FORT COLLINS, Colo. — During a special meeting Thursday night, the Poudre School District (PSD) board voted to remove Blevins Middle School from their list of closures.
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This comes after the school board recently voted to close six schools amid declining enrollment.
In a 4-3 vote, the Board decided to keep the middle school open for at least five years. If there is a vote to close the school, the closure would take place the following school year, meaning the earliest possible closure would go into effect during the 2032-2033 school year.
The school will also receive up to $250,000 for the next two school years for marketing efforts to increase enrollment and staffing needs. The money will come from the $4 million allocated to small school support and programming that voters approved in the 2024 Debt-Free Mill Levy.
A new advisory committee made up of community members and staff will also be created after this vote. The committee will meet with district staff once every two months during the five-year moratorium for support to further the school’s objectives.
Board member Kevin Havelda brought forth these changes referring to them as “mandatory requirements”.
“Keeping Blevins open tonight without any measurable support mechanisms or commitment of resources from the district is a death sentence and I don't believe that that is fair or appropriate,” said Havelda during the Nov. 12 special meeting.
Havelda also acknowledged that because of a delay in vote regarding the future of the school, the community continues to “feel the brunt of the district’s decision or lack thereof”.
“These three requirements sitting here tonight are what I believe to be necessary or appropriate if we want to be equitable for this school,” he added.
Watch below: Poudre School District approves plan to close six schools, consolidate others:
Havelda calling the new advisory committee “essential” to Thursday night’s vote to promote the districts commitment to shared decision making.
“Having community and staff come together to talk about what this school is experiencing, what it needs, how things are going, if we need enrollment trends…but then having that shared decision making with individuals from the district both is transparent and keeps both sides accountable so that it’s moving towards a defined outcome or goal,” he explained.
The board voted on two items, one being a decision on the "mandatory requirements" if the school were to stay open presented by Havelda, which passed 5-2. The other vote decided whether to remove Blevins Middle School from the closure list which passed 4-3.
Karla Baise, Dr. Ozlem Gurkan and Jessica Zamora were the three board members who voted no to keeping the school open.
After the vote, Dr. Gurkan shared her reasoning saying, “Blevins is an amazing school with so much potential, for me the worry is the enrollment".
However, with the board making the decision to keep the school open, Dr. Gurkan says she will do “everything in my power” to support the school so the enrollment recovers and can become a “model school not just for northern Colorado, not just for PSD, but for the entire state with the project-based learning”.
Earlier this month, the board decided to revisit its October school closure and consolidation vote.
“We have an opportunity to make a different decision, not because financial challenges have disappeared, and not because enrollment numbers are unimportant, but because responsible governance requires us to consider the full picture, including what our decisions set in motion,” PSD board member Dr. Coronda Ziegler said during the November 3rd meeting.
Dr. Ziegler had also argued Blevins deserved another look, pointing to the school’s strategic plan, concerns about enrollment projections and the potential long-term effects of other school closures and boundary changes.
“I believe Blevins deserves consideration not only for the challenges it may face today, but for the work that's already underway and the role that it can continue to play in our district. As one community commenter stated tonight, we need to reconsider, revisit, and repair. This is an opportunity to do so,” Dr. Ziegler said.
Watch below: Poudre School District Board votes to close or consolidate schools:
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