The September 22 vote · working-group memo · September 23, 2026
The five who voted yes, against what they had said
On September 22, 2026 the Board adopted the Resilient Schools proposal by five votes to two: Rajpal, Medler, Unger, Quinlan Aweida and Chávez for; Bucher and Temu Otting against. This page sets each yes vote beside what its member had said before, in public and, for one of them, in private: the questions asked and not answered, the conditions named and not required, the timeline endorsed and then refused, and the places where a member described a board decision the open meetings do not record.
Working-group copy. Not linked from the site and set not to be indexed; share this address only within the group. Every quotation links to the transcript and the video; listen before quoting anyone publicly. The section on private conversations is second-hand and marked as such.
- strongMedler: "the last thing that we are engaged in" became "we directed the district … to accelerate the action." On October 21, 2025 he asked that no one report the board was moving to accelerate closures, "because that is the last thing that we are engaged in here." On September 15, 2026 he described the same meeting as the board directing staff "to move in a more regional comprehensive holistic approach and to accelerate the action so that we wouldn't be waiting four or five more years to pull the trigger." Both are verbatim, both public. Oct 21, 2025 video 2:15:42 · Sept 15 0:53:11 video
- strongQuinlan Aweida: "We sat here last fall as a board, all seven of us, and we instructed" staff; "the how is theirs." Two of the seven were not on the board last fall (Bucher and Temu Otting were sworn in on December 2, 2025), and Bucher said so on the night: "I was not here for the transition to the geographic method … we did not all vote for that." No vote was taken on any night. And the member who told the public that the board does only the "what" had twice pressed staff on the "how": that the plan does not close enough in Boulder. Sept 22 1:24:02 video · Sept 22 1:31:10 video · Aug 25 2:38:54 video · Sept 15 5:05:35 video
- strongUnger asked the questions and voted without the answers. On September 15 he asked whether the district could guarantee before-and-after-school care at the receiving schools ("Guarantee is a strong word … in the spring … better answers"), whether the relocated special-education programs would serve children as well ("I don't have the concerns"), whether Bear Creek's building can absorb Mesa ("it wasn't long ago when these schools were this full"), and what the transition plan is ("we have to have a final decision from the board to be able to start to do significant planning"). Resolution 26-27 answers none of them. On September 22 he asked nothing about any of them, voted against all four amendments, and voted yes. He never called them conditions. Sept 15 3:58:45 video · Sept 15 3:47:40 video · Sept 15 2:08:55 video · Sept 15 5:13:13 video
- mediumOctober was the right month in January and June, and too late in September. The district's published date for the vote was October 13. Quinlan Aweida endorsed it publicly in January ("study in September for action in October so that by an open enrollment time frame all parents would have the opportunity to understand"); on June 16 the board moved it to September 22 at Rajpal's suggestion, for "breathing room" before open enrollment nights, with Medler ("I'd like the earlier") and Chávez ("that gives us a month … reasonable") agreeing. On September 22 all five voted down an October 13 study and October 20 decision for Broomfield alone; Chávez's reason was that October is "that close to the start and close of open enrollment." Jan 27, 2026 video 2:09:52 · June 16, 2026 video 0:27:27 · Sept 22 2:30:19 video · Sept 22 2:32:54 video
- mediumRajpal set a dual-language deadline in words and left it out of the resolution she amended. August 25: "I implore us to move as quickly as is reasonable"; September 22: "I have asked staff to make sure we have a plan for bilingual education by the end of the school year at the very least … I will uphold that expectation." She wrote two amendments into the resolution (school-age care, focus schools) and none for this. The proposal's own timeline for spring 2027 is a research review and feedback sessions, not a plan. Aug 25 2:57:07 video · Sept 22 1:44:45 video · Sept 22 1:43:30 video
- mediumMedler's "commitment we can fulfill" is not in the resolution. He said guarantees are "basically dishonest" but that transparency is "a commitment we can fulfill," asked for "a sophisticated system to track the implementation" and "a commitment to … report on class size … traveling teachers and split positions." The resolution has no monitoring or reporting clause; he moved no amendment for one. After the vote he asked for transition planning on a future agenda, which is where he chose to pursue it. Sept 15 4:04:03 video · Sept 15 4:05:49 video · Sept 22 4:29:01 video
- mediumChávez endorsed the right of return on September 15 and voted against it on September 22. "If we could allow students to return to their neighborhood school and facilitate as much as possible, then that should be a part of the process"; a week later, on Medler's amendment to do exactly that for High Peaks and Community Montessori families, he voted no: "that already is the first priority preference." On dual language, the issue he owns on this board, he said nothing on September 15 or 22, including after a University Hill parent asked the board directly to "ask these questions for bilingual families." Sept 15 5:29:59 video · Sept 22 2:44:08 video · Sept 22 1:15:03 video
- medium · second-handUnger, in private and in public. Three parents who met him between September 3 and 18 reported, separately, that he was "interested in the idea of a delay in order to do this in a more transparent and comprehensive manner," "very concerned about the lack of a guarantee for class size," said he did "not know how he is going to vote," and said that if Flatirons families open-enrolled at University Hill "the resources should follow the numbers" and he "would double check." On the record he raised none of these on September 22, and had said in January "we're not guaranteeing preservation of schools or delaying action." These accounts are second-hand and are marked as such below; they are consistent with what he asked on September 15, and with nothing he said on September 22.
- thin"People knew schools needed to close. They just didn't want it to be theirs." Rajpal, September 22, of the spring engagement. None of the survey's twelve items was about closure, the invitation never mentioned it, nine percent of families answered, and the superintendent's own formulation on June 9 was the narrower "we do not have evidence that our community is fighting for the status quo." Sept 22 1:43:30 video · June 9, 2026 video 1:05:01 · the survey memo
- thinCampaign statements. All five told voters in 2023 or 2025 that declining enrollment was the district's biggest problem and promised transparency, data and community outreach. Nothing they said then commits them to a particular vote now, and Medler explained his change from "attract families to under-enrolled schools" to a regional approach on the record. The 2023 answers are collected below because they were asked for; they are not the memo's case.
