If Mountain Middle School officials can’t reach a compromise with city planners, the charter school could be the first in state history to go before the Colorado State Board of Education to make its case for expansion.
The Durango Planning Commission voted to refer the issue to the state board in July after hearing concerns from neighbors about additional traffic and parking problems the school’s expansion could bring to the neighborhood.
Even though a meeting with the Board of Education is planned, both city staff members and school officials say they would like to come to a compromise on the school’s proposal to build an addition on 31st Street.
“It remains our intent to partner with stakeholders to find a resolution,” said Erin Patla, president of Mountain Middle’s board.
City planners met Monday with Mountain Middle School representatives seeking a compromise.
“(Monday) was the first time we laid out specific points of discussion on both sides,” said Phillip Supino, a city planner.
City planners have concerns about an additional 90 students in grades three through five attending classes at the site. The school is currently home to 180 middle-schoolers.
If 270 students enrolled, that would mean about 125 square feet of lot space per student.
By contrast, at St. Columba, another neighborhood school in town, 528 square feet of lot space is available per student, he said.
Shane Voss, Mountain Middle’s head of school, declined to comment on the details of Monday’s conversation. But he said it was positive.
“We had a very productive meeting with the city. I think we’re very close to reaching a compromise,” he said.
Both sides would prefer not to go before the State Board of Education because no precedent exists for the action the state might take.
“We’ve never had a hearing like this before. It is very much a new situation,” said Megan McDermott, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Education.
It is not clear whether the state board would ask the city and school to continue to work on a compromise or come to a definite decision on the issue, Patla said.
If the school moves forward with expansion, either by reaching a compromise or by receiving a go-ahead from the state, the school hopes to break ground in 2016, Patla said.
While the groundbreaking is now later than the school had planned, it does give the school board time to consider new funding opportunities from supporters, including private donations and low-interest loans.
“The way the city has responded to us, really brought forward a lot of people who are huge supporters of our school,” Patla said.
Mountain Middle School is looking to expand enrollment to elementary-school students because Durango School District 9-R does not have room to accept all the young students who live in the county and have an interest in going to school in town.
As a result, Durango School District 9-R Superintendent Dan Snowberger has supported the school’s proposal.
However, housing 90 more elementary students concerns some in the neighborhood because most of those students likely need to be dropped off, and that would make traffic problems worse.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
