Members of the Durango School District Board of Education are leaning toward not approving a consolidation of Sunnyside Elementary with Florida Mesa Elementary – at least not for the time being.
The board discussed the proposal – and Sunnyside community members’ passionate opposition at a recent public forum – during their regular monthly meeting Tuesday at the Impact Career Innovation Center.
If the consolidation were to be approved by the board, Sunnyside students and staff members would move to Florida Mesa Elementary School for the 2027-28 school year, then both school populations would transition to the new Three Springs Elementary School in the 2028-29 school year.
Though no official decisions were made at the Tuesday meeting, the board expressed a clear leaning toward not approving the consolidation for the upcoming school year.
“There's just no way I can be convinced to close this school based on the limited financial impact and the major impact that it will have on families out there,” Board President Kristin Smith said.
Smith said she is unconvinced by the $740,000 in savings the district would gain in the consolidation– roughly 1% of the district’s overall budget – and feels the amended bus routes proposed are not adequate.
Some board members said they would consider approving a recommendation to consolidate the small, 100-student school directly with the new Three Springs Elementary School when it’s complete, which would avoid students having to endure an additional transition to Florida Mesa.
“If we're going to vote on something, we should vote on the thing that we'd actually consider, right?” said Vice President Erika Brown. “It sounds like none of us are supportive of the move (to Florida Mesa).”
Smith said student academic performance between the two schools was “not really” mentioned in the district’s recommendation, and advised other board members to consider it as a factor.
Sunnyside students excel in English-language arts, according to recent test data, Smith said, whereas Florida Mesa students tend to do better mathematically, and struggle more with humanities.
Recent Colorado Measures of Academic Success test scores specifically were higher overall for Florida Mesa, but Sunnyside has a better performance rating, Smith said – a metric determined by a range of factors, including attendance.
“So, we’re taking students from Sunnyside who are higher performing in English-language arts, and we’re moving them to a school with students who have a variety of backgrounds and ability levels, who are maybe performing at a lesser rate and a lesser level,” she said. “That’s concerning.”
Superintendent Karen Cheser became emotional while describing the district’s budget struggles and its need to reevaluate operations through recommendations like the proposed consolidation.
“I just want to make sure that (it’s) known that this isn't the mean district bringing this (to the board) because we don't care about Sunnyside, because that is not this,” she said. “This is hard. This is very hard. We don't want to have these conversations. ... It's not like any of us want to close Sunnyside.”
A student board member brought up concerns surrounding what might happen to Sunnyside’s workforce if a consolidation is approved.
“At this point, we would try really hard to make sure every staff member has a position,” Cheser said. “But obviously, we have positions we're not going to need to fill. ... I know that's not enough to say to people. If I put myself in the place of Sunnyside staff, I wouldn't want that. I wouldn't want to think I'm not going to have my same job for sure in a couple of years, and I might have to go somewhere else. I understand that.”
The board discussed adding a special meeting to the schedule in mid-May in order to make an official decision sooner than the board’s next regular meeting May 24.
epond@durangoherald.com
An earlier version of this article included incorrect dates for upcoming Board of Education meetings. The next regular board meeting is May 24, and the board has discussed holding a special meeting in May before then.