Where the record does not match the open meetingsStatements by the five that place a decision, a direction or a briefing somewhere the noticed meetings do not show it, with what each would need to become a finding.
The public record of how the plan was directed is thin by the district's own design. The October 21, 2025 work session was typed Information; its minutes record that directors "commented and asked questions" and nothing else. agenda "January," which the superintendent named on September 15 as a point where the direction was given, holds two meetings: the January 20 prioritization session, which has no recording on the board's channel and whose minutes list agenda-setting and committee assignments only, minutes and the January 27 regular meeting, where staff presented the engagement plan and no direction was given or vote taken. There was no board meeting of any kind between June 16 and August 11, 2026, and the August 11 and 18 agendas carry no Resilient Schools item. Aug 11 Aug 18 Resolution 26-27 nonetheless recites that "the Board determined that allowing schools to stay small was not an option" and "the Board directed staff to engage with the BVSD community and develop a regionally-based plan." resolution What follows is what the five said about where those things happened.
| What was said | What the noticed record shows | What would settle it |
|---|---|---|
| Quinlan Aweida, Sept 22: "We sat here last fall as a board, all seven of us, and we instructed Rob Anderson and his staff to come up with a proposal … We were clear that small schools were no longer okay with us … Every single person here was here for that meeting." Sept 22 1:24:02 video | The only fall meeting on enrollment was October 21, 2025, attended by Rajpal, Medler, Unger, Quinlan Aweida, Chávez, Sargent and Niznik. Bucher and Temu Otting were sworn in on December 2. Dec 2 ceremony The December 16 work session was a strategic-plan update with no enrollment item. agenda The first meeting at which all seven current members addressed the plan on the record is January 27, 2026, where staff presented the engagement plan and no direction was given or vote taken. Jan 27, 2026 video 1:41:01 Bucher, the same night: "I was not here for the transition to the geographic method … we did not all vote for that." Sept 22 1:31:10 video | Which meeting she means. If it is October 21, the "instruction" was given at an information item where Board Policy BAM provides that no action shall be taken, by five of the seven, and is not minuted. If it is a meeting of all seven, it is not on the board's channel or in its minutes. |
| Medler, Sept 15: "This is the policymaking body. We're the decision makers directing where we go. And we directed the district to move in a more regional comprehensive holistic approach and to accelerate the action." Sept 15 0:53:11 video Also: "since the board said we're impatient with LRAC, let's make a bold change" Sept 15 5:21:03 video; "when the board has said we're going to make these changes" Sept 15 5:23:44 video. | No minuted direction or decision exists before September 22. The superintendent's own account on January 27: "at the conclusion of that meeting, it was through consensus from the board that we needed to begin to really start to ramp up this process." Jan 27, 2026 video 1:41:14 A consensus reached at an information-only session and never voted is what the resolution later recites as "the Board directed." | Whether a direction given by consensus at a work session is action under Policy BAM and the Open Meetings Law, and whether the board has since ratified it anywhere other than in the September 22 resolution's recitals. This is a question for counsel, not the working group. |
| Rajpal, Sept 15: "the board which does change every two years roughly on the composition, we directed, we told staff schools could not stay small. We asked staff to come up with a plan." Sept 15 0:55:52 video Anderson, Sept 15: "the direction was clear … on October 20[25] or January or in any point in time during this process." Sept 15 0:57:12 video | January 2026 has two candidates. The January 20 prioritization meeting is unrecorded and its minutes describe agenda-setting and committee assignments only. minutes At the January 27 regular meeting staff presented the plan and the scope; directors thanked them and asked questions. Jan 27, 2026 video 2:05:07 | What "January" refers to. If direction on the plan was given at the January 20 session, the minutes do not record it. |
| Rajpal, Sept 22: "From the outset of this declining enrollment process, we were clear that schools in Lafayette, Erie, our middle schools, and our mountain schools would not be included." Sept 22 1:44:12 video | On October 21 the direction she summarised was the opposite: "going wide means we look at it all together. Is that what I'm hearing from my board members?" "Yes." Oct 21, 2025 video 2:27:15 The three-region scope, with Lafayette and Erie monitored and the mountain schools out, was staff's structure, presented on January 27; Chávez's question that night was to make sure Lafayette and Erie would still be engaged. Jan 27, 2026 video 1:59:34 Jan 27, 2026 video 2:07:52 Price on September 15 attributed the regions to staff analysis of the metrics. Sept 15 0:41:13 video | Where the board, as a body, decided the scope. No recorded meeting shows it doing so; the record shows staff proposing it and the board not objecting. |
| Rajpal, June 9: "If we close schools, which we have already decided …" (the captions garble the end of the sentence). June 9, 2026 video 0:59:06 | Said at a meeting typed Discussion, eleven weeks before any proposal existed and fifteen before the vote. The minutes for the item read "commented and asked questions." agenda + minutes | Listen to the sentence; then ask where the deciding happened. |
| Rajpal, Aug 25: "looking at this slide brings home that we could have done more. We chose not to because we listened." Aug 25 1:53:22 video Also: "I know you heard that from the board members. I just want to say that I can see that you listen to that feedback." Aug 25 1:41:04 video | The choice of four Boulder buildings rather than six was made between June 16 and August 25, when the board held no meeting. The focus-school feedback has public antecedents: Quinlan Aweida and Niznik asked for relocating focus programs on October 21, and Rajpal herself named "pockets where we know we have a lot of students" on June 9. Oct 21, 2025 video 2:06:03 Oct 21, 2025 video 2:24:33 June 9, 2026 video 0:59:21 "We chose not to" has none. | Who "we" is. If it is the district, no issue. If it is the board, when. |
