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Simply forward of college closures that may make 5 buildings vacant, the Denver college board is contemplating a coverage outlining how the district ought to repurpose empty colleges.
The proposal lays out a hierarchy for reuse and says the superintendent mustn’t think about the following utilization “except all potential choices for the upper precedence use have been confirmed as not viable.”
The timing is apt: 10 Denver colleges will shut or partially shut on the finish of this college 12 months after the board voted to shutter them for low enrollment. 5 of these colleges are situated in standalone buildings that may turn into vacant this summer season.
So as from the very best to lowest precedence, the proposal says empty college buildings must be:
- Repurposed to deal with new or relocated colleges or packages run by the district.
- Used to briefly home colleges or packages run by the district whereas their common buildings are present process development or renovation.
- Leased to constitution colleges working inside Denver Public Colleges.
- Repurposed to deal with “central features serving the operational or programmatic wants” of district-run or constitution colleges.
- Leased to personal or public inexpensive housing builders to construct housing “that’s financially accessible” to the district’s lowest-paid workers and DPS households.
- Bought to personal or public inexpensive housing builders, with the identical caveats.
- Leased to personal or public builders of “group companies that may be fairly linked to advantages college students and households and/or workers.”
- Leased to different non-public or public builders.
If none of these makes use of are potential, the proposed coverage, generally known as Govt Limitation 20, suggests DPS ought to “keep the vacant property as-is.”
Board member Michelle Quattlebaum launched the proposal earlier this month, and the board voted this week to advance it for dialogue at a future assembly.
“We’d like a board coverage to make sure that, regardless of who’s the superintendent, that facility utilization is occurring with a community-centered method,” Quattlebaum stated.
The district has already determined the way it will repurpose two of the buildings that may shut this spring. Palmer Elementary will turn into a preschool middle. Castro Elementary will turn into the brand new residence of an present district-run center and highschool referred to as Summit Academy.
However the destiny of the three different buildings — Schmitt Elementary, Columbian Elementary, and the Worldwide Academy of Denver at Harrington — is up within the air.
The proposed coverage says DPS shouldn’t promote any “centrally situated” buildings or buildings “situated in a neighborhood that will fairly be anticipated to expertise enrollment progress sooner or later.” The coverage additionally says DPS shouldn’t promote buildings with “traits that might make the property troublesome to interchange or replicate sooner or later.”
And the proposal urges DPS to contain the group in resolution making by requiring the superintendent to seek the advice of with college students, households, and neighborhood residents about constructing reuse.
It could additionally require the district to conduct an “fairness affect evaluation” analyzing how a specific reuse would have an effect on traditionally marginalized teams.
Melanie Asmar is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Colorado. Contact Melanie at [email protected].
