Denver Public Schools pauses school closures despite predicted enrollment drops

Even with an anticipated 6,000 fewer children by 2029 – an 8% decrease in the number of students – Denver Public Schools (DPS) has voted to stop school closures for the next four years. 

“We just closed seven and redesigned three,” said the district’s board president Carrie Olson in a report by the local NBC affiliate. “So it’s our hope that we’ve bought three to five years of not having to close any schools.” 

The board can still propose closures during this timeframe if unexpected emergencies or substantial shifts take place in funding or student enrollment, according to the news article. 

“We brought in so many students, but then many left to try and find better places to live,” Olson said of the thousands of students who were new to the area. “Housing is always a challenge. But it has helped.” 

The city is experiencing a fall in birth rates as well as former residents migrating elsewhere, according to Olson. 

“We are not thinking about closing any schools in the near future. But as of right now, we are not predicted to have this precipitous drop and feel the full effects until 2030.” 

‘These staffing decisions were not made lightly’ 

As previously reported by The Lion, the district has cut 38 positions to save an estimated $5 million annually, starting with the 2025-26 school year. 

“These staffing decisions were not made lightly, and I deeply recognize the personal and professional challenges these changes bring,” wrote Superintendent Alex Marrero. “To those departing DPS as part of this restructure, thank you for your dedicated service to our students and the Denver community.” 

The district, which enrolled more than 87,000 students in the 2024-25 academic year, has spent millions in recent years to accommodate services for migrants. 

“At $14,100 in instruction support per student, the number of students the Denver metro school districts absorbed from the five countries will cost $98 million,” noted a report by the Colorado-based Common Sense Institute. 

Overall, the institute estimates combined costs for migrants since December 2022 – including city, education and healthcare expenses – to range between $216 million to $340 million. 

“As recorded by the City of Denver’s contracts with non-profit organizations, state government, and federal government, the migrants arriving in the city have been met with an abundance of resources that have further catalyzed the crises being faced by Denver metro school districts and hospitals.” 

Andrew Huber, the district’s executive director of enrollment and campus planning, highlighted the transient nature of these thousands of “new to country” students during the board meeting. 

“Of the new arrivals who we got last school year,” he said, “we have retained 60% of them.”