Denver voters in November will vote on a $454 million school bond package — the largest in Colorado history — and one school that would benefit is North High.
The 20-year bond proposal, approved by the school board Tuesday, would pay for new schools, roofs, boilers, playgrounds, athletic fields and general maintenance. It would cost homeowners an extra $5 in taxes per $100,000 home valuation per year. Denver’s median home value is $230,900.
North would get approximately $34 million for remodeling work.
The historic school, which opened in 1911, has aging buildings, weedy tennis courts and an uneven track surface.
The bonds would pay for a portion of the anticipated $178 million master plan devised to repair the campus, off Speer and Federal boulevards.
North has been the focus of several reform efforts.
The school has had three principals in three years. The district two years ago forced North’s 67 teachers, counselors and social workers to reapply for their jobs. Twenty-seven returned.
The school has one of the worst attendance rates in the city and is roughly 44 percent full, with 950 students in a school built for 2,165.
Perhaps the largest problem has been the academic struggles. The school was rated low and in “significant decline” on the state’s 2007 accountability report and has the worst 10th grade reading scores in the city on the 2008 Colorado Student Assessment Program.
At least one board member has questioned the wisdom of putting money into a school that is half-full and struggling.
Neighborhoods around North, however, are undergoing a baby boom, and the district believes improving the school is the best way to keep those families from leaving.
North has a new principal — 36-year-old Ed Salem — who was previously assistant principal at Abraham Lincoln High School.
Salem’s goal is to increase enrollment, improve attendance, lift student pride and raise student achievement.
Students have uniforms based on grade levels. Class schedules are posted at the front door. And attendance statistics are charted on a wall near the office.
Salem meets twice a week with each grade level and is almost always visible in the hallways or peeking into classrooms.
“Kids want to know who their leader is,” Salem said. “They’ve been aware of the churn.”
On Tuesday during lunch, Salem greeted students in the hallway.
“He’s awesome,” said Jazmin Lopez, a 17-year-old senior. “He’s bringing all of these student activities. We’ve never had a bonfire and a powderpuff football game.”
Brenda Godina, 17, appreciates Salem’s renewed focus on attendance.
“Every year I’ve had a different principal, and they haven’t done what they were supposed to do,” Godina said. “They learn to outdo them. But there’s no outdoing him.”
Juniors and seniors with white and black shirts are allowed to leave the campus during lunch, but not freshmen and sophomores, who wear purple, gold and gray garb.
If students are late returning to class or the school, the entire class risks losing open-campus privileges.
Last year North finished with a 75 percent attendance rate. So far this year, the school has a 92 percent attendance rate, Salem said.
Last weekend, about 20 adults with ties to North, including Salem and school board member Arturo Jimenez, bicycled the neighborhood in search of students who should be in the school.
“North is doing great, and I’m willing to do whatever I can, even if it means biking around to get students there,” Jimenez said. “It’s very clear that North is on track and is a great school to invest in. Ed Salem is a great choice for principal, and in my opinion North has never been more stable.”
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
