School board president responds to politicians' letter regarding PSD school closure plans
Last week, two Fort Collins City Council members and a state representative shared a dozen specific concerns in a letter sent to the Poudre School District Board of Education, and members of the Facilities Steering Planning Committee, regarding the district's school closures and consolidation plans.
City Council members Melanie Potyondy and Kelly Ohlson and state representative Andrew Boesenecker, who all represent west Fort Collins districts, were concerned about the inclusion of Blevins Middle School and Olander Elementary School in the consolidation process. They expressed concern about the long-term impact closures and consolidations would have on the residents they represent.
“Before any closures are contemplated, we respectfully request that the following actions be pursued by district leadership to minimize the need for consolidations and, in cases where closures are necessary, lessen the magnitude of negative impacts,” they wrote.
This week, PSD Board of Education president Kristen Draper responded.
Here are the 12 actions originally requested by the politicians, and Draper's response to each.
1. Complete a comprehensive review of the district budget to identify and address financial inefficiencies and redundancies.
Response: District staff are continually and thoughtfully evaluating all aspects of the budget to determine where additional savings may be found.
2. Rescale central office staffing and compensation to reflect our district’s current enrollment and financial circumstances.
Response: A $2.1M reduction is already scheduled for ’24-’25 school year in the Central Office.
3. Evaluate causes of declining enrollment beyond birth rates and housing prices (e.g., curricular preferences, programming, student conduct concerns).
Response: There are a number of factors that contribute to the decreases in the number of students in our schools. Declining birth rates and high housing prices in Fort Collins are primary drivers. However, we are not the only school district facing this challenge. Coast to coast, from Oregon to Kansas to Massachusetts, Florida to California, school districts are looking at empty seats and lower enrollment rates. Colorado has one of the lowest birth rates in the nation.
Locally, we are continuing to see declines in birth rates and student enrollments in many Colorado school districts, including nearby Boulder County and Jefferson County. Housing prices in Fort Collins continue to increase, which often makes it difficult for families with young children to move in. This is an issue that we need to address collectively and collaboratively, and I look forward to any opportunity to work with the City Council and the state legislature to ensure we find a solution.
4. Partner with local governmental organizations and community agencies to explore potential cost-saving options for existing schools.
Response: PSD already partners with the city and county to provide robust opportunities to our students. Some examples include PSD partners with Larimer County Kids Initiative for Developmental Support (KIDS), the Larimer County Boys and Girls Club, and Larimer County Health. We have also partnered with the city of Fort Collins and the Poudre River Library system to collectively create the Southeast Innovation Center and its aquatic facility on property that has been donated by the district (adjacent to Fossil Ridge High School).
We have a strong, ongoing partnership with all local police and sheriff departments to ensure we are keeping students safe via our School Resource Officer (SRO) program. PSD has also opened its doors to the community, supporting community use of our tracks and tennis courts. Over the years, PSD has worked diligently with the City of Fort Collins and Larimer County to explore partnership options and will continue to do so.
Over the last few years, we have successfully partnered with other local entities to secure several large-scale grant awards, including a $9 million mental health partnership grant with Colorado State University and a $1.5 million grant from the Colorado Department of Education to support Project AWARE. PSD is always exploring opportunities to strengthen partnerships. However, such partnerships alone will not solve the enrollment challenge that we face.
5. Redraw boundaries to stabilize school populations.
Response: Redrawing boundaries alone does not address the challenges that we face as a district, it merely redistributes them across our system. The reality is, we have approximately 6,000 unfilled seats in our schools, and shifting boundaries while our enrollments continue to decline will not address this problem.
6. Halt plans for construction of new schools.
Response: There are no current plans for new schools.
7. Limit consolidations to only those that are critical and that are warranted based on facility conditions.
Response: Any consolidations that are recommended as a part of this process will be recommended because they are considered critical. There is no, and will be no, superfluous closings of schools. As mentioned above, the steering committee is charged with evaluating scenarios based on the guiding principles established by the Board. Among these guiding principles is a charge to consider facility conditions.
8. Ensure that closures do not disproportionately burden specific geographic areas.
Response: Closures will need to address declining enrollment where it exists in our district. Our declines in enrollment are primarily concentrated on the west side of Fort Collins. Therefore, consolidations and closures should address the declines in this geographic area. Closing schools on the east side of the district, where our student counts are increasing, would not be productive.
9. Minimize the creation of school deserts regarding walking/biking to school, especially for schools that serve economically disadvantaged families.
Response: As scenarios are being developed, the committee is making efforts to ensure that as many students as possible remain in walk zones, as this will also decrease transportation costs.
10. Complete an analysis of transportation costs associated with proposed consolidations.
Response: As scenarios are finalized, more in-depth analysis of routing and its implications for transportation budgets will be conducted.
11. Establish defined criteria and procedures for future instances of declining enrollment, to prevent large-scale actions like those currently being considered.
Response: I appreciate this suggestion, and it is one that can be enacted with input from the community and the steering committee based on lessons learned in this process. It will be in the district’s best interest to revisit boundaries on a much more regular basis going forward, so as to continually balance enrollments across schools.
12. For any consolidations that are made, clearly communicate means by which families who made school-of-choice decisions with incomplete information can adjust their 2024-2025 plans, including the opportunity to re-enroll in neighborhood schools if desired.
Response: Support will be provided to the families and students who are impacted by school closures and consolidations. This support will include providing information on school of choice options as well as neighborhood school enrollment options.
In conclusion, Draper wrote: “This process is challenging. Our community is experiencing a lot of emotion, including grief, associated with the possibility of losing beloved neighborhood schools. However, we cannot remain on our current course. Doing so would only further the inequities that already exist in our system.
“I look forward to working with the city council on ways to invite younger, less established families to live and work in Fort Collins, and with the state legislature to create more equitable and better funding for Colorado schools. My goal as a board member is to ensure that all PSD students have equitable educational opportunities, that they all are able to graduate with options, and to make sure all students feel they are welcome and belong.
“With strong leadership from the superintendent, cabinet, principals and staff, and effective collaboration with partners, we are making great strides in literacy, mental health and belonging, and graduation with options. We are PSD, and with your help, we strive to make our schools and our community a better place for everyone.”
Editor's note: This story has a correction. City Council member Kelly Ohlson's last name was misspelled in a previous version of this story.
Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, x.com/KellyLyell and facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: School board president responds to concerns about PSD school closings
