CLOSURES

FROM PAGE 1 and are not being replaced,” Kane said. ere are 18 elementary schools in the Highlands Ranch area, while only seven elementary schools serve Sedalia, Sterling Ranch, the Canyons, Castle Pines, Roxborough Park and Ridgegate East.

With those numbers in mind, Kane said the district is beginning to analyze where it might be appropriate to combine elementary schools, with a timeline of consolidation in 2026.

“We know that we have to do this with our community, not to our community, and we have to do it not in a huge hurry,” Kane said. “Really what we’d be looking at is marrying two elementary schools into one for the long-term.”

Decisions about how to use leftover buildings will come after consolidations are nalized, Kane said. Potential uses included special education programming, o ce space, professional development space or career and technical education.

Kane said some of the concerns with under-enrolled schools are a lack of academic, extracurricular and special education programming, as well as combined classrooms and sta ng challenges.

Growth still happening

Shavon Caldwell, district planning manager, said the enrollment projections showed an overall decline, but noted pockets of growth and over- crowding still exist because neighborhoods within the district that don’t currently have schools are now being being developed.

According to Shannon Bingham from Western Demographics, Crystal Valley Ranch, Sterling Ranch and the Canyons all experienced a baby boom last year.

“All of these areas that have a threeor ve-mile radius where there are no schools, we’re seeing the e ects of the new housing that’s coming online in those areas,” Bingham said.

To meet demand in the growing areas of the district, the district will need voters to approve a bond, Kane said. If voters approve a bond in 2023, the soonest the district could open new schools would be 2026.

Currently, to deal with over ow issues, the district has bused students to existing schools and changed school boundaries, but Kane said those strategies are becoming more di cult.

“Right-sizing our elementary schools through the method of busing children to other geographic regions is really challenging and we haven’t historically done that in Douglas County,” she said. “It’s very reasonable for families moving into Douglas County to expect a community elementary school to be in the vicinity.” e school board directed sta to move forward with creating a detailed timeline and engagement plan for both growth and decline in the north planning area.

Overcrowded schools face issues with not having enough space for special education programming, sta challenges, large class sizes and mobile classrooms.

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Keeping Your County Healthy…

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