A continued decline in student enrollment has caused Pueblo School District 60 school buildings to be significantly underused, causing the district to reassess how to best allocate its resources.
The district is seeking community feedback as part of that process through a series of six “brainstorming sessions,” the first two of which were held March 3-4.
With Pueblo D60 having seen a nearly 13.5% decrease in enrollment over the past 10 years and its school buildings currently at only 66% of total capacity on average, the district is weighing significant changes to “reimagine its schools” as it “rightsizes to its current and projected enrollment,” according to a Pueblo D60 news release.
The process will consider all schools that serve students in grades pre-school through eighth grade, as well as Pueblo D60’s alternative learning options. The considerations do not apply to any of the district’s four high schools.
Potential changes could include consolidating or closing schools, co-locating schools into a single facility, merging or relocating programs, and redesigning schools and existing grade level structures, “all with the intent to enhance educational opportunities and programs for our district’s students,” district officials said in the release.
The district has already begun hosting forums to collect community feedback, which will inform the final recommendation the district plans to present to the Pueblo D60 Board of Education in early October.
“For these sessions, all families, staff, and community members are invited to attend and provide grassroots input on potential ideas for consideration,” district officials said in the release.
After receiving board approval, the district will begin a planning and implementation phase, with changes slated to take effect during the 2026-2027 school year.
Why are the changes needed?
District officials say the underutilization of school buildings is spreading thin Pueblo D60’s limited resources “instead of allowing the district to pool resources to better serve students.”
Some aging school buildings also may not be configured to provide the instructional programs the district feels best serve students.
Pueblo D60 has limited funds to maintain its aging and underutilized buildings, “which directly impacts the district’s ability to use available resources to prioritize increased pay and benefits in order to attract and retain the highest quality staff,” according to an overview of the rightsizing efforts on the district’s website.
The budgetary implications of declining enrollment are also compounded by a lack of predictable revenue. The state of Colorado faces an estimated budget shortfall of $1.2 billion, according to the Colorado Sun, and is subsequently weighing substantial cuts to K-12 education funding.
Pueblo D60 “rightsizing” to its current and projected enrollment will allow the district to “better serve its students and community far into the future, fulfilling the district’s vision of becoming a high-performing destination district that inspires community confidence,” according to the release.
When are the next brainstorming sessions?
Here are the remaining brainstorming sessions being hosted by the district:
- March 10, 5:30-7 p.m., at Pueblo South High School, 1801 Hollywood Drive: Group 3 — South Park, Highland Park, Beulah Heights
- March 12, 5:30-7 p.m., at Pueblo South High School, 1801 Hollywood Drive: Group 4 — D60 Online, Dutch Clark Digital/Paragon, Goodnight, Sunset Park, Pueblo Academy of Arts
- March 17, 5:30-7 p.m., at East High School, 1521 Constitution Road: Group 5 — Risley, Bradford, Park View, Fountain, Baca
- March 18, 5:30-7 p.m., at Centennial High School, 2525 Mountview Drive: Group 6 — Irving, Nettie S. Freed, Morton
Feedback on the rightsizing process can also be submitted to the district online by visiting pueblod60.org/overview and clicking the link for the Rightsizing Community Feedback Survey.
Chieftain Editor Zach Hillstrom can be reached at zhillstrom@gannett.com or on X, at @ZachHillstrom. Support local news; subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.