Will your child’s D-11 school close?

November 10, 2008 – 3:11PM
SUE McMILLIN
THE GAZETTE

Nearly 60 percent of Colorado’s school districts have declining enrollment and many are faced with half-empty school buildings that are no longer efficient to operate.

Colorado Springs School District 11 is among them.

Buena Vista Elementary School
1620 W. Bijou St.
Recommended action: Move students to Bristol and Washington elementaries; move Bijou Alternative School into building.
Why: Declining enrollment, school is not handicap accessible, high per-pupil operating costs.
Enrollment: Dipped below 200 last year; projected enrollment for 2016 is about 170.
Capacity: 250
Building: Built 1911; not air conditioned; facility rated fair with an estimated $316,000 in improvements needed.
Special programs: first public school Montessori program in the Pikes Peak region.
Achievement: Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 12

It is one of 103 mostly urban and rural districts that are losing students to schools in new suburban neighborhoods, said Shannon Bingham of Western Demographics Inc. of Boulder.

“The migration from rural to urban/suburban and urban to suburban is widespread,” he said. “It’s happening all over the country. There are hundreds of districts that are closing or considering closing schools.”

In the next 10 years, Bingham projected that D-11 will have 2,600 fewer students – nearly 600 more students than are now in D-11’s largest high school, Doherty.

The annual average operating cost of an elementary school is about $400,000 and a middle school is about $1 million, so the savings for closing half empty buildings and consolidating student populations in one building can be significant.

Bingham was part of a consulting group that presented a School Utilization Study to the D-11 school board and administrators last week that recommended closing four elementary schools, converting two middle schools and one elementary school to kindergarten to 8th grade schools, experimenting with K-2 and 3-5 grade-level schools and converting Wasson High School to an arts specialty program only.

The report – completed in three months – also recommended consolidating most administrative functions in excess space at Wasson, if the arts program concept is adopted, or at a minimum moving administrative offices from rented space into excess space in schools with low enrollment.

On Wednesday, the D-11 board will consider how it wants to proceed with the information and recommendations provided in the report, but several board members have said recently that they believe they must close some schools to preserve money for academic programs. Voters last week rejected a tax increase that would have boosted the operating budget by $21.5 million.

The recommendations for changes hit the south and west sides of the district the hardest because those areas have fewer students, the schools are closer together and the buildings are older, Bingham said.

The report includes data on demographics, test scores, facilities and academic programs. Using that data, the consultants created an evaluation system that resulted in each school getting a composite score. The lower the score, the less efficient the building was deemed to be. Elementary school scores ranged from a low of 6 to a high of 22; middle schools from 9 to 21, and high schools from 11 to 23.

Bingham said the recommendations were based on the score and other issues, including proximity to other schools, transportation, neighborhood issues and the suitability of a building for alternative uses.

Here’s a look at some of the data from the study and District 11 on the schools recommended for closure or a change in grade levels or programming:

Adams Elementary School
2101 Manitoba Drive
Recommended action: Keep school open; move in Hunt students.
Why: Proximity between the two schools allows consolidation; Adams enrollment is higher, it has a lower operating cost per student and the building is in better condition. Enrollment: About 250 students with a slow decline projected until 2016, when the school is expected to have about 200 students.
Capacity: 425 students
Building: Built 1963; partially air conditioned; facility rated fair with an estimated $556,000 in improvements needed.
Special programs: adult education/family literacy; Head Start and preschool; Title VII Native American Indian Program.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 11

Bristol Elementary
890 N. Walnut St.
Recommended action: Keep school open; move in Buena Vista students; consider a consolidation with Washington Elementary to create one K-2 school and one school for grades 3-5.
Why: Proximity to Buena Vista and Washington allows consolidation of three schools into two; Bristol’s building is in good shape and needs less money to improve deficiencies.
Enrollment: Just over 200 with an expected decline by 2016 to about 145 students.
Capacity: 275 students.
Building: Built 1971, air conditioned; facility rated good with an estimated $192,000 in improvements needed.
Special programs: arts focus, including Suzuki Violin program.
Achievement: named a High Performing School in 2007 by the state.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 15

Buena Vista Elementary School
1620 W. Bijou St.
Recommended action: Move students to Bristol and Washington elementaries; move Bijou Alternative School into building.
Why: Declining enrollment, school is not handicap accessible, high per-pupil operating costs.
Enrollment: Dipped below 200 last year; projected enrollment for 2016 is about 170.
Capacity: 250
Building: Built 1911; not air conditioned; facility rated fair with an estimated $316,000 in improvements needed.
Special programs: first public school Montessori program in the Pikes Peak region.
Achievement: Governor’s Distinguished Improvement Award.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 12

Hunt Elementary School
917 E. Moreno Ave.
Recommended action: Move students to Adams and convert building to community center, possibly leasing space to nonprofits or other government agencies.
Why: Declining enrollment; building already houses some community programs and is suitable for adding more.
Enrollment: Dipped below 200 students in 2005 and is gradually declining; projected enrollment for 2016 is 133 students.
Capacity: 500 students
Building: Built 1902; partially air conditioned; facility rated poor with an estimated $1 million in improvements needed.
Special programs: adult education/family literacy; preschool; uniforms required.
Achievement: state award for raising CSAP scores in 2006.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 6 (lowest for elementary schools)

