Parents at Summit Cove Elementary are urging Summit School District to pump the brakes on a plan that might close their school, and up to one more, as the district combats rising costs and shrinking enrollment.
A group known as the Cove Coalition on Monday sent the district a letter. In it the coalition calls out the district for a “dearth of public engagement” and a “deeply flawed survey” asking parents what schools should close. The letter implies the district had already made its decision.
Summit Schools Superintendent Dr. Tony Byrd says that is not true.
“The letter from Summit Cove (Coalition) seemed to assume that we were going to make a decision last night,” Byrd tells Krystal 93. “That’s not the case.”
At this time, there are no plans to close a school in the next year. Byrd tells us it “takes a lot of energy and time to move a school,” saying the district needs more input first.
The coalition believes Summit Cove should not even be on that list, which includes Frisco and Breckenridge elementaries. Members cite the district’s own enrollment forecast. They say it predicts growth at Summit Cove in the next five years.
Byrd denies this enrollment prediction. He’s not sure where the Coalition found it. But he confirms yes, the district will close at least one school in coming years. He understands why this makes parents nervous.
“If somebody were saying to me, ‘Hey, we are considering in conversations the potential for consolidating your school with another school and maybe your school wouldn’t be there,’ I understand why parents would be super concerned,” Byrd says.
Closures incoming
At least one Summit County school will close in coming years, but which school and when will not be decided for months.
For several years now, Breckenridge El has been the top candidate. It is the oldest school in the district with the second-smallest enrollment behind Frisco El.
A school bond in 2024 failed when the district asked for nearly $195 million to rebuild Breck El, along with money to build teacher housing, combine two high schools and more.
Summit is not alone in the tricky business of consolidation. School districts statewide are closing schools to save money and better serve students. Denver Public Schools alone closed 7 schools last year, Rocky Mountain PBS reports. Another report from Sky-Hi News shows schools statewide have lost upwards of 10,000 students this year.