Jan. 24, 2023
Dear Poudre School District community:
Here is the latest update about PSD’s long-range planning work, which involves the placement of educational programs, boundary modifications and, likely, school consolidations to address declining student enrollment. This comes after a presentation to the PSD Board of Education at its Jan. 23 meeting.
Who is doing what?
Facilities Planning Steering Committee: Leads this work
Evaluate data and information and engages the community to develop two to three scenarios for change to address the challenges the district faces
Make a recommendation to the Board of Education in June 2024
PSD announces members publicly on Jan. 19. They are volunteers.
Guided by Colorado State University’s Institute for the Built Environment, an outside facilitator hired by PSD
PSD Staff and Superintendent: Participate by invitation only
Board of Education: Decision makers
What is the committee’s charge?
Begin meeting in February 2024. It is starting with a “blank slate.” This means that that committee is not required to move forward with the scenario initially presented by the district in fall 2023.
Develop two to three scenarios and present these to the PSD Board of Education. The scenarios must address:
Modification to school attendance areas, including consolidation of schools,
Buildings in which PSD should not invest more capital dollars, and
The placement of educational programs.
What is guiding the committee’s work?
At Tuesday’s meeting, the Board of Education established principles to frame the committee’s work, as it develops recommendations.
Start discussion about consolidation with school buildings that have building utilization around 60-70%.
Aim for enrollment optimization to minimize the budget size factor. On average, that is about 400 students in an elementary school and 700 students in a middle school, with an average class size of 25. These enrollment totals do not fit all schools or programs.
Maximize access for all students to schools and academic programs. Consider physical access and proximity to other schools, geographic location, ADA, and curricular demand.
Maximize program continuity K-12 in terms of school location and at each level.
Consider data about current and previous school waitlists and be curious about why those waitlists exist. Keep in mind, the reasons a family chooses a school are vast and varied. Consider whether there is potential for program expansion.
Consider all creative grade configurations (i.e. K-6, K-8 or other school models) to address program demand, create greater building efficiency, and address growing enrollment on the east side of the district.
Using data from the McKinstry studies, PSD, and other sources, consider all aspects and costs associated with continued use of current district facilities (i.e. efficiency score, ADA compliance, overall condition, operations and maintenance needs, cost to install air conditioning, early childhood, flexibility of space inside building).
Consider how existing schools, particularly on the west side of the district, can be used in a way that increases their building utilization.
Consider how boundary modifications could address growing enrollment on the east side of the district, now and in the next five years in lieu of constructing new facilities, which takes time and requires passage of a ballot measure. Ballot measures are outside the scope of this committee.
Keeping you informed: It is vitally important to provide consistent and transparent communication throughout the long-range-planning process. To that end, our community can expect:
Recordings of presentations made at school board meetings. Watch the Jan. 23 presentation on YouTube at the following link: https://youtu.be/9zWxrfyJNVA
Written updates following each meeting of the Facilities Planning Steering Committee, leading up to and following the school board’s decision
Periodic updates to data and information on the Long-Range Planning web section on the PSD website at: www.psdschools.org/long-range-planning
Have questions? Email longrangeplanning@psdschools.org.
Thank you for your continued partnership as we work together to make necessary changes for the long-term sustainability and vitality of our district.
Sincerely,
Poudre School District
