Community members make passionate pleas before Denver Public School Board members to stop school closure plan

It was another difficult night for parents and educators in Denver Public schools, as they continue the fight to save their schools.

Superintendent Alex Marrero has named Denver Discovery School, Schmitt and Fairview Elementary, International Academy of Denver at Harrington and Math and Science Leadership Academy as priorities to close.

Monday night's public comment session was scheduled ahead of the school board's Thursday vote to accommodate the dozens of community members wanting to speak. Parents, educators and students at the affected schools were among them.

"I would like you to know that school closure to the students at those schools feels like a very wrong choice. Students should have a say at what happens to their school," Columbian Elementary School 4th grader Kaikoa Rasay told the board.

While each showed up to fight for their individual schools...

"Fairview is our safe place for our kids," Kris Rollerson, an advocate for the Sun Valley Community, said.

... the community as a whole shared a united message.

"We all want what's best for our children," said Diana Kessel, the mother of a second grader at Palmer Elementary School.

Theirs were just a few of the dozens of comments made over several hours and following a rough start to the meeting on the side of the district -- from bickering between the board president and vice president to technical issues surrounding the speakers.

"We have to go up to another floor to listen to the virtual comments," Board President Xochitl Gaytan said at one point.

"I think it should worry DPS because it could fracture the whole foundation of DPS and it breaks that trust and faith in DPS," Kessel said.

Outside of the concerns raised about the board's ability to come together to reach a thoughtful decision about the future of their schools, many raised issues about equity.

"You are throwing all the minority kids into one island to pile up and to see who sinks and who swims," one mother said.

Others raised questions about what the future of DPS education looks like if the proposed plan to close schools is the district's answer to a problem to the growing problem around enrollment.

"Find new ways to support our schools, not close them down that should be our absolute last resort," one speaker pleaded to the board.

The board will vote on the school closures on Thursday.