| Price, Aug 25: "our board of education has made that very clear as we went through the process and spent the last two months together." Aug 25 0:31:05 video Medler, Sept 15: "We have been being briefed for three years. Previous board was briefed for three more years." Sept 15 5:20:04 video Miller, Aug 25: board members joined staff visits to elementary principals and educators. Aug 25 0:39:26 video | No noticed meeting between June 16 and August 11. On August 25 the president corrected the presenting staff member on the plan's contents ("She corrected me"). Aug 25 1:37:30 video A president briefed by staff is not a meeting of the board; three members briefed together, or in series to build a position, may be. | Calendars and briefing lists for June 17 to August 24, 2026: who was briefed, when, and how many at a time. Which board members attended which principal and educator visits (January to March 2026) and whether three or more attended any one of them together. |
| Rajpal, Sept 22: "the seven of us knew that we could not continue to provide the educational services our students deserve if we chose an easy route and did nothing." Sept 22 2:56:32 video | Two of the seven voted no minutes later, one of them having said "I'm not convinced that we have the full picture just yet." Sept 22 1:38:55 video | Nothing; it is rhetoric. Its "personal sacrifice" companion line has a public antecedent on January 27 ("knowing the potential personal cost"). Jan 27, 2026 video 2:16:01 |
What cuts the other way. The six spring engagement sessions were noticed on BoardDocs as board meetings, so the district anticipated directors attending together and posted them. Bucher stated the rule on the night ("we're not really allowed to meet beforehand"), which is some evidence the amendments were not pre-arranged; Medler's amendment was floated in public on September 15 and posted with the agenda; the three contested amendments drew only their movers' votes, which is what a bloc with a settled position looks like whether or not the position was settled together. Rajpal said on August 31 that "the board hasn't acted on this … it's still a proposal," and the superintendent said on January 27 that the process "will not delay the transfer of decision-making away from you." None of the statements in this table shows a meeting that was not noticed; each shows a member describing a board decision the noticed record does not contain.
The vote and the amendmentsChecked against the roll calls in the recording; the minutes are not yet posted.
| Motion | Rajpal | Medler | Unger | Quinlan Aweida | Chávez | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucher: children of relocated teachers get an enrollment priority once their assignment is known. Withdrawn after the superintendent offered an MOU with the teachers' association and its president agreed on the record. Sept 22 2:01:39 video Sept 22 2:22:13 video | withdrawn, no vote | — | ||||
| Temu Otting: remove the Broomfield actions (Birch into Kohl) and have the superintendent return by December 2026 with updated enrollment, Adams 12's decision and choice data. Sept 22 2:22:39 video | no | no | no | no | no | fails 2–5 Sept 22 2:33:40 video |
| Bucher, amending the above: study October 13, act October 20, the district's original month. Sept 22 2:31:47 video | no | no | no | no | no | fails 2–5 Sept 22 2:32:54 video |
| Medler: High Peaks and Community Montessori families who notify the district by December 1 are enrolled directly in their neighborhood school, forgoing the priority preference (posted with the agenda). text Sept 22 2:34:05 video | no | yes | no | no | no | fails 2–5 (Bucher yes) Sept 22 2:44:59 video |
| Bucher: strike the Douglass closure and the High Peaks and Community Montessori relocations; redesignate Douglass rural. Sept 22 2:45:29 video | no | no | no | no | no | fails 2–5 Sept 22 2:54:27 video |
| Resolution 26-27, adopting the Resilient Schools proposal (moved by Temu Otting, seconded by Bucher). text | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | passes 5–2 Sept 22 2:59:21 video |
What each of the five said on the amendments is the sharpest test in the record, because each vote is a statement about Douglass and the Broomfield schools specifically.
- Rajpal on Broomfield: "the maneuvers worked in concert … changing any maneuver would have ripple effects"; "our decision has nothing to do with Adams 12's decision"; "I don't really love putting one school above all the other schools in the plan regardless of where we live … our choices need to be made for what's best in BVSD, not in regard to what's happening in our neighboring schools." Sept 22 2:24:27 video On Medler's amendment: it "gives members from two of our schools sort of double preferences." Sept 22 2:39:45 video Silent on Douglass.
- Medler on Broomfield: "delay is not a costless proposal … putting the Broomfield community at a disadvantage by not letting them know in advance what's going to happen to their school." Sept 22 2:25:48 video On Douglass: "I'm not interested in playing one school off at another. I'm not interested in making delays … I'm not interested in having less action taken so that we maintain the status quo … we withheld the mountain schools. We did not withhold rural schools." Sept 22 2:52:04 video
- Unger: one clarifying question on the October date Sept 22 2:29:26 video; on Medler's amendment, "the appearance of a special preference that we're providing to just two schools … I'm opposed." Sept 22 2:38:54 video Silent on Broomfield and Douglass.
- Quinlan Aweida on Medler's amendment: "I did some numbers … I found it almost impossible for the folks from High Peaks or Community Montessori to not be able to get into their neighborhood school." Sept 22 2:35:28 video Silent on Broomfield and Douglass. (A remark at Sept 22 2:54:11 video, "Like Alex, same sentiments as Birch," is unattributed in the transcript.)
- Chávez on the October date: "I'm concerned about the timeline of pushing this back that close to the start and close of open enrollment. I'm concerned about delaying this that prevents us from moving on the transition … I would not be in favor of this amendment." Sept 22 2:30:19 video On Medler's amendment: "that already is the first priority preference on our open enrollment policy." Sept 22 2:44:08 video Silent on Douglass.
