Denver Public Schools’ plan to close schools next year drew scrutiny from the district’s Board of Education on Thursday. Directors said they are being asked to make a decision in two weeks but haven’t been given enough information on how the district chose which schools to shut down and how the proposal would be implemented.to combat declining enrollment. The seven-member school board will vote Nov. 17 on whether to approve the plan.
During the meeting, Director Michelle Quattlebaum became the second board member to oppose the district’s plan. The presentation also showed that the district had decided against recommending four other schools with low enrollment for closure because they did not have another school within two miles that could take their students.
A district employee responded by saying that two of the schools the district decided against recommending for closure are actually within two miles of other schools but DPS cannot send students from more than two schools to another one. For example, students from Beach Court Elementary, which is not recommended for closure but has low enrollment, could have gone to Trevista at Horace Mann. But instead, Columbian Elementary would close and students would go to Trevista under the district’s plan.