Poudre School District’s Board of Education voted Thursday night to keep Blevins Middle School open after moving to close it two weeks ago. The reversal follows a mistake by a board member who says she accidentally voted to close the school.
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“I think, collectively, we owe Blevins and our district an apology,” Kevin Havelda, the vice- president of the board of education, said. “For, I wouldn’t call it the disarray of the last several weeks, but not having the finality that we all agreed to do for a schedule. Because there are systemic consequences for not making a decision at the time.”
The discussion last night touched on declining enrollment, equity, and how to best use shrinking resources.
“We are the board of directors for the entire district and we have to do what is best for the entire district which is why this was so challenging,” Havelda said. “And I know there wasn’t a single person up here on this dais for the past few weeks who hasn’t agonized over these decisions.”
PSD says its classrooms have 10,000 empty seats, meaning less per-pupil funding from the state. Elementary school enrollment alone is down 18%, although district-sponsored charter schools account for some of that drop.
Under the district’s plan, four schools are still scheduled to close. This includes Beattie, Johnson, Putnam and Irish Escuela Bilingüe elementary schools. The fate of a fifth, Timnath Elementary, is to be determined. Two alternative high schools will be consolidated.
