Denver Public Schools Board closing 1 school, 'restarting' 2 others due to lack of enrollment

DENVER -- The Denver Public School Board unanimously approved the closing of one its schools and the restructuring of two others Thursday evening.

Per the decision, Gilpin Montessori School will close at the end of the school year and Amesse Elementary School and Greenlee Elementary School will be restarted, meaning the schools will close and be replaced by a model the district deems more likely to succeed.

The decision was made after Superintendent Tom Boasberg suggested the changes due to lack of enrollment at the schools -- a move some parents did not agree with.

“Honestly, I was shocked, because I had known that it had been failing. In terms of what we're going to do next year? I don't know," said Cassi Clark Ward-Hunt, who’s a parent of Gilpin Elementary. “There's going to be a major transition, and it's a double-edged sword because it's going to harm these kids, but it's also going to harm the neighborhood schools that are absorbing them that have just barely started to get successful themselves."

Boasberg gave the district board a plan that includes a re-start for both Amesse and Greenlee Elementary Schools with a kick start of up to $300,000 in additional funding.

Boasberg said he believes a new, strong leadership team with a focused cultural and instructional plan will bode those students well in the future.