If you’ve seen any of the presentations to the Board of Education over the past 2 1/2 years (11 plus a few more in the community), you know that facility needs were ignored. Those are the very buildings we drop our children off to learn in every morning.
Tonight the Board will hold a Study Session starting at 5:30pm and the Facility Master Plan is on the agenda again. It’s time to start having some serious conversations about the kind of schools we want for our children.
Just a few items to note – the median age of our buildings is 45 years. Anyone who spends time in our schools can tell you a long list of needs, some critical.
- The district is committed to protecting their safety and security, and a review of the facilities has identified high priority safety and security needs at our schools.
- The average school building in Jefferson County is 45 years old. Many of the heating and cooling systems, boilers, and plumbing are dated and inefficient. (The district could save tens of thousands of dollars on utility bills if we make investments in upgrading to more efficient systems.)
- Every single school in the district has some repair need, with many of them facing critical ones like leaky roofs, faulty wiring, out‐dated fire alarms, and other basic needs. Funding approved by voters in 2012 fixed the most urgent needs on time and within budget, but state cuts has caused a growing repair backlog.
Now, let’s take a look at the impacts to your school and what the staff recommendations are to fix the issues. Scroll to see the list for your school/articulation area.
Alameda
Arvada
Arvada West
Bear Creek
Chatfield
Columbine
Conifer
Dakota Ridge
Evergreen
Golden
Green Mountain
Jefferson
Lakewood
Pomona
Ralston Valley
Standley Lake
Wheat Ridge
Options
District Wide
If you’re at a school that’s proposed to be closed or may be looking at a boundary change, it’s critical that you be involved in the process and tell your community!
The following documents are available for your review and we are also providing some summary notes in the event you aren’t able to review the 99 page Facility Master Plan. All text in italic are taken from these documents:
PRESENTATION Facility Master Plan (FMP) (1)
Jeffco Public Schools is the second largest school district in the State of Colorado in terms of student attendance. The district educates a little under 10% of all students attending public schools in the state.
The district has:
- 12 Million Square Feet of Facilities
- 3,100 Acres of Land
- 169 Campuses with 381 Permanent Buildings
- 327 Modular Buildings and 12 Cottage Buildings
- Average Age 40 years; Median Age 44 years
- Average Facility Condition Index 20.4%
- Replacement Value is $2.7 billion
- Annual Maintenance & Operation Budget $51M
- Annual Capital Investment $21M
Challenges and Needs
Enrollment Challenges and Trends
Enrollment varies depending upon location, neighborhood demographics, student/parent choice, intangible and other factors. An Enrollment Projections Report that analyzes future growth and reviews the past, by articulation area, is published annually by the Facilities Department and available to the public. The statistical information utilized in this Master Plan is developed from this annual Enrollment Projections Report.
Current trends indicate that the north and northwest areas are seeing significant growth due to residential development. Central area growth is stable-to-increasing. This area is impacted by socio-economic factors, household mobility, multi-generational families, and affordable housing. West central growth is increasing due to residential development.
The south area is stable-to-declining, with pockets of growth; the area is very dependent upon residential turnover and affordable housing for younger families. The west area is stable with some growth.
Capacity and Enrollment Summary by Area
West Articulation Areas
Conifer – Stable/Growing
West Jefferson ES – Over-Enrolled
Balance of Facilities – Under-Utilized
Evergreen – Stable/Growing
Parmalee ES – Over-enrolled
Bergen Valley ES – Significantly Under-Utilized
Balance of Facilities – Under-Utilized
South Articulation Areas
Bear Creek – Declining
Red Rocks ES, Very High ‘Choice In’
Westgate ES, Demographic/Neighborhood Changes
Bear Creek K8, Very High ‘Choice In’
Chatfield – Stable
Coronado ES, High ‘Choice In’
Shaffer ES, Stony Creek ES, Neighborhood, Low ‘Choice In’
Deer Creek MS, Very Low Utilization
Columbine – Stable/Declining
Dutch Creek ES, High ‘Choice Out’, Demographics
Normandy ES, High ‘Choice In’
Dakota Ridge – Stable/Declining
Powderhorn ES, Mt. Carbon ES, Westridge ES – High Utilization
Summit Ridge, Approaching Capacity
Colorow ES, Significantly Under Utilized
Central Articulation Areas
Alameda – Stable, Better Utilization
Alameda HS 7-12 – Conversion
Stein ES Move to O’Connell reopen 2017, Demographic Changes, High Mobility
Arvada – Declining
Arvada HS – High ‘Choice Out’
Foster ES, Hackberry Hill ES, Arvada K8 – Continued Growth
North Arvada MS – Declining
Jefferson – Stable Better Utilization
Jefferson 7-12 – Conversion, Better Utilization/Under Enrolled
Stevens Relocation to WRMS – Better Utilization
Edgewater ES, Molholm ES, Lumberg ES – Continued Growth; Over-enrolled.
Green Mountain – Increasing
Devinny ES, Green Mtn. ES, Rooney Ranch ES – Over-enrolled, Solterra, Neighborhood
Turnover
Lakewood – Stable
Lakewood HS – High ‘Choice In’
Eiber ES, Belmar ES – Over-enrolled
Golden – Increasing
Kyffin ES – Over-enrolled, High ‘Choice In’
Mitchell 2013-14 6th Grade to Bell MS Stable/Growing
Bell MS – Increasing Due to 6th Grade & STEM
Wheat Ridge – Stable/Growing
Everitt MS; WRHS – Solid Growth; Most ES – Growth
Stober, Prospect Valley, Kullerstrand ES – Over-Enrolled
In the last five years, JeffCo Public Schools has received 481 million dollars LESS from the state of Colorado than was supposed to be budgeted. And there are more budget cuts on the way. We need to work together to support our kids and teachers, and provide them with safe, well maintained classrooms and school buildings. We can do it but it does mean we will have tough decisions ahead of us.
Attend a forum to make sure your voice is heard in this process! http://www.supportjeffcokids.org/please-attend-a-forum-jeffco/
Saturday, April 23rd, 9am to 11am at Dakota Ridge High School
Wednesday, April 27th, 6pm to 8pm at North Arvada Middle School
Wednesday, May 4th, 8am to 10am at Conifer High School
Wednesday, May 4th, 5pm to 7pm at Green Mountain High School
Tuesday, May 31st, 6pm to 8pm at Ralston Valley High School
Wednesday, June 1st, 6pm to 8pm at Pomona High School
Saturday, June 4th, 9am to 11am at Stevens Elementary
Saturday, June 4th, 11am to 1pm at Arvada West High School
Monday, June 6th, 6pm to 8pm at Golden High School
Wednesday, June 8th, 8am to 10am at Bear Creek High School
Wednesday, June 8th, 6pm to 8pm at Wheat Ridge High School
Thursday, June 9th, 6pm to 8pm at Stein Elementary at O’Connell
