Members of the Jefferson County Board of Education have decided to delay any action on a five-year plan that would close several Jefferson County elementary schools.
The plan, which was first proposed to the school board on Jan. 6, would have phased out 10 schools and replaced or consolidated several others. With the school board’s decision, no closures or changes will occur during the 2011-2012 school year. The plan can still be brought up next year.
The board said that the main reason behind not approving the plan at this time was the small window they would have had to go over it.
“The main issue was that we received the plan on Jan. 6 and we would have had to make a decision by March,” said Jane Barnes, vice president of the school board.
“It didn’t give us enough time to really vet these decisions and go out into the community and discuss it. We need to have the time to go over everything and make sure we are making a decision based on the right reasons. It really was an issue of timing.”
The 10 schools that were at risk of closing were Campbell, Glennon Heights, Kullerstrand, Parr, Pleasant View, Red Rocks, Martensen, Stober, Thomson and Zerger.
Six schools would be consolidated under the plan: Colorow and Leawood, Kendrick Lakes and Patterson, and Green Gables and Westgate. Two other schools, Marshdale and Prospect Valley would be replaced.
The plan would also realign school zone boundaries and move some sixth-graders into middle school, changes that Barnes said must not be overlooked as most people focus on the school closures.
“There are a lot of underlying issues with this plan,” Barnes said. “We have to have these conversations before we can go on with this plan.”
The plan is the result of a two-year study conducted by a team of architects and consultants regarding the county’s facilities. According to the study, the district has 154 facilities encompassing a total of 11.2 million square feet. With 80,696 students, that translates to 139 square feet per student.
Mitchell Byars: 303-954-1698 or mbyars@denverpost.com