What was asked for, and what the resolution commits to
Between August 25 and September 15 the five raised the following as things they wanted to know or see. The right-hand column is what Resolution 26-27 actually says. resolution
| Raised by | What was asked | Staff's answer | In the resolution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unger | Can the district guarantee before-and-after-school care at the receiving schools, or give families a date by which they will know? Sept 15 3:58:45 video | Sutter: "Guarantee is a strong word … in the spring when we get towards that lottery process for SAC, we will have better answers than we do right now because again, we can only start so much before the decision has been made." Sept 15 3:59:46 video Sept 15 4:02:49 video | "SAC will be provided at each of the receiving schools, and BVSD will work to provide available slots that are reflective of the expanding school populations"; returning-student status in the spring lottery. No number, no date. |
| Unger | Will the relocated special-education programs serve children as well as the facilities they leave? Sept 15 2:57:13 video Sept 15 3:47:40 video | Brener: the standard checklist, program specifications, moving "as much of the staff as possible"; "because of those things, I don't have the concerns with the new locations." Sept 15 3:54:53 video | Nothing on staffing continuity or the specifications; the programs' destinations only. |
| Unger | Can Bear Creek's building, with its open-concept rooms, absorb Mesa at the high end of the range? Sept 15 2:08:55 video | Price: "it wasn't long ago when these buildings were at this size … we'll be working with staffs to figure out how we can mitigate a lot of that." The 20-classroom capacity is 492 at 24.58 per room. Sept 15 2:09:43 video | Nothing. (Today Bear Creek and Mesa together enroll 536; the proposal's range excludes Mesa's choice students.) |
| Unger | "maybe we haven't talked enough about this and what this means for kids and families and communities" — the transition. Sept 15 5:13:47 video | Neil Anderson: a transition team; plans "built throughout the course of this year." Rob Anderson: "we have to have a final decision from the board to be able to start to do significant planning." Sept 15 5:17:10 video Sept 15 5:18:27 video | "the Board directs the Superintendent to take the necessary steps to assist staff, students, and families … in transitioning"; four bullets: choice deadline, preschool sites by October 1, SAC, bus routes. |
| Medler | "a sophisticated system to track the implementation of the things that we're doing this for"; "a commitment to being able to report on class size … traveling teachers and split positions"; matriculation. Sept 15 4:04:44 video Sept 15 4:05:49 video | Herszog: the specials data "has been tracking for a long time … continuing to track it in a transparent way won't be new." Sept 15 4:06:21 video | Nothing. No monitoring, reporting, class-size or savings clause. |
| Medler | A right of return to the neighborhood school for focus-school families, "not as an open enrollment preference, but as a right." Aug 25 2:10:50 video Sept 8 6:49:52 video Sept 15 5:43:40 video | Anderson offered to bring two versions of the resolution. Sept 15 5:50:43 video | Not in the resolution; moved as an amendment and defeated 2–5. |
| Medler | Transition planning at Bear Creek for Mesa's neurodiverse students; High Peaks to plan for parity in IEP enrollment as it grows. Sept 15 4:09:15 video Sept 15 4:10:38 video | Brener, as above. | Nothing. |
| Rajpal | A plan for bilingual education "by the end of the school year at the very least." Aug 25 2:57:07 video Sept 22 1:44:45 video | The proposal, p. 74: spring 2027 is a "systematic review of national research" and "dual language teacher & family feedback sessions." proposal | Nothing. The word "dual" does not appear. |
| Rajpal | School-age care at every receiving school; a whereas on focus schools. Sept 8 6:47:04 video Sept 8 6:49:11 video | Adopted into the draft. | Both present. These are the "two of the early amendments that I made to the resolution." Sept 22 1:43:30 video |
| Quinlan Aweida | Deeper cuts in Boulder: "I personally don't think it's quite enough … can we keep looking"; "I want to see that decreased excess capacity taken." Aug 25 2:39:50 video Sept 15 5:05:35 video | Anderson: the proposal is for five years; "I'm only slightly satisfied with that explanation." Sept 15 5:06:43 video Sept 15 5:12:12 video | The proposal as presented. |
| Chávez | Where the additional million in central-office savings from last spring fits. Sept 15 5:30:36 video | Anderson: allocated to avoid multi-age classes this year; the plan "eliminates the need for those additional resources." Sept 15 5:32:32 video | Nothing on savings or their use. |
Fair to all five: none of them said on the record that any of these was a condition of their vote, and the resolution's drafters could answer that operational detail belongs in implementation, not in a resolution. The finding is narrower: the questions were asked in public, the answers given were "in the spring," "after the decision" and "I don't have the concerns," and the members who asked them did not return to them on the night they voted.
Jason UngerDistrict A, elected November 2023; Board treasurer. Sixteen turns on September 22, none of them a question about the plan's substance.
