens of millions of dollars annually in per-pupil funding from the state as enrollment has fallen.
With the board’s vote, DPS will close five elementary schools — Castro, Columbian, Palmer, Schmitt and the International Academy of Denver at Harrington — as well as West Middle School and the Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design, a high school.
DPS will also restructure three schools — DCIS Baker 6-12, Dora Moore ECE-8 School and Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy — so that they serve fewer grades, and therefore, fewer children.
The 10 schools affected by the superintendent’s plan enroll 1,844 students and employ 267 staffers. Many of the schools enroll a majority of students of color and children who come from lower-income families and qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches.
Staff members at schools that close will be able to interview for other positions within DPS, district officials have said.
Marrero stressed during Thursday’s meeting that district officials weren’t just listening, but were also hearing students, staff and others in the community who have spoken up about the closures, including those who vocally opposed the plan, in the past two weeks.
“Your comments, your stories have been heartfelt and they have made an impact,” the superintendent said ahead of the vote.
The seven-member board’s decision is a reversal of the stance that four directors — Olson, Michelle Quattlebaum, Xóchitl “Sochi” Gaytán and Scott Esserman — took when presented with a school closure proposal two years ago.
At that time, a majority of board members were loath to close schools. DPS’s history of closing schools because of poor academic performance has also loomed over board members, several of whom experienced previous closures either as educators or parents.
But board members, teacher union representatives and others in the community grew more resigned to the fact that DPS officials would need to shut down schools because of low enrollment in the years since Marrero made his initial recommendation in 2022.
Unlike two years ago, board members at Thursday’s meeting did not debate one another about whether DPS should close schools. Instead, each member read a prepared statement, addressing those in the audience, before voting.
Still, it was clear board members struggled with their decision to shutter schools. Several directors, including Quattlebaum and Esserman, spoke about how difficult it was for them to reach their decision. Gaytán and Quattlebaum began crying while reading their statements.
“This is an incredibly difficult decision,” Quattlebaum said. “I have been moved by the passion, dedication and advocacy for our children, for our schools for our community.”
But the board members said the closures will lead to students going to schools with more resources.
“We’re looking at a situation where there isn’t a right or a best answer,” Esserman said before the vote, adding, “What we do and say tonight speaks to our future, speaks to our investment in resources for people who are destined for greatness.”
After the board voted, several members of the audience stood up and yelled “Shame on you!” at the board. They were escorted from the meeting by DPS employees and security,
The board ended up closing three schools last year, less than the initial 10 proposed by Marrero. Three of the current directors — Kimberlee Sia, Marlene De La Rosa and John Youngquist — were not on the board the last time it considered school closures.
“Our schools need to have the resources necessary to provide programing that is unique to student needs,” Sia said, noting that the board also “has a duty” to maintain the financial stability of the district.
What happens now
The closures and changes to the 10 schools will take effect after the 2024-25 academic year.
Marrero’s plan relies heavily on school choice, meaning parents and guardians will have a say in where their child attends school next year.
After the schools close, DPS will create or expand enrollment zones, which are boundaries that contain multiple schools rather than a single neighborhood school.
All but one elementary school on the closure list would either join a new zone or an expanded one. DCIS Baker, which will be restructured, will also become part of an enrollment zone.
Students at Castro Elementary will have a seat at either Knapp Elementary or CMS Community School.
DPS will guarantee that students attending a school that closes a seat at one of the schools in their new enrollment zone. The district will also guarantee students will have transportation to their new school.
The district is giving students affected by the closures the highest priority possible at getting a seat at any school in Denver when the school choice period opens in January.
Spanish-speaking students will receive bilingual services via the district’s Transitional Native Language Instruction program at other schools in their boundary or zone.
Preschool programs at closed schools will also move to new schools, but DPS hasn’t yet provided details on what those changes will look like.
Why DPS is closing schools
Across the U.S., K-12 enrollment in public schools has fallen as fewer Americans are having babies. In Denver, gentrification exacerbated the problem and curtailed years of enrollment growth in DPS by increasing housing costs and making it too expensive for families to live here.
