Hundreds of students walk out of Colorado school in protest of Poudre Schools consolidation plans

UPDATE: Poudre School District's consolidation plans on hold in Northern Colorado

Hundreds of students joined staff and parents from Polaris Expeditionary Learning School in western Fort Collins for a walkout on Monday, protesting Poudre School District's plans to consolidate and move several of their schools. The announcement was made late last week, leaving many parents and students blindsided by the district's plans that were not previously discussed with the public. 

Polaris is a specialized school that caters to students in grades K-12. Many students have transferred to the school from other area PSD schools in search of a learning style that Polaris offers. 

"We are not going to stand for this. This is our school this is our community and ripping it in half is not going to work for us. That completely defeats the purpose of our school," said Elin Docherty, a student at the school who helped organize the walkout.  

Docherty told CBS News Colorado that she was shocked to see how many students and parents joined the march to the district's headquarters.

PSD announced the student body would be split in half, with younger students moving to the current Olander Elementary School building, and students in middle and high school moving to the current Blevins school facility. Both are located on the west side of Fort Collins.  

The current Polaris school would then become home to Centennial High School and Poudre Community Academy. The current Centennial High School, located near Old Town, would become a hub for learning for students with disabilities.  

Hundreds of students marched out of school on Monday, varying in age from young children to older teenagers, to protest the current Polaris school being split.  

"To see that it's most of our school is incredible," Docherty said.

The students marched to PSD's headquarters in northwest Fort Collins under the protection and supervision of school security and Fort Collins Police Services.  

Madeline Noblett, chief communications officer for PSD, told Northern Colorado reporter Dillon Thomas the district was aware of the community's rejection of their plans.  

"(We have seen) frustration, anger, confusion, sadness, levels of grief in the announcement we made last week. All of it is extremely valid. Change is hard," Noblett said.

Noblett said the district expects to see a reduction of more than 10% of their annual enrollment in the coming years. The district blames that on many factors including declining birth rates and the cost of living in Fort Collins and neighboring communities like Timnath.  

One factor the community has also noted is the number of parents pulling their children from the district as a result of the curriculum the board and others have elected to teach. The region has seen a recent influx in the number of families electing to send their children to local charter schools.  

Noblett said the district recently hired a demographer who determined the district has capital needs of more than $1 billion in the coming years just when it comes to maintaining the facilities they already own. She said that amount is more than the district can currently afford. And, with communities like Timnath growing, the district needed to adjust where they were allocating funds and resources to meet the demands of their student populations.  

By splitting Polaris and moving them to larger facilities, Noblett said the district can help address the waiting list to get into the program while also better using their facilities.  

"With this move, we are looking to be able to increase the number of students being served at that building," Noblett said.  

Noblett said the district understands the frustrations many are experiencing with this decision. Some parents told CBS News Colorado they felt the decision was made without consulting the community first.  

"In going out to our community, it would be near impossible to ask anyone to volunteer to put themselves in a difficult position of change, moving forward," Noblett said.  

Adam Musielewicz, a parent of a Polaris kindergartner, said he joined the protest out of frustration that the decision was sprung on parents without community discussion. He said he loved how Polaris was currently being operated under one roof for all.

He said he understood and respected the district's need to make changes due to declining enrollment. However, he felt there was a better way to handle it. 

"(My family loves the) culture, community (and) safety. Everything you see here right now, parents and kids sitting together, that's an embodiment of the values of lots of schools," Musielewicz said.  

The Poudre School District will host a community meeting on Tuesday night to discuss the matter. When asked if the decision was final, or if the community had the ability to sway the moves, Noblett said, "…these are changes that must happen," in order to be good stewards of the district's finances and students.