GOLDEN, Colo — Parents of JeffCo Public Schools students spoke out at Thursday’s Board of Education meeting against the district’s proposal to close 16 elementary schools and consolidate them into nearby schools.
The district announced the recommendation last month, citing declining enrollment numbers.
District officials said the selected schools were identified based on size, with each having fewer than 220 students or sitting at less than 45% of its capacity and having a nearby school that has the room to absorb its students.
While the topic of school closures was not officially on the board’s meeting agenda, several parents and a student showed up to flood the public comment portion of the meeting with one overarching message — they want the Jeffco school board to reject the district’s proposal when it votes Nov. 10.
A few of the parents said they had worked with a consulting actuary prior to the meeting to study demographic impacts of the proposed closures, and argued the schools being chosen will disproportionately impact minority students based on the findings.
In the video above, hear from some of the parents who spoke out during public comment at Thursday’s meeting.
The district has several more public comment opportunities scheduled before the board is scheduled to vote in November.
