As DPS recommends closures, other districts already know the pain

Denver Public Schools will announce school closure recommendations on Thursday — but it's not the first district in Colorado to go through the painful process of closing neighborhood schools — nor will it be the last.

In November 2022, Jeffco Public Schools voted to close 16 elementary schools at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. The district closed two additional K-8 schools at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. According to the district, the county's school-age population (ages 5 to 19) fell by 29,918 from 2000 to 2020. The State Demography Office reports that the birth rate in Jefferson's County peaked in 2000 and has been declining since then.

Jeffco has found new uses for some of the 16 closed elementary schools. Campbell Elementary School in Arvada became a preschool. Witt Elementary School in Westminster was leased to the Austin Centers for Exceptional Students. The former Coal Creek Canyon k-8 in Golden reopened this year as a new charter school – Jefferson Academy Coal Creek Canyon.

Some of the other former school buildings are currently for sale.

Aurora Public Schools has also faced demographic changes that have resulted in several schools closing or converting to magnet schools in recent years. The building that formerly housed Sable Elementary School was converted into a child development center this year. Paris Elementary School reopened as a community center with a focus on mental health.

Several other school districts in Colorado face the same challenges as declining birth rates and aging households lead to lower elementary school enrollment. Next spring, the Douglas County School District plans to announce schools in Highlands Ranch that will be closing and consolidating due to declining enrollment.

The Poudre School District was scheduled to announce school closures in May 2024, but put the plans on hold after community protests. The district still hasn't decided how to deal with declining enrollment and a budget deficit.