Highlights
- The Comprehensive Planning Committee has recommended criteria to be used for identifying schools for possible consolidation or closure.
- These criteria are being codified in two proposed district policies. The Board will vote on these policies at their May 26 meeting.
- A facilities dashboard has been created and is publicly available on the PSD website. It includes information about enrollment, capacity, utilization, and facility condition.
The Poudre School District is pleased to share an update on the work of the Comprehensive Planning Committee (CPC) and a new resource now available for our community.
Last night at the Board of Education meeting, CPC Co-Chairs Brett Hansen and Dr. Traci Gile presented the committee’s recommended criteria to be used in determining possible school closures and consolidations in the future. As part of this presentation, two new district policies, District Policy FCB and FCB-R, were proposed for discussion and a first reading.
The recommendations presented by the committee and the proposed policies reflect several months of study, community engagement, and collaboration. During the last several months, 957 families provided feedback through in-person and virtual engagement sessions, small group discussions, and focused outreach to underrepresented groups. A district-wide criteria survey drew 7,519 responses in three languages. The community's top priorities for identifying schools to be considered for consolidation or closure were building condition and quality, building utilization, and enrollment projections. When asked what values are most important to maintain during any consolidation, families ranked program offerings, such as art, music, and physical education; continuity of support for students on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and neighborhood proximity as most important.
In addition to the identification criteria (building utilization, building condition and quality, and current and future enrollment), the proposed policies also include implementation criteria focused on traffic and walkability, transportation access, maximizing program offerings, school proximity and continuity of services for students with an IEP. Additionally, the district, in partnership with the Community Efficacy Committee and the District Efficacy Committee, has developed administrative guidelines specific to equity to be referenced throughout any closure or consolidation process.
To support transparency and keep our community informed, we have published a facilities data dashboard on the PSD website. This tool provides school-level data on enrollment, building capacity, utilization, facility condition, and other factors the committee is using in its work.
We have created a short video walkthrough to help you navigate the dashboard and understand the data: https://youtu.be/lCrr7Y0c_Zc
You can access the dashboard and additional information about the Comprehensive Planning Committee's work on the PSD website: https://www.psdschools.org/community/comprehensive-long-range-planning-committee
The graphic below outlines the six-phase timeline guiding this work from community listening through implementation. We are currently wrapping up Phase 2 and anticipate moving into Phase 3 this summer.
The Board of Education will hold a second reading of and vote on the proposed policies at its May 26 meeting. If approved, the Board may then direct the superintendent to follow the process outlined in the policies, including preparing a recommendation for implementing closures and consolidations no sooner than the 2027-28 school year.
As always, community engagement will remain central to this process. We are committed to keeping you informed and ensuring your voice continues to shape this work.