School board considers closing four Jeffco schools

On Thursday, Jan. 14, members of the Jefferson County Board of Education will be voting on motions that could close four Jeffco schools; new to the closure list is Wheat Ridge Middle School.  The board met in a special meeting on Saturday, Jan. 9, to consider options developed by the Facilities Usage Committee – a panel made up of Jeffco citizens and district employees that met for eight months in 2009.  The committee recommended eight schools for closure – the board cut the list down to four:  O’Connell Middle, Wheat Ridge Middle, Pleasant View Elementary and Arvada Middle or Russell Elementary. The preliminary plan proposed during the board's meeting on Saturday would have students from Wheat Ridge Middle School going to a newly created 7-12 campus at Jefferson High School.

“We are trying to address a very real concern of the district and that is too much capacity,” said board president, Dave Thomas.  “Many of our middle schools are at 60 percent capacity or less and we just can’t ignore that fact.  However, capacity is just one factor we are taking a look at in making these very difficult decisions.”

School board members are also weighing the impact of changes on the community, educational opportunities for students, the financial feasibility of the options, and whether the proposed changes could be implemented in a reasonable amount of time.

People wishing to give feedback on the proposed options can submit comments at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S2FX6FX.

The board meeting begins at 6 p.m. on Thursday; those wishing to speak may begin signing up at 3 p.m., on the 5th floor of the Education Center, 1829 Denver West Drive, Golden.