Longfellow Elementary School
3302 Alpine Place
Recommended action: Close; relocate programs.
Why: Declining enrollment; facility is suitable for leasing to nonprofit organizations.
Enrollment: About 190 students this year; projection for 2016 is about 180 students.
Capacity: 450 students
Building: Built 1959; air conditioned; facility rated fair with an estimated $454,000 in improvements needed.
Special programs: Head Start.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 15

Trailblazer Elementary
2015 Wickes Road
Recommended action: Convert to K-8 school.
Why: K-8 schools are proving popular with parents; could attract students from Academy School District 20 because it’s close to district boundary; there’s room in building.
Enrollment: About 330 this year; projected to be around 300 in 2016.
Capacity: 475
Building: Built 1998; air conditioned; facility rated good with an estimated $196,000 in improvements needed.
Special programs: none noted.
Achievement: A John Irwin School of Excellence for five years.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 17

Washington Elementary
924 W. Pikes Peak Ave.
Recommended action: Move in students from Buena Vista; consider a consolidation with Bristol Elementary to create one K-2 school and one for grades 3-5.
Why: Proximity to Buena Vista and Bristol allows consolidation of three schools into two; school is comparable to Buena Vista, but is handicap accessible.
Enrollment: About 250, with a steep decline projected; expected to have about 150 students in 2016.
Capacity: 250
Building: Built 1956; air conditioned; facility rated fair with an estimated $262,000 in improvements needed.
Special programs: Core Knowledge curriculum; district preschool.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 12

Whittier Elementary School
2904 W. Kiowa St.
Recommended action: Close school; move students into K-8 program at West Middle School.
Why: Proximity to West; need to consolidate west side schools; high operating costs at Whittier.
Enrollment: About 190 with a slight decline expected by 2016, when enrollment is projected to be 177.
Capacity: 250
Building: Built in 1901, making it the oldest school building in D-11; not air conditioned; facility rated good with an estimated $103,000 in improvements needed.
Special programs: EAGLES (Exceptional Academic Gifted Learning Experience Site); Title VII Native American Indian Program.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 13

Irving Middle School
1702 N. Murray Blvd.
Recommended action: Convert to K-8 program.
Why: K-8 schools are proving popular with parents; could attract students from Falcon School District 49 to the east.
Enrollment: Declining dramatically; trend expected to continue. The school had 941 students in 2001, 528 now and is projected to have 357 in 2016.
Capacity: 1,377 students (optimum is 1,200).
Building: Built 1964; not air conditioned; facility rated good with an estimated $836,000 in improvements needed.
Special programs: SAIL (Student-Centered Academic Interdisciplinary Lab) magnet; Gateway to Technology magnet.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 15

West Middle School
1920 W. Pikes Peak Ave.
Recommended action: Convert to K-8 program, bringing in students from Whittier Elementary.
Why: K-8 schools are proving popular with parents; could retain students permitting in to Manitou schools; allows consolidation with elementary school.
Enrollment: About 333 students with an anticipated decline to 252 in 2016.
Capacity: 944 students (optimum is 833).
Building: Built 1923; not air conditioned; facility rated fair with an estimated $863,000 in improvements needed.
Special programs: SAIL, Gateway to Technology and NASA Space and Technology Studies programs. Also, the building houses the city’s West Center for Intergenerational Learning.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 13

Emerson-Edison Junior Academy Charter School
4220 E. Pikes Peak Ave.
Recommended action: Revert to a regular district middle school.
Why: The school is undergoing a mandatory restructuring process because it failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress as required by the federal No Child Left Behind act for six years.
Enrollment: 386 students with a projected decline to 246 in 2016.
Capacity: 1,148 students (optimum is 1,013).
Building: Built 1967; air conditioned; facility rated fair with an estimated $1.6 million in improvements needed.
Special programs: none noted.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 9

Wasson High School
2115 Afton Way
Recommended action: Move comprehensive high school programs to Mitchell High School; focus all programs on performing and fine arts; use one wing of the building to consolidate administrative offices, except the offices of information technology.
Why: An enhanced magnet program could attract students from outside the district; Mitchell has excess capacity; would consolidate scattered administrative functions in one place and eliminate the need for the district to lease a building on North El Paso Street across from the main administration building.
Enrollment: 1,120 this year with an expected decline to 708 in 2016.
Capacity: 2,100 students (optimum is 1,989).
Building: Built 1959; not air conditioned; facility rated fair with an estimated $4 million in improvements needed.
Special programs: Arts-focused program, high-tech media wing; Advanced Placement classes; Jr. ROTC/Navy.
Consultant’s evaluation score: 11

The report also provided a list it termed “group two” schools that could be considered for consolidation if further changes are needed. They are: Edison, Pike, Ivywild, Columbia and Jefferson elementary schools and Galileo School of Math and Science (formerly East Middle School).