DON’T CLOSE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS.
BVSD leadership has proposed a sweeping restructuring that would close or consolidate elementary schools, relocate programs, and affect families across 16 schools. The Board of Education has the power to say NO on September 22.
Important: BVSD has not announced that Flatirons or the other properties will be sold to developers. BVSD policy does allow the Board to sell or lease district real estate, and decisions about vacated buildings have not yet been made. That is exactly why the community should demand binding protections now.
WHAT WAS ANNOUNCED AUGUST 25
elementary schools proposed for outright closure: Flatirons, Douglass, Mesa and Birch (Mesa/Birch via consolidation).
schools affected across closures, consolidations, relocations and grade reconfiguration, according to local reporting.
estimated annual savings — while facility modifications could cost up to $10 million upfront.
The Board votes September 22; changes would begin in 2027–28.
THE QUESTION THE BOARD MUST ANSWER
Is permanently dismantling neighborhood-school communities the best answer to a funding and enrollment problem — or simply the fastest one?
Demand the alternatives first.
Before an irreversible closure vote, require a public, side-by-side analysis of temporary capacity reductions, boundary changes, program expansion, shared services, magnet/focus programs, leasing rather than selling facilities — and, above all, a serious plan to win more state funding per student.
Colorado can choose to fund schools better.
For 2026–27, Colorado set statewide base per-pupil funding at $8,900.40. That number is not a law of nature. It is a policy choice made through the state budget and school-finance formula. Colorado’s statewide school-finance program exceeds $10.17 billion, and lawmakers have already demonstrated that they can change the formula and add funding. The question is what Colorado chooses to prioritize.
Our response to inadequate funding should be to demand more funding — not permanently dismantle neighborhood schools. BVSD’s elected leaders should be organizing parents, joining with other districts, lobbying legislators and the governor, and making higher per-student funding a public political priority.
Count the community cost.
A school is not just a utilization percentage. Closures can mean longer trips for young children, disrupted peer and teacher relationships, less walkability, and the loss of a neighborhood institution that is extraordinarily difficult to recreate later.
Protect public land.
If a school building is temporarily underused, that does not mean the land has lost its public value. Demand a commitment that no affected campus will be sold while enrollment assumptions, housing changes and long-term community needs remain uncertain.
THE 7 PEOPLE WHO DECIDE
These are elected public officials. Contact them respectfully, directly and repeatedly. Ask each member to state publicly how they will vote and what alternatives they demanded before considering permanent closures.
Nicole Rajpal
Alex Medler
Jason Unger
Lalenia Quinlan Aweida
Deann Bucher
Ana Temu Otting
Jorge Chávez
WHAT TO SAY
Subject: Vote NO on permanent BVSD school closures
Dear BVSD Board,
I am asking you to vote NO on September 22 on the proposed permanent school closures.
Declining enrollment and budget pressure are real. But permanently closing neighborhood schools is an irreversible response to a funding problem that can be changed. Colorado sets the school-finance formula. State leaders can choose to put more dollars behind each child, and BVSD’s elected leaders should be leading that fight — organizing families, building a coalition with other districts, and demanding substantially stronger and sustainable per-student funding before dismantling neighborhood schools.
Neighborhood schools are public infrastructure. They create walkable communities, continuity for young children, relationships among families and educators, and capacity for the future. Those costs do not disappear because they are difficult to put into a spreadsheet.
Please vote NO on permanent closures, publish the alternatives and assumptions, and use the power of this district and this community to demand more funding per child from the State of Colorado. We should fight to fund our schools before we agree to close them.
Vote NO on September 22.
SOURCES / RECEIPTS
This page is intentionally built around verifiable public records. Primary sources: BVSD’s Aug. 25 Resilient Schools proposal; BVSD Board roster and contact information; BVSD real-property policy FM; Colorado Department of Education school-finance data; Colorado General Assembly school-finance legislation. Reporting context: Boulder Reporting Lab and Axios Boulder, Aug. 25–26, 2026.
BVSD Resilient Schools · Meet the Board · Real-property policy