| What was said | When and where | What happened on Sept 22 |
|---|---|---|
| "Declining enrollment, and the potential impact on the budget, is the most significant challenge facing the district … As a board member, I will work to ensure we approach this issue with transparency, fairness, and focused on the best interests of our students." | Boulder Weekly questionnaire, October 2023 source | Consistent with the vote; the fairness-and-transparency test is the one his own September 15 questions set, below. |
| Supports "revisiting school boundary zones and our open enrollment policies to help rebalance school sizes" and "allowing schools with declining enrollment to think creatively about how they can become a focus school or offer specialized programming." | Boulder Reporting Lab candidate profile, October 2023 source | The plan redraws boundaries (consistent) and closes the small schools rather than converting them (the 2023 alternative). He voted against the Broomfield amendment, whose purpose was to bring back updated enrollment, choice and Adams 12 data before deciding. |
| "the one takeaway from today … is we just can't continue on the status quo … I don't want to be on the board to kind of oversee ongoing decline … These are not fun moves … but I think they're necessary … I don't want to be one of those districts that takes these actions in a crisis." | Oct 21, 2025 video 2:12:47 | Consistent with the vote. This is his clearest public position and it predates the proposal by ten months. |
| "we can't afford to wait … I really appreciate slide 13, which is laying out what this process will and won't do. And we're not guaranteeing preservation of schools or delaying action." | Jan 27, 2026 video 2:11:02 | Consistent with the vote; inconsistent with the September 3 account of interest in a delay (second-hand, below). |
| "why that's our goal here, why we're aiming for 80% capacity and a three-round school … that's how we started this process of kind of wanting to get to this place." | Aug 25 1:12:18 video | The plan's own summary (p. 58) leaves six schools under two rounds and utilization at 75%; Whittier, which takes most of Flatirons, is a two-round school by design. He asked on September 15 how Flatirons splits, not whether Whittier reaches the goal. Sept 15 4:45:23 video |
| "We all have questions as well and we will answer them over the course of the next few weeks." | Sept 8 6:25:26 video | He asked five on September 15 (conditions table above). None was answered with a commitment; he asked none on September 22. |
| "I've probably met with half of you over the phone … I met with over 150 parents … there was this really sincere effort to listen … I've balanced these thoughtfully, I think, and with an open mind and open ears." | Sept 22 1:26:02 video | Then no question, four no votes on the amendments and a yes. His two substantive interventions were to protect the plan's enrollment preference from Bucher's amendment and to oppose Medler's. |
What parents reported from their calls with him second-hand
These are other people's accounts of private conversations, written the same day in a group chat, by parents who are not named here. They are leads, not findings; nothing below is a quotation of Unger. They are included because three separate people reported the same themes on three dates, and because those themes match what he asked in public on September 15 and not what he said on September 22. Flagged for review before this page is shared beyond the group.
- September 3. A parent who met him one-to-one reported that he was "supportive of the plan but definitely has a lot of questions," "did not budge" on the plan in general "but was interested in the idea of a delay in order to do this in a more transparent and comprehensive manner," was "very concerned about the lack of a guarantee for class size," and "agrees" that the dual-language schools were getting "a raw deal."
- September 17. A parent who had an hour-long call reported that "he said he doesn't know how he is going to vote but he is clear that BVSD has a responsibility to take action rather than wait"; that on Whittier never reaching three rounds "he didn't really have an answer … he said that they would aim at making it a functioning 2 round school"; that "in theory there should be no reason why our kids couldn't open enroll in Uni Hill … the resources should follow the numbers … I asked him to come back to me with this assurance and he said he would double check"; that "he has asked for quicker decisions about dual language schools but was told the answers would only come in the spring"; and that "regarding all the points about the lack of transparency … he didn't really answer anything."
- September 17, second call. Another parent: "Unger said today Uni Hill cannot fit all of Flatirons currently given how many non-neighborhood kids already go there."
- September 18. A third parent: "he wants to know alternatives"; and, from a separate conversation the same day, that he had said the district "can no longer wait on any collaboration with the city because they haven't delivered on anything."
What this would need to become more than a lead: the parents' own written notes, or a public answer from Unger on class size, University Hill and the Whittier rounds. On the record, the class-size guarantee he is reported to have wanted is one he did not ask for; the guarantee he did ask for, on school-age care, was refused and he voted anyway.
Fair to Unger. He never said any of his questions was a condition. He asked more of them than anyone but Medler and told the room on September 8 that answers would come; on the resolution's enrollment preference he argued, consistently with his 2023 position on open enrollment, for a district-wide rule rather than a one-off. He has said the same thing in public since October 2025: act now, not in a crisis. A member is allowed to be persuaded that "in the spring" is a good enough answer; the record simply shows that he was, without saying so.
Alex MedlerDistrict C, elected November 2023; Board vice president. Attended September 22 remotely, having "made a work commitment … when I thought the calendar was different for the decision."
| What was said | When and where | What happened on Sept 22 |
|---|---|---|
| "BVSD should be transparent with families about the trade-offs of under-enrolled schools, including reduced staffing and programs and possible closures." "We should work with families to explore all options to maintain overall district enrollment and encourage sufficient enrollment in small schools to support strong programming, such as adjustments to attendance boundaries and new program offerings." | Boulder Reporting Lab profile, October 2023 source | The first sentence describes what the district eventually did. The second is the alternative the plan rejects for four schools. He explained the change himself on September 15: "I campaigned and came into the board very interested in moving to a regional approach"; Heatherwood's program "adds six kids in enrollment." Sept 15 0:50:16 video |
| "The district solicits plenty of input, but people want to hear more from the district about what it will do with their input. I will work to improve the way the district responds to input from parents and teachers." | Boulder Weekly questionnaire, October 2023 source | On September 22, of "the deep level of engagement": "I've given a great deal of thought to the issues that they're raising." Sept 22 1:17:55 video The one amendment he offered in response to input failed; on the others he voted no. |
| "I'd be really frustrated if anybody in the media or the community came away with the conclusion that the headline should be BVSD reports plans to accelerate the closure of schools. Because that is the last thing that we are engaged in here." Later: "I don't want anybody to misconstrue it as, hey, we're trying to figure out how to close schools faster." | Oct 21, 2025 video 2:15:42 Oct 21, 2025 video 2:20:44 | "We directed the district to move in a more regional comprehensive holistic approach and to accelerate the action so that we wouldn't be waiting four or five more years to pull the trigger." Sept 15 0:53:11 video "since the board said we're impatient with LRAC, let's make a bold change." Sept 15 5:21:03 video |
