Denver school board members are considering the location of two new schools in southwest Denver under a new policy meant to fairly distribute the “precious resource” of building space.
One of put forth Thursday would place a new middle school charter inside Lincoln High School and represents the latest in the district’s long-held practice of schools sharing buildings. One of the alternatives would have two schools share space in Henry Middle School.
But no matter how many times the district puts more than one school into a building or campus — currently 60 DPS schools share space on 25 campuses — communities resist.
In the case of Lincoln High School, community members, teachers and students and plan more protests Monday to ask the board to let them keep their school building to themselves, citing crowding and fears that the district will eventually close their school.
District officials say Lincoln enrollment is shrinking and will continue to decrease.
“We have more high school options, and stronger high school options for people to choose from,” said Susana Cordova, chief of schools, explaining projections for the available space at Lincoln. “The middle school is actually not shrinking the high school. The high school options in the region are creating the conditions where Lincoln is a smaller school. We are very committed to ensuring that Lincoln continues.”
In 2012, when the district discussed and voted to place a charter school on the same campus as North High School.
Fears about the decline of North High School have faded. The school’s .
In DPS, part of the reason for sharing buildings stems from the district’s attempt to be fair to charter schools and district-run schools.
While the state does not require districts to provide space to charters, DPS often does. A new DPS policy requires that staff focus on criteria such as looking at a school’s performance and enrollment demand when making decisions about placement in a district building.
Neighboring large districts like those in Aurora and Jefferson and Douglas counties do not provide building space for their charter schools.
In Denver, officials say it’s also about stretching resources and adapting old architecture to the design of modern schools.
“The idea was the bigger the better, but as we look today, parents don’t want their kids to go to a 1,400-student middle school,” DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg said.
School board members Thursday still questioned the first recommendations made under the policy and are continuing to review the alternatives.
A board vote for the placements — a possible middle school at Lincoln and a replacement school for Henry — is expected Thursday.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372, yrobles@denverpost.com or @yeseniarobles