When it came time for to speak, Gaytán criticized gentrification, which has reshaped where children live in Denver. Reform policies passed by previous DPS administrations resulted in charter schools “siphoning” students away from district-run schools, she said.
“For these wealthy elites, it was the investment opportunities they could profit (from) as they saw backpacks of cash,” she said.
DPS has closed 15 schools since the 2018-19 academic year. Except for three district-run schools — Denver Discovery, Fairview Elementary, and Mathematics and Science Leadership Academy — shuttered by the board in 2023, all others were charter schools.
“I’m definitely not surprised by the decision,” said Rob Gould, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. “(I’m) saddened by the decision.”
Denver isn’t the only Colorado district that is closing schools. Jeffco has already closed more than a dozen schools and the Douglas County School District next year will consider closing three elementary schools in Highlands Ranch.
Overall, enrollment in DPS peaked at 92,112 students in 2019. But elementary schools have felt the brunt of the crisis, where enrollment has declined since 2014.
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The arrival of hundreds of migrant students boosted enrollment slightly last year, but the increase wasn’t enough to fend off school closures. Marrero has said his recommendation would have likely included more than 10 schools if not for the unexpected influx of migrant students.
Overall enrollment remains below the level it was at five years ago and DPS officials expect it to continue to decline at least through 2028.
The district has lost a total of $107 million in revenue since enrollment peaked in 2019 and is expected to receive at least $70 million less annually by 2028 as enrollment falls further, according to forecasts by DPS leaders.
DPS officials have said the district is spending between $15 million and $20 million in budget assistance annually to keep schools with low enrollment open. By closing schools, the district will save nearly $30 million a year, according to district leaders.
DPS, which has a $1.4 billion budget, is projecting that the district could run a $2.6 million deficit for the 2024-25 academic year depending on what happens when enrollment numbers are finalized through the state’s October count.
Where will students go next year?
Here’s what will happen when the 10 Denver schools close or are restructured:
Castro Elementary students will have a seat at either Knapp Elementary or CMS Community School.
Columbian Elementary students will have a seat and transportation to a school in a new enrollment zone in northwest Denver. The other schools in the new zone are Beach Court Elementary, Centennial: A School for Expeditionary Learning, Edison Elementary and Trevista at Horace Mann.
Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design doesn’t have a boundary, meaning all students choose to go there. For this reason, when the school closes, students will have a seat at their neighborhood school or one of several schools if they live in an enrollment zone.
International Academy of Denver at Harrington students will have a seat and transportation to a school in the Greater Five Points/Central Enrollment Zone. The zone will be expanded to include Swansea Elementary, Garden Place Academy, Wyatt Academy, Columbine Elementary, Cole Arts and Science Academy, Whittier ECE-8 School and University Prep — Arapahoe Street.
Palmer Elementary students will have a seat and transportation to schools in the new Central East Elementary School Zone, which are Teller Elementary, Steck Elementary, Carson Elementary, Montclair School of Academics and Enrichment, Lowry Elementary or Denver Green School Southeast.
Schmitt Elementary students will have a seat and transportation to any school in the new Southwest Central Elementary Zone, which will include Godsman Elementary, McKinley-Thatcher Elementary and Asbury Elementary.
DCIS Baker 6-12 and West Middle School: DCIS Baker 6-12 will become a middle school and join the West Middle School Enrollment Zone. Students from West Middle, which will close, will have a seat at any school in the West Middle School Enrollment Zone, including DCIS Baker. Other schools in the zone include Compass Academy, DSST: College View Middle School, Kepner Beacon Middle School, Kipp Sunshine Peak Academy and Rocky Mountain Prep Westwood.
Dora Moore ECE-8 School will become an elementary school and no longer teach middle schoolers. Students affected by the change will have a seat at their neighborhood school or a school in an enrollment zone if they live in one.
Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy will just serve grades 6 to 12. Students affected by the changes will have a seat at their neighborhood school or in an enrollment zone that they live in.
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