Fort Collins
Poudre committee recommends closing nine schools in 2027-28
The board is scheduled to vote Oct. 27. The proposal also includes a consolidation and boundary changes, while the resolution projects enrollment will fall by about 2,500 students by 2031.
A Poudre School District planning committee recommended closing nine schools for the 2027-28 school year. The school board is set to vote on the proposal Oct. 27.
The proposed closures include Beattie Elementary, Blevins Middle School, Irish Elementary Escuela Bilingüe, Johnson Elementary and Putnam Elementary. Livermore Elementary, Red Feather Lakes Elementary, Stove Prairie Elementary and Timnath Elementary are also on the list. Centennial High School and Poudre Community Academy would consolidate. Under a proposed resolution, the closures, consolidation and boundary changes would take effect July 1, 2027.
The board had made “no final decisions” and Oct. 13 was its first opportunity to discuss the proposal, a board member said. After community engagement sessions from Feb. 19 to April 30, the district scheduled five board listening sessions for Oct. 6, 12, 14, 15 and 19. The committee’s presentation says feedback from staff and families at schools recommended for closure or consolidation would be included in the Oct. 27 board packet.
Students at closing schools who attend their new neighborhood school would be registered there automatically, according to the committee’s presentation. Those seeking another school could apply through the November school-choice process. For 2027-28 only, the proposal would give in-district students at closing schools first priority in the school-choice lottery and out-of-district students at closing schools fifth priority. The school-choice application window and first-consideration period is set to run from Nov. 2-6 to Dec. 16.
The proposed resolution projects that the district will serve about 2,500 fewer students by 2031. It puts that drop at roughly 10% of current enrollment. The committee’s presentation estimates recurring annual savings of $7 million to $8 million.
An Irish Elementary statement read to the board said a low-income district student was 1.8 times more likely to attend a school recommended for closure, and a student of color was 1.6 times more likely. A representative of the district’s equity analysis committee said rejecting the recommendations would perpetuate inequities and disparities in student outcomes. A public commenter argued the proposal would split Blevins and Beattie students between two receiving schools, scatter Johnson students among three schools and risk overfilling receiving schools. “Equity is not giving every child a seat in a new building and assuming that's enough,” a Johnson Elementary parent told the board.