On Thursday, the Denver Public Schools Board of Education voted to close three schools with critically low levels of enrollment. Denver7 Morning Anchor Nicole Brady sat down with DPS Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero to discuss the decision and when the future of 12 other schools will be decided.
Nicole Brady: Dr. Marrero, looking back, do you regret not making a decision to close these schools earlier in the year, considering that we are still seeing largely some of the same arguments from community members this morning?
Dr. Alex Marrero: Regret? No, absolutely not. I knew that we had to make a decision. So, my recommendation has been consistent. When I came on board — I don't know if the community remembers — there were 19 schools on a list. And I needed to wrap my head around the process and the impact so I stopped that process. I reengaged the community and created the declining enrollment advisory committee. I want to thank them because that was the anchor in terms of helping us identify the schools. This is so difficult, not because it was the wrong decision, it's just not easy to do. You saw how emotional it was for everyone yesterday. The reason my team wasn't in tears was because we probably had the tears every evening when we left the community meetings.
NB: Let's talk about the fact that there are other schools that are still on that list of having concerning levels of enrollment. After last night's decision do you have any thoughts on a timeline for when you will next have to look at other school closures or phasing out certain grade levels? Are those talks happening?
AM: Yes, they are internally. But we also have contracted with an outside agency to help us facilitate the longer process. So at the moment, we've identified 12 schools who have historically shown and trend it to have a continuous declining enrollment. However, that can change. I don't want to cause more hysteria, but we have school choice, so we have to wait until October, because that's when we have the October count, to see if those 12 schools have had an influx of students, which is very possible. So we have to wait and see. At the end of this month, I plan to explain the process and it's going to be a longer process. So we can anticipate the communities who may be identified to engage with us for the entire year. So no decision until the end of next academic year. So we have a little bit more of a breathing room, because we have to make sure that we know exactly what we're dealing with. With these three schools, there's a very good chance that some exercise their choice to go to some of these other 12 schools, so we have to just let it play out.
NB: So what I'm hearing is that this time next year, we will not have schools that will be closing at the end of the 2023-24 school year?
AM: That is probable. It's hard to say definitively. There could be a situation in which we have operational closures because enrollment is critically low.
NB: For Fairview Elementary, we’ve heard from the Denver Housing Authority. They believe that the Sun Valley neighborhood is growing, and that there could be enough population there to support keeping an elementary school open. Are there any plans to continue discussions on that? Or do you take issue with their numbers, their figures?
AM: I don't take issue. And I want to say that I really hope that they are accurate because everybody wins. Sun Valley wins, our school is still there, and we can reunite our scholars with their home school. So I really hope that the DHA projections are accurate. The reality is that there's been a whole lot of promise of students returning residents. We've heard the number 900 residents, which will be great for Sun Valley, but school aged children is what we need. And what we've learned is that 44% of those in that community choice elsewhere, so there's no guarantee that those who are returning will choose Fairview. So that's one of the cons of choice, if you will, when it comes to really supporting and uplifting a neighborhood school. So we have to just wait and see. And we're prepared. If that's the case, then maybe we'll change our approach.
NB: Not to give parents false hope, but could Fairview Elementary stay open or reopen then at some point?
AM: At some point, absolutely. It won't be next year. I think the earliest could be a year out. And definitely closer to 2026-2027.
NB: Is DPS making any plans for what to do with the buildings at this point?
AM: Well, it's only one building. So DDS is a shared campus with the Swigert International School. And MSLA has several other schools in that capacity. There's always a need to use extra space. Fairview is the one that has a potentially empty building. But even for next year, we are identifying some programs that we can possibly shift in there. I said yesterday, there will be student activity at Fairview next year.
Denver
Denver's Sun Valley neighborhood prepares for Fairview Elementary closure
NB: I do want to take a little bit of time to ask about the recent effort efforts by East High School students to get engaged with lawmakers with the community about what they see as a concerning problem with violence around the school, perhaps not in the school, but outside the campus as well, involving students. At this point, would DPS be willing to reconsider bringing school resource officers back into campuses? Some students have said it makes them feel safer.
AM: I want to thank our students who organized that incredible event yesterday. Not only was it done professionally, it was moderated at an expert level, so I'm incredibly proud to lead this organization where students can assemble that group of decision makers and even influencers in the city of Denver. There was conversation about SROs. But what I loved yesterday evening is that the conversation went well beyond that. There is some desire from the community. At the same time, I've heard from folks saying that is not the answer. I know our Board of Education will be engaging with Moms Demand Action, and I'm pretty sure that that's going to come up. And I know our board is very responsive when it comes to the community needs. So I would say that there is a possibility that needs to be communicated to the Board of Education. What was exciting about yesterday is that I heard about laws that are being considered, and I hate to say harsher penalties for those who break those laws and how to limit the access to firearms. My part yesterday was really explaining the root cause and perhaps that's the educator in me. What we do have is a great relationship with (Denver Police Department) Chief Thomas. I had it with Chief Pazen, who was his predecessor. And we're excited about PEERS, which is an acronym for police establishing equitable relationships with students, and they are seen as support systems and anchors in the community. But until we address that root cause — students who have access to perhaps an adult's weapon who hasn't been lawfully secured, or in the black market, which we learned yesterday, there's a whole lot of that. Let's address that. Because our hallways aren't scary. Our educators aren't monsters. No, the threat is coming from outside of our school.
