A newly formed parents group sued Denver Public Schools this week in an effort to stop the closure of seven schools at the end of the academic year, saying their children will be harmed if the district moves forward with its plan.
The group, Mamas de DPS LLC, describes itself as a district watchdog that is a public interest limited liability company focused on quality, equality and accessibility of public education. The names of specific members are not identified in the lawsuit, and one of the members told The Denver Post she and others want to remain anonymous.
Mamas de DPS LLC registered with the Colorado Secretary of State on Dec. 12.
“As Denver public school parents, they and their children face personal, direct and imminent harm if DPS is permitted to move forward with its 2024 school closure agenda,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint, filed Thursday night in Denver District Court, is asking a judge to stop the closures and order a consultant hired by DPS during the closure process to pay damages to the plaintiffs “that will deter his future misconduct.”
It names the district, Superintendent Alex Marrero, the Board of Education and its seven members, and the education consultant as defendants.
DPS spokesman Scott Pribble on Friday said the district typically does not comment on litigation.
The lawsuit accuses Marrero and the district of using flawed data and inadequate research to decided whether the district needs to close schools and which ones should be shuttered. It also accuses the superintendent of failing to engage the community in discussions about school closures.
But the lawsuit also attacks the overall structure of Denver Public Schools and its system of charter schools and school choice, saying too many people are profiting off public education money. The lawsuit alleges the system is structured in racism and that the school closures are part of an overall strategy to destroy Denver’s public schools.
By operating a “portfolio of schools” that include charter schools, the district is relinquishing control of educational instruction, and the plan to shutter schools is eroding the mandate in the Colorado Constitution, the lawsuit states.
The 142-page lawsuit quotes Milton Friedman, whom the Cato Institute describes as the “father of the modern school choice movement, in its opening.
Marrero worked with Ben Kleban, an education consultant based in Washington and a former New Orleans charter school founder and administrator, to determine which schools should be closed or restructured, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says Kleban “engineers public school closures in order to facilitate private market profiteering from public monies,” and that he and Marrero were so focused on that goal that they ignored key rules that govern the school district.
Efforts to reach Kleban on Friday were unsuccessful.
The district’s Board of Education voted in November to close seven schools and reduce the number of grades at three others at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. The move was recommended by Marrero because the district has reported declining enrollment for years and has lost funding based on enrollment numbers.
Marrero and other district officials blamed declining birth rates along with unaffordable housing in Denver for the declining enrollment. The closures are expected to save $6.6 million.
More than 88,000 students were enrolled in DPS schools last academic year, a 4% drop over the districtap enrollment peak five years ago. DPS reports it has lost tens of millions of dollars annually in per-pupil funding from the state as enrollment has fallen.
The school board voted unanimously to close five elementary schools — Castro, Columbian, Palmer, Schmitt and the International Academy of Denver at Harrington — as well as West Middle School and the Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design, a high school.
DCIS Baker 6-12, Dora Moore ECE-8 School and Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy will have fewer grades and fewer children enrolled.
Marrero also proposed closing 10 schools in 2022 because of declining enrollment, but the board resisted under intense pressure from parents to keep schools open, and ultimately voted to close three. This time, board members said they had no choice because of the district’s financial position.
