BVSD Board of Education · Work session
Work Session
August 25, 2026 · 3:06:31 of video
BVSD staff proposed closing 4 schools and consolidating 6 school programs across Boulder, Broomfield, Lewisville, and Superior for 2027-28.
The BVSD Board held a work session on the Resilient Schools proposal, a district plan to close and consolidate elementary and PK8 schools due to declining enrollment. Staff proposed merging Birch into Cole in Broomfield, converting Monarch to a middle school and El Dorado to an elementary school in Lewisville-Superior, and three separate moves in Boulder involving Douglas, High Peaks, Community Montessori, Mesa, Bear Creek, and Flat Irons. The board took no action on the plan itself, only approving the meeting agenda. Staff said the plan would free up 3 to 4 million dollars a year for smaller class sizes and more staff support, and set a review at the study session on September 8 and possible board action on September 22. Staff also proposed to delay a decision on dual language programs until spring 2027 to gather more community input first.
Agenda and votes
1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
- 1.01Call Meeting to Order and Roll CallThe board president called the meeting to order and the clerk called roll. All seven board members were present.
2. BOARD PROCEDURES
- 2.01Board ProceduresThe board followed standard procedures with a land acknowledgement and mission statement read aloud before business began.
- 2.02Approve Board AgendaThe board approved the meeting agenda by a 7-0 vote.passed 7-0The Board is asked to approve the agenda.Moved by Jason Unger, seconded by Alex MedlerBucher: yesChávez: yesMedler: yesRajpal: yesOtting: yesUnger: yesAweida: yes
3. INFORMATION
- 3.01Resilient Schools ProposalStaff presented the Resilient Schools proposal in full, covering Broomfield, Lewisville-Superior, and Boulder school consolidations, transition support, budget impact, and a plan to delay dual language decisions. The board asked questions but took no action, with further study set for September 8 and possible action on September 22.
4. ADJOURNMENT
- 4.01AdjournmentThe board president thanked staff for the work on the proposal and adjourned the meeting.
Conversations by topic
School closures (Resilient Schools)
Staff proposed merging Birch and Cole Elementary into the Cole building in Broomfield, since Cole has capacity for 540 students versus Birch's 418, and Birch has the lowest resident student count in the region. The combined school would run at 80-88 percent utilization as a three-round school, reducing regional excess capacity from 24 percent to 8 percent.
“We are proposing that Birch and Cole become one school community in the coal building”
Staff proposed closing Monarch's elementary grades to make it a dedicated 6-8 middle school, and closing El Dorado's middle grades to make it a dedicated PK-5 school, combining two undersized middle programs into one at Monarch. Jorge Chavez asked about middle school benefits, and staff explained the plan enables shared CTE pathways with Monarch High School.
“Monarch becomes a middle school. El Dorado becomes PK through 5.”
Staff presented three linked Boulder proposals: close Douglas Elementary and split it among Cole Creek, Eisenhower, and Heatherwood; move High Peaks focus school into the Douglas building and move Community Montessori to the current High Peaks site to colocate with BCSIS; and close Community Montessori's old building. Alex Medler asked about transportation impact from moving High Peaks farther east.
“we are proposing the closure of Douglas Elementary School and dividing the attendance area amongst Cole Creek Elementary, Eisenhower, and Heatherwood”
Staff proposed merging Mesa and Bear Creek into the Bear Creek building, since Mesa has the lowest enrollment in Boulder and Bear Creek has more capacity. Alex Medler asked about wiggle room and how many students would fall outside 1.5-mile walking distance.
“we are recommending that Mesa and Bear Creek become one school in the Bear Creek community”
Staff proposed closing Flat Irons Elementary and splitting its area between Foothill and Whittier, with a bell time change at Whittier from 7:50 to 8:35 to accommodate mountain bus routes. Staff said the community preferred consolidation over redistribution, but Whittier's small cafeteria and old building made full consolidation there infeasible.
“Flat Irons has the lowest enrollment and the lowest number of resident students of all of our Boulder Boulder schools”
Dr. Anderson said the plan would free up 3.5 to 4 million dollars a year for smaller class sizes, on top of 1 million dollars already saved by ending multi-age classrooms, for a total of 5 million dollars in new investment in students. One-time transition costs were estimated at 2.5 to 3 million dollars, offset by capital savings from buildings no longer needing investment.</br>
Staff outlined the transition plan: families whose neighborhood school closes get first-priority open enrollment for 2027-28 only, open enrollment closes December 18 instead of early January, and staff assignments finalize by end of March, about three weeks earlier than normal. Alex Medler argued that families in a focus school that moves should have a right, not just a preference, to return to their original neighborhood school.
“if a neighborhood school is closed... your child would be assigned to a new neighborhood school”
Staff said dual language programs in Boulder and Lafayette need more study before any decision, citing limited Spanish-speaking family input, inconsistent student outcomes, and only 60 percent of dual-language fifth graders continuing into a middle school with dual language courses. Only 50 percent of 2026 graduates who attended a dual-language elementary school earned the state seal of biliteracy.
“we have opportunities for improvement with the seal of biiteracy attainment”
Nicole Rajpal said the district needs a clear timeline for a dual language decision by spring 2027, since delays affect enrollment choices at Boulder and Lafayette bilingual schools that already face staffing and program-consistency problems. Jorge Chávez added there is no true bilingual pathway through high school and asked staff to examine barriers such as transportation and access.
“I am not okay with this taking too much longer. We do have a problem.”