Durango School District Board of Education hit pause this week on deciding whether to consolidate Sunnyside Elementary School with the yet-to-be-built Three Springs Elementary. In doing so, members raised the alarm that other schools may also need to be consolidated to address budget woes.
“We are going to have to make some really difficult decisions – and we will do that – but I want to make sure that we’re doing them holistically, with the whole impact of declining enrollment on all of our schools (considered),” said Board President Kristin Smith. “I actually think we might have to close more than one school, potentially.”
Smith was not the only board member to bring up the possibility of having to close some district schools in the next few years.
“We are going to have to close schools,” said Erika Brown, board vice president. “There is a budget crisis, and we can’t afford to operate the number of schools we have with a fraction of the students that we have left.”
Elementary schools that have had fewer than 300 students for multiple years and utilization below 60% are flagged by the district’s Long Range Planning Committee as candidates for consolidation, board members said. Several schools – not just Sunnyside ‒ already meet one or more of those criteria.
The district initially recommended Sunnyside be consolidated with Florida Mesa Elementary School for the 2027-28 school year. Following pushback from some Sunnyside community members, the recommendation was amended to a potential 2028-29 consolidation with Three Springs Elementary.
Smith said the decision to postpone a decision on Sunnyside is based on the need to gather more data from across the district and consider the district’s wider scale budget struggles, not about “avoiding the decision.”
The board is expected to set a timeline to consider a consolidation at the next regular meeting May 24.
“This is not a crisis about Sunnyside – this is a Durango School District crisis, and that’s part of the message,” said Board Treasurer Rick Petersen “... Nobody feels good about having to shut any school. But the reality is, our funding in our community is not what it was 30 years ago.”
The district expects only about $480,000 to $500,000 in additional state funding next year – an increase board members said is inadequate when rising compensation costs and inflation are considered.
Several board members and Superintendent Karen Cheser said they want to balance hard choices with community needs and concerns.
“In the end, we need to make a decision, and I think we want to balance having a thoughtful process and also not creating any anxiety for our community,” Brown said. “I think it’s a balance of those things.”
epond@durangoherald.com