| To staff, on how the options were being explained to the public: they were "sugar coating"; say "close a school" plainly. | April 8, 2026 email, records file #215 reproduced | The plainness he asked of staff in April is the plainness he objected to in October. In September he supplied it himself: "plan as if we're closing schools because I think we will." Sept 15 5:23:44 video |
| "I'm really hoping we're not exposing kids to more trauma and anxiety than we need to over the next year." | Aug 25 2:42:09 video | A parent put it back to him on September 22: "have you established that dismantling the one that they already have is actually necessary?" Sept 22 1:16:27 video He did not address it; after the vote he asked for community-building and transition planning on the agenda, "because … there's a lot of healing that the community could do." Sept 22 4:29:01 video |
| "guarantees are basically dishonest. But I believe transparency is a commitment we can fulfill … it's incumbent on us as a district to develop a sophisticated system to track the implementation of the things that we're doing this for … I do think we should make a commitment to being able to report on class size … traveling teachers and split positions." | Sept 15 4:04:03 video | No tracking or reporting commitment in the resolution; no amendment offered. He raised it again after the vote as a UIP item. Sept 22 3:53:01 video |
| Focus-school families should be able to return to their neighborhood school "not as an open enrollment preference, but as a right." | Aug 25 2:10:50 video Sept 15 5:43:40 video | Moved it, lost 2–5, voted for the resolution without it. Not a contradiction; a priority he pursued and did not make a condition. |
| "I'd like the earlier. I think us acting over the course of a month is probably enough time for the board consideration and public input." | June 16, 2026 video 0:35:21 | He then booked out-of-state work for the day he had helped choose, and voted by video. |
| "pausing is not a free thing"; "delay is not a costless proposal"; "I'm not interested in having less action taken so that we maintain the status quo." | Sept 8 6:37:33 video Sept 22 2:25:48 video Sept 22 2:52:04 video | Consistent throughout. On the Broomfield amendment his objection was that a December return "puts this off for a full year"; he gave no separate reason for voting against the October alternative. |
Fair to Medler. He is the most consistent of the five on the record since June 2025: act once, act big, plan the transition. His October 2025 remark was aimed at a headline, not at the substance, and by September the plan was public, so describing it plainly is what his April email asked of everyone. He is the only yes-voter who offered the community anything on the night, and he lost. His position on guarantees is coherent (he would not saddle a future board with them) and he pursued monitoring through the UIP after the vote rather than in the resolution. The finding is that his own standard for the district, transparency as a commitment, is not written into the instrument he voted for.
Nicole RajpalDistrict B, elected November 2021, unopposed in 2025; Board president. Drafted two of the resolution's operative clauses.
The August 25 and 31 statements in which she describes the plan as the board's own are collected in the board-statements memo and are not repeated here.
| What was said | When and where | What happened on Sept 22 |
|---|---|---|
| Her 2025 campaign "emphasizes access to resources, student well-being and informed decision-making." "The Board has an obligation to provide students with the best education possible and, at some point, that may mean they need to attend different schools." "Change can be hard, especially for adults, but kids are incredibly resilient." | Boulder Reporting Lab profile, 2025 source | Consistent with the vote; the "resilient" line reappears on September 22. Sept 22 1:44:12 video |
| "I think we did strike a very good balance in this timeline" (study in September, act in October). | Jan 27, 2026 video 2:12:40 | On June 16 she asked to move the vote up: "I am concerned that October 13th is getting really close to the showcase … nudge those two days earlier … to give our community a little bit more breathing room before BVSD is a place to be." June 16, 2026 video 0:27:27 The "breathing room" for the community came out of the deliberation window, which went from seven weeks to four. |
| "you're welcome to attend in person … share your feedback. We are listening." "the board hasn't acted on this … it's still a proposal." | Aug 31 1:14:11 video Aug 31 1:03:22 video | "as emails can increasingly become copied and pasted and autogenerated and as lawyers are hired, my communication via email generally ceases." Sept 22 1:42:47 video "not just the loudest voices in the room." Sept 22 2:58:48 video |
| "more time isn't necessarily for the better … more time does not necessarily mean better outcomes." | Sept 8 6:39:19 video | Consistent with her votes against both Broomfield dates. Her stated reason on the night was different: "our decision has nothing to do with Adams 12's decision." Sept 22 2:24:27 video |
| "I implore us to move as quickly as is reasonable … if there was a way to know at the end of spring semester 2027 what our plan forward might be." | Aug 25 2:57:07 video | "I have asked staff to make sure we have a plan for bilingual education by the end of the school year at the very least. And … I will uphold that expectation." Sept 22 1:44:45 video Not in the resolution; her two amendments were on school-age care and focus schools. The proposal's spring 2027 is research and feedback sessions. |
| "From the outset of this declining enrollment process, we were clear that schools in Lafayette, Erie, our middle schools, and our mountain schools would not be included." | Sept 22 1:44:12 video | On October 21 she summarised the board's direction as the reverse: "going wide means we look at it all together. Is that what I'm hearing?" "Yes." Oct 21, 2025 video 2:27:15 The scope was staff's, presented on January 27. Jan 27, 2026 video 1:59:34 |
| "People knew schools needed to close. They just didn't want it to be theirs. We heard as much during the early community engagement sessions." | Sept 22 1:43:30 video | None of the survey's twelve items concerned closure; the invitation did not mention it; 8.9% of families answered. The superintendent's June 9 version: "we do not have evidence that our community is fighting for the status quo." June 9, 2026 video 1:05:01 survey memo |
| "we can never guarantee those things" (school-age care, preschool, open-enrollment seats). | Sept 15 5:44:31 video Sept 15 4:51:22 video | Consistent: her own school-age-care clause says the district "will work to provide" slots. Not a contradiction, but the reason the resolution promises nothing measurable is here. |
| "the seven of us knew that we could not continue to provide the educational services our students deserve if we chose an easy route and did nothing." | Sept 22 2:56:32 video | Two of the seven voted no. The "personal sacrifice" line that precedes it has a public antecedent on January 27 ("knowing the potential personal cost"). Jan 27, 2026 video 2:16:01 |
Fair to Rajpal. She has said since 2021 that schools could not stay small, said in January that the board would pay a personal cost for acting, and voted accordingly; nothing here is a change of mind. Her dual-language line is a commitment she can still be held to, on the record. Her retreat from email correspondence came after the coalition's lawyer wrote to the board, which is a reason if not a good one. On scope, "we were clear" can be read as the board accepting staff's structure without objection, which it did.
