Poudre School District Recommends Nine School Closures

Comprehensive Planning Committee also proposes two consolidations for the 2027-28 school year

By North Forty News Staff | NorthFortyNews.com

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Nine Poudre School District schools are being recommended for closure and two others for consolidation beginning with the 2027-28 school year, a major step in the district’s ongoing effort to address declining enrollment and unused classroom capacity.

The recommendation comes from PSD’s Comprehensive Planning Committee and is not yet final. The proposal is scheduled to be formally presented to the Poudre School District Board of Education on Oct. 13, with a board vote scheduled for Oct. 27.

PSD has said it has approximately 10,000 empty seats across the district as enrollment declines. The district says maintaining significantly under-enrolled buildings spreads staffing and educational resources across more facilities than the student population requires.

The district’s Comprehensive Planning Committee has spent months examining potential closures and consolidations using criteria the Board of Education approved in May. Those considerations include building utilization, current and projected enrollment, facility condition, transportation, walkability, program availability, and continuity of services for students.

The committee includes parents and guardians, educators, principals, employee association representatives, and community members. Under PSD’s process, the committee develops the recommendation, but the elected Board of Education makes the final decision.

No schools will close during the current 2026-27 school year. If the board approves changes in October, they would take effect for the 2027-28 school year.

For families whose neighborhood schools ultimately close, PSD says students living within the district would automatically be assigned to the new neighborhood school serving their address. Students attending a closing school through School Choice would need to apply for School Choice if they want to attend a school other than their assigned neighborhood school.

PSD has said the closure and consolidation process is not an assessment of the educational quality of individual schools. District officials cite declining numbers of school-age children, enrollment trends, and the ability to sustain staffing and programming as reasons for considering the changes.

The Oct. 27 vote will determine whether the committee’s recommendation moves forward.

More information about PSD’s comprehensive planning process is available on the district’s Comprehensive Planning page.