The Durango Herald recently reported that 9-R may need to consolidate even more schools beyond Sunnyside and Florida Mesa. The district keeps pointing to declining enrollment and shrinking budgets but refuses to confront a deeper reality: When a school system turns away from the values that once grounded it, the consequences are exactly what we are seeing now. As Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” That truth applies to education as much as anything else.
Over the past decade, Durango School District has steadily replaced moral grounding with DEI frameworks, identity-based instruction and political activism. Instead of emphasizing responsibility and academic excellence, the district has elevated ideology as a guiding principle. Critical-race-theory-influenced training, political symbolism in classrooms and identity-centered lessons – even in elementary grades – have become increasingly common. Parents see it. Students feel it. And families are leaving because of it.
State enrollment reports show DSD has lost hundreds of students over the past decade, with several years declining between 3% and 5%. Meanwhile, homeschooling in Colorado has increased by more than 30% since 2020, and charter school enrollment continues to rise.
If DSD wants to grow again, it must return to strong academics, rebuild trust and restore the values that once held schools together.
Emily Horvath
Hesperus
