Denver school officials don’t like to call it a “base-closing commission,” but a panel being formed next month by DPS will have all the hallmarks of the group that does the heavy lifting in reorganizing and downsizing the military. In this case, the unfortunate outcome could be the shuttering of under-utilized schools.
Denver Public Schools can’t afford not to review its facilities. A declining student base, a sizeable pension debt and higher operating costs has created a grim outlook.
In the looming budget showdown, there will be losers and winners. The winners will be those schools that get new students, new programs and fresh energy. The losers will be neighborhood schools that are operating far below capacity.
Sixteen of the district’s 151 schools already are less than half full.
Superintendent Michael Bennet’s challenge will be to convince families that stand to lose their local school that neighborhood children will benefit by attending improved schools elsewhere. It won’t be easy.
Years of neglecting its pension program, rising staff salaries and a dwindling student population have DPS facing a $16.4 million shortfall next school year, and forecasts indicate the system will run in the red through 2010. About $7 million will be pared from administrative costs next year; however, deep cuts in education programs would make DPS even less appealing to the 30,000 school-aged kids who live in Denver but attend other schools. Some 8,000 students have walked away from DPS in the past four years, costing the district millions.
DPS must contemplate mothballing under-enrolled schools while undertaking the challenge of improving the remaining schools to appeal to students who are considering charter or private schools.
DPS is ringing the alarm bell early, and the community would be wise to hear it and get involved in the process. Some hope does exist. While the number of students attending DPS is dropping, the number of school-aged children in Denver is expected to rise through this decade. If DPS can improve its schools, boost student achievement and create programs that can lure those students – not an easy task by any means – enrollment and funding will follow.
It’s not reasonable to expect extra students, each bringing about $6,500 in state and local funding to their school, can make up the entire shortfall. DPS would need to add 12,000 over three years to avoid cuts, and that’s impractical. But competing for students and adjusting to school capacity will undoubtedly make DPS a stronger district, even in the face of painful cuts.