Lalenia Quinlan AweidaDistrict D, elected November 2023. "I'm sure there's a website where you can go out and find all the things I said on the campaign trail, and that's okay with me."
| What was said | When and where | What happened on Sept 22 |
|---|---|---|
| "Our biggest challenge will be addressing declining enrollment in BVSD. It's crucial that the Board of Education uses all practical and strategic levers at its disposal … Data analysis will be key in the decision-making process, as well as transparency and strong community outreach." "I will provide an open-door policy. I am available and willing to both listen to concerns AND celebrate wins." | Boulder Weekly questionnaire, October 2023 source | Consistent on the levers. On data, she voted against the one amendment whose purpose was to wait for updated enrollment, Adams 12 and choice data before deciding on Broomfield, without speaking to it. |
| "I am not okay with things that do not improve our fiscal efficiency … that kind of takes out for me personally allow schools to stay small … consolidating schools feels better to me than a closure where we send kids from one school to five different schools." | Oct 21, 2025 video 2:04:33 | Consistent. The plan sends Douglass's children to three schools and Flatirons's to two; she did not raise it. |
| "the final plan will be presented for study in September for action in October so that by an open enrollment time frame, all parents would have the opportunity to understand what the plan is." | Jan 27, 2026 video 2:09:52 | On June 16, asked with Unger whether she had concerns about moving the vote to September, she did not object. June 16, 2026 video 0:36:07 On September 15: "Did we ever change the timeline for voting on this? Did we ever move it up? I just can't remember." Sept 15 0:39:11 video On September 22 she voted against returning Broomfield to the October date she had endorsed. |
| "I look forward to supporting this plan. I know students are resilient in the face of change and these are changes for the better." | Aug 25 2:38:03 video | Declared before public comment; on September 15, "I am signaling strongly my support"; on September 22, "So I did listen." Sept 15 5:36:17 video Sept 22 1:20:37 video |
| "I personally don't think it's quite enough … can we keep looking." "I want to see that decreased excess capacity taken." "I'm only slightly satisfied with that explanation." | Aug 25 2:39:50 video Sept 15 5:05:35 video Sept 15 5:12:12 video | "The board's job is the what … The how part of the equation is done by our employee … The how is theirs." Sept 22 1:24:02 video Which schools, and how many, is the how; she pressed staff on it twice in public. |
| "I've had several people say, well, you can say you're going to do that and not do it. And I said to them, I'm going to say, Rob, you're going to do it and you're going to go, yeah, I am right. That's our job as a board." | Sept 15 5:34:50 video | Her stated enforcement mechanism for the plan's promises. The resolution contains nothing to hold the superintendent to beyond four bullets. |
| "We sat here last fall as a board, all seven of us, and we instructed Rob Anderson and his staff … Every single person here was here for that meeting." | Sept 22 1:24:02 video | Bucher and Temu Otting were sworn in on December 2, 2025. Bucher, minutes later: "I was not here for the transition to the geographic method … we did not all vote for that." Sept 22 1:31:10 video |
Fair to Quinlan Aweida. She has been the board's most explicit advocate of closing more, not fewer, schools since October 2025, and nobody who heard her in August could have thought her vote was in doubt. "All seven of us" is most likely a slip that folds the January 27 meeting, where all seven did sit and hear the plan, into the October one; it is not evidence of a meeting the public did not see. Her "what versus how" distinction is a standard account of governance; the problem is only that she and the president both described the board doing the how.
Jorge ChávezDistrict G, elected November 2023; the board's liaison to the Long Range Advisory Committee since January 2026.
| What was said | When and where | What happened on Sept 22 |
|---|---|---|
| "I support the recommendations of the BVSD long-range advisory committee which focused on declining student enrollment. This includes reviewing our open enrollment policies and school attendance districts … and including parents and community partners at every step in the process." | Boulder Reporting Lab profile, October 2023 source | The LRAC framework was set aside in October 2025 with his agreement ("small schools clearly work against that … we've got to do something different"). Oct 21, 2025 video 2:21:41 (attributed by the order of the round robin; the captions carry no names) |
| "The budgeting challenges due to declining enrollment … provide an opportunity for us to reimagine what our schools [look] like and would allow us to consider new models like mixed grade learning communities, focus schools to attract students from across the district, or right sizing schools." "I support BVSD's Policy KB … requiring the district to provide mechanisms for bi-direction communication." | Boulder Weekly questionnaire, October 2023 source | Multi-grade classrooms are the harm the plan cites; the plan closes the small schools rather than converting them. Several parents reported never receiving a reply to a meeting request (second-hand; not tested). |
| Asked staff on January 27 to confirm that Lafayette and Erie "will be part of the engagement process" even though they were outside the three regions. | Jan 27, 2026 video 2:07:52 | The dual-language schools in Lafayette were then held out of the plan altogether; he described the hold on August 25 as the right approach. |
| "it's an important question for us to address … to the degree that we can expand access, eliminate barriers and start addressing some of these questions, I think that's a critical thing for us to do to serve our students." | Aug 25 2:59:49 video | No remark on dual language on September 15 or 22. A University Hill parent asked the board on September 22 to "ask these questions for bilingual families"; no member did. Sept 22 1:15:03 video The resolution changes University Hill's feeder schools now and sets no date for the dual-language decision. |
| "they're raising important questions that we need to answer. That's our role." "To Alex's earlier point, if we could allow students to return to their neighborhood school and facilitate as much as possible, then that should be a part of the process." | Sept 15 5:29:29 video Sept 15 5:29:59 video | Voted no on Medler's amendment: "I went back to JECC-R and I appreciate recalling now that that already is the first priority preference." Sept 22 2:44:08 video |
| "more time for parents on the back end, I think, prior to the showcase and prior to open enrollment is better. And that gives us a month. That seems like, as long as that works for the staff … reasonable." | June 16, 2026 video 0:35:44 | Voted against an October 20 decision for Broomfield: "I'm concerned about the timeline of pushing this back that close to the start and close of open enrollment." Sept 22 2:30:19 video October 13 had been the district's own date until June 16. |
| "At times, I'm thinking, are we doing enough in terms of that change, but this is a measured response and I think we're going in the right direction." | Sept 15 5:32:11 video | "I've weighed all the data. I've read every email … I have faith in and trust" the board and the superintendent. Sept 22 1:36:06 video No question on the night. |
Fair to Chávez. His campaign answers were about options, not promises, and on the record he has supported acting since October 2025. On the right of return, JECC-R does give choice-enrolled families a first preference, so his September 22 reason is accurate as far as it goes; what changed is that on September 15 he wanted return "facilitated as much as possible" and on September 22 the existing preference was enough. On dual language, the hold was presented by staff as protecting the programs by studying them properly, and he said so on August 25; his silence afterwards is the finding, not a statement.
