TIMNATH, Colo. — With a pivotal school board vote just days away, the mayor of Timnath is asking Poudre School District for something he believes could change the future of the town’s elementary school: one more year.
Timnath Elementary School is one of nine schools recommended for closure as the district confronts declining enrollment and underused buildings. The broader proposal is estimated to save the district about $8 million a year.
But Mayor Robert Axmacher argues Timnath elementary presents a very different problem: The school isn’t struggling to fill classrooms.
“Certainly, President Zamora, Vice President Havelda and the other directors have a challenging and heartbreaking task to address the declining enrollment districtwide,” Axmacher told Denver7's Jaclyn Allen in an interview Sunday. “But Timnath absolutely is unique on the proposed closure list.”
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The mayor provided Denver7 with school data showing 434 K-5 students are currently enrolled, compared with a 2026-27 projection of 415. Another 30 children are enrolled in early childhood programs, bringing the total enrollment to 464. The document says six new students had enrolled in the previous 10 days.
The same school-provided report points to strong academic performance. Timnath elementary received Colorado’s highest school plan category on its 2026 one-year and 2024-26 three-year School Performance Framework reports.
Its overall 2026 score was 73.8 out of 100. The report also lists literacy achievement in the 88th percentile and says 8% of K-3 students finished the 2025-26 school year at or above grade level on DIBELS, compared with 74% districtwide.
The complication is the building itself.
The school’s own report acknowledges the building needs investment.
Axmacher said the historic school was first constructed in 1919 and believes its condition, rather than enrollment, is driving the recommendation to close it.
Axmacher is asking the school board to put that decision on hold for at least a year while Timnath, PSD, parents and community members search for another solution.
“It might be to look at what it takes to keep that school operating, or it might be to look at what does it take to replace the school,” Axmacher said.
How much is Timnath willing to spend?
The town has put at least one concrete offer on the table.
Axmacher has proposed that Timnath pay for an independent consultant to help evaluate alternatives to permanently closing the school and examine existing and potential future funding sources.
The town council is expected to consider setting aside funding for that work during its Tuesday budget work session.
But when asked whether Timnath itself has enough money available to repair the school, Axmacher acknowledged a significant hurdle.
“Can I write a check right now to completely repair the school up to the level that the district says it needs? No,” Axmacher said. “There’s not an existing funding stream to do that.”
He did not rule out a future town contribution, saying he wants the proposed one-year process to examine what the town, school and other funding sources potentially could provide.
Axmacher also argues the alternative has a cost of its own.
“The dollar cost is minimal, but the cost of closing the school is unimaginable,” he said. “Before the district takes that step, we’re just asking them to collaborate with us, explore all the options and do what we’ve always done, which is work together for the benefit of our students.”
More than 400 students could be affected
Earlier this month, the Timnath Town Council formally adopted a resolution opposing the closure.
The resolution says closing Timnath elementary would displace more than 400 elementary students, representing nearly 40% of the town’s school-aged children. It also argues a closure could mean longer travel distances for students and the loss of a neighborhood school that has long been part of the community.
Axmacher said the district’s proposal would send students from Timnath elementary to two other schools.
“By closing the elementary school, it really just does leave a hole in the heart of the city,” Axmacher said.
Parents who previously spoke with Denver7 raised similar concerns. Kristen Tatti said Timnath elementary is about 95% full and called its inclusion on the closure list “very shocking.”
Parents have also questioned how Timnath elementary’s building ended up becoming part of the case for closure. They point to roughly $2 million that had previously been set aside for improvements to the school but say that work was never completed.
Axmacher told Denver7 he shares their frustration, noting Timnath voters supported additional funding for school repairs with the understanding that their aging elementary school could benefit.
“It is frustrating that those repairs were never done. But ultimately, I don't want to focus on the past. I want to focus on the future,” he said.
Axmacher said he recognizes the difficult districtwide problem the board is trying to solve. But he wants the district to give Timnath more time before making an irreversible decision.
“I believe that if we work together, we can find a solution that benefits the town, benefits the school district and, most importantly, benefits the students,” he said.
The Poudre School District Board of Education is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the proposed closure plan. If approved, the changes would take effect at the beginning of the 2027-28 school year.
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