Some families say they feel shocked, betrayed after Denver Public Schools releases list of potential school closures
It was a heavy night for some Denver Public School families on Thursday, who watched as seven schools across the district were listed for potential closure.
"I'm shocked, I'm sad, I'm angry. I'm having tons of emotions," said Sara Nakon.
Nakon is a mother of two girls who go to school at Palmer Elementary. Families at this school are no strangers to fighting back against school closures, but this time Nakon hoped their building would be spared.
"I have been telling everybody we're going to be safe because I truly believed that," said Nakon.
On Thursday, Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero announced the list of seven schools recommended for closure before school board members and families, five of which were elementary schools and two secondary schools:
Columbian Elementary School
Castro Elementary School
Schmitt Elementary School
International Academy of Denver at Harrington
Palmer Elementary School
West Middle School
Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design
The following program changes, or school restructures -- which do not require a board vote -- are also recommended (ECE stands for Early Childhood Education):
Kunsmiller becomes 6-12 only (remove 1-5)
Dora Moore becomes ECE-5 only (remove 6-8)
DCIS Baker 6-12 becomes DCIS Baker MS (remove 9-12)
"This is to address our current status, to make sure that we have a healthy system for the foreseeable future," said Marrero.
Nakon and her friend Diana Kessel, who also has two girls who attend Palmer Elementary, both cried together after learning the news and after having to tell their children what could happen to their school.
"It just breaks my heart to see my kids so devastated," said Kessel.
The district announced this list amid ongoing concerns about declining enrollment across the district. The seven schools were chosen after dividing DPS schools into 31 clusters. Within these clusters, district leaders compared the data between schools in a number of areas, including how much each school utilized their space and whether or not they had sustainable enrollment.
Not only do some parents question the data used to determine which schools would be on the chopping block, they also say it doesn't help improve students' education simply by moving them to schools with greater enrollment.
"We do have smaller class sizes. I chose that on purpose. I don't want my kids in a 36-person class," said Nakon.
While families will be given priority choice to send their kids to nearby schools if these recommendations move forward, Kessel says that is not enough to quell families' concerns.
"The proposal is ridiculous. You're asking the community to completely break apart and pick schools and fend for themselves," said Kessel. "I can't even guarantee that my two girls will stay together because the other schools that are on the list are overcapacity."
Marrero says these recommendations would remove roughly 4,000 vacant seats in the school system, and it would save the district roughly 30 million dollars, of which 24 million will go back into other DPS schools.
"None of us want to close schools and we recognize how difficult this is as we go forward and consider how we'll vote," said DPS Board President Dr. Carrie Olson.
Next week members of the board will visit the affected schools to meet with families and staff.
On Nov. 18 DPS will receive feedback from the community during the board's public comment session.
Then on Nov. 21, the school board will then vote on the schools they plan to close and consolidate.