What this does not show
- No member said a condition and then voted without it. The questions in the conditions table were asked as questions. The strongest version of the finding is that they were not answered and not pressed, not that a stated condition was abandoned.
- Changing one's mind is allowed. Medler's move from program-based retention to a regional approach, Chávez's from "facilitate return" to "the preference exists," and Quinlan Aweida's from an October vote to a September one were each made in public. The memo marks them; it does not treat them as bad faith.
- The private accounts prove nothing on their own. They are three parents' same-day summaries of what one member said in calls. They are placed beside the public record so the reader can see where they agree with it (his September 15 questions) and where they do not (his September 22 silence); no finding rests on them alone.
- The Open Meetings Law table is not a violation finding. It shows members describing decisions the noticed record does not contain. Whether a consensus reached at an information item is "action," and whether serial briefings amount to a meeting, are legal questions; the table lists what a request for records would have to ask for.
- The five voted as they had said they would. Every one of them told the public, between October 2025 and June 2026, that schools could not stay small and that the board would act. Anyone expecting the September 22 vote to turn on the September 15 answers was reading the questions, not the members.
Timeline
- Unger, Medler, Quinlan Aweida and Chávez answer the Boulder Reporting Lab and Boulder Weekly questionnaires: declining enrollment is the biggest challenge; transparency, data, boundaries, open enrollment, programs.
- Declining-enrollment work session (Information). Round robin: staying small "is not on the table"; "no appetite to wait"; "your direction's been very clear." Medler: accelerating closures is "the last thing that we are engaged in here." Sargent and Niznik present; Bucher and Temu Otting not yet elected.agenda + minutes video video 2:04:21
- Bucher and Temu Otting sworn in.video
- Work session: strategic plan update. No enrollment item.agenda
- Prioritization meeting, unrecorded; minutes list agenda-setting and committee assignments (Chávez to the LRAC).minutes
- Staff present the engagement plan: three regions, Lafayette and Erie monitored, mountain schools out, action in October. Anderson: October's outcome "was through consensus from the board." Quinlan Aweida and Rajpal endorse the timeline; Unger: "we're not guaranteeing preservation of schools or delaying action."agenda video video 1:41:01
- Medler tells staff to stop "sugar coating" and say "close a school."#215
- Six regional engagement sessions, each noticed on BoardDocs as a board meeting.Apr 13
- Engagement findings. Rajpal: "If we close schools, which we have already decided …"; "the more we can do today, the better." Chávez: "small measures aren't suitable anymore." Price: study in September, "final decision thereafter in October."agenda + minutes video video 0:57:29
- Prioritization meeting. Rajpal asks to move the vote from October 13 to September 22; Medler "I'd like the earlier"; Chávez "reasonable"; Unger and Quinlan Aweida do not object. Rajpal chooses the no-comment morning format for August 25.agenda + minutes video video 0:25:37
- No board meeting. Price, August 25: the board "spent the last two months together."
- Proposal presented. Rajpal: "we could have done more. We chose not to." Quinlan Aweida: "I look forward to supporting this plan." Unger: "why we're aiming for 80% capacity and a three-round school."transcript
- Parents' calls with Unger (second-hand accounts above).
- Five and a half hours of public comment. Rajpal proposes the school-age-care and focus-school clauses; Medler proposes the right of return. Unger: "we will answer them over the course of the next few weeks."transcript
- Six hours of questions. Unger on care, special education, Bear Creek, transition; Medler on guarantees, tracking, special education; Quinlan Aweida "only slightly satisfied"; Chávez "are we doing enough." Medler: "we directed the district … to accelerate the action."transcript
- Resolution 26-27 adopted 5–2; three amendments defeated 2–5; one withdrawn.transcript BRL
How this was done
The five recordings on the transcripts page were read in full for every turn by the five members (Rajpal 511 passages, Medler 193, Quinlan Aweida 55, Unger 41, Chávez 24 across August 25, August 31, September 8, 15 and 22). The October 21, 2025, January 27, June 9 and June 16, 2026 recordings were read from YouTube's captions, which carry no speaker names; attributions there rest on the chair calling members by name and are marked where they rest on order alone. The December 16, 2025 and January 20, 2026 meetings were checked and found to contain no enrollment item. Agendas and minutes are BoardDocs'. Campaign statements are quoted only from pages that are still live; the Daily Camera's profiles could not be retrieved and are not used. The private accounts come from two group chats exported by their members; extracts were kept out of the repository and no parent is named.
The question that produced this page also produced the board-statements memo on the August recordings; this page starts where it ends.
Related: the transcripts · the Medler emails and the open-meetings test · which schools were named, and when · the spring survey · the enrollment forecasts · the LRAC archive.