September 8, 2026: public comment on the Resilient Schools proposal

Pre-meeting audio check

0:00:11Unidentified speakerspeaker unconfirmed · check the video Hey, hey, hey. testing audio for broadcast. Testing audio for broadcast. Check. One, two. Sounds good on the meat. You have a little bit of an echo, but it sounds good. Microphone test for broadcast. Microphone test for broadcast. Check. One, two. Phone test. One, two, 3. Okay. Yellow water. Are you good?

Call to order and roll call

0:49:49Nicole Rajpal I would like to call over this regular meeting of the Boulder Valley School District for Tuesday, September 8th, 2026. Board members may attend and participate in board meetings by and electronically in accordance with the board policy, BMEA, and state law. Laura, can you please call the role?

0:50:05Roll call Bucher here. Chavez here. Medler here. Quinlan Aweida here. Rajpal here. Tuading here. Unger here.

0:50:25Nicole Rajpal Thank you.

Land acknowledgement and agenda approval

0:50:27Nicole Rajpalspeaker unconfirmed · check the video I'd like to turn it over to for the reading of our land acknowledgement this evening.

0:50:45Ana Temu Otting territorial. PBSD BVSD

0:52:07Nicole Rajpal Thank you, board member Timotting. I'd like to remind everybody that the mission of the Boulder Valley School District is to create challenging, meaningful, and engaging learning opportunities so that all children thrive and are prepared for successful, civically engaged lives. Thank you everyone for joining us here tonight. We are glad to have you observe and participate in our meetings. At this time, is there a motion to approve tonight's agenda? Moved by Jason, seconded by Anna. Laura, can you please call the role?

0:52:36Roll call Bucher, yes. Chavez, yes. Medler, yes. Quinlan Aweida, yes. Rajpal, yes. Temu Otting, yes. Unger, yes.

Superintendent report (Dr. Rob Anderson)

0:52:51Nicole Rajpal Motion passes. Our first item this evening is a superintendent report. Dr. Anderson, good evening.

0:52:57Dr. Rob Anderson Good evening, board president Rajpal. Board members. Board members, I'm going to be limiting my comments this evening to honor our public participation. Want to start by thanking everybody who's here this evening and for your flexibility in our change of venue. It was important for the board and for the school district to allow all parents, community members, and students who wanted to speak the opportunity to do so and this venue allows for that. Also would like to thank Monarch High School for hosting us this evening. Look forward to hearing um from our public speakers uh on tonight's agenda items. Thank you, President Rushman.

Public participation: rules and format

0:53:29Nicole Rajpal Thank you, Dr. Anderson. The next item on tonight's agenda is public participation. Tonight we have roughly 180 speakers signed up to provide comment of for of which around 45 are students. Because tonight is one of the last times we will have public comment before a study session. Uh I am waving the board's right to limit public comment to one hour and we will let all individuals speak first in this meeting. Um, as a result, um, I really want to emphasize that speakers may have no more than two minutes to speak. Once you hit two minutes, the mic will be muted.

0:54:09Nicole Rajpal If you can keep your comments shorter than that, your community members would greatly appreciate it because at 180 speakers, that is six hours of public comment. I will call people up to the podium up front in waves of three. I ask that everybody lines up along the wall. If you hear your name, if we if you are not at the microphone when it is your turn, you will not be able to speak. We will not be circling back. As a result, I also ask our audience to keep any commentary in between speakers to a minimum to make sure that people hear their name being called this evening. As always, we will start with our student speakers.

0:54:47Nicole Rajpal We will start with in-person speakers moving on to virtual speakers and we will wrap up with non-aggenda item folks speaking about non-aggenda items. Um we will take breaks during public comment after roughly 60 to 90 minutes of public comment. So, um just so you can board members are aware of that cadence to get up get refreshments um collect ourselves. And with that, I will move on to my regular spiel about public comment. The board respects the right of the public to speak on matters concerning the operation of the school district, but the board does not endorse the comments of individual participants and reminds all those who speak, that you're responsible for ensuring your comments are suitable for an audience that includes kindergarten to 12th graders.

0:55:39Nicole Rajpal Furthermore, this is not an opportunity for the board to engage our constituents. It's an opportunity for us to hear from you. Speakers will each have two minutes to speak. You'll see a yellow card when you have 30 seconds remaining. Cards are over there. You'll have a orange card, you have 10 seconds remaining. If you run out of time and the mic is muted, as I said, you can always email me, members of the board, your comments. The vast majority of you, I'm aware, already have. With that, our first speaker this evening will be Shusan Lynn, followed by Adakus Kesler Holzer and Charlotte Bacon. As I said, we'll be mind Mind the applause, please. Lining up over there. The microphone is up front.

0:56:31Nicole Rajpal Push this little button to speak.

Public comment: students

0:56:40Shushen Lynn (Douglas student) My name is and and I'm Hi, my name is Shushen and I'm in the third grade at Douglas. I'm here today because I I really really love my school. I think Douglas is more than just the school. It is where I have made some of my best friends, learn new things, and made so many great memories. I love seeing my friends every day. We learn together, play together, and help each other when things are difficult. Our teachers make Douglas feel safe and happy. They care about us and help us become become pe better people. At Douglas, everyone is welcome. We celebrate different cultures, different memories, and learn from each other. That makes our school feel like a family.

0:57:32Shushen Lynn (Douglas student) If Douglas closes, we won't just lose a school building. We will lose our friendships, our memories, and a place that meant so much to us. I would love if our school doesn't close. I love my school and we want to stick together.

0:57:54Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Adakus Kesler followed by Charlotte Bacon and Ensley Waters.

0:58:04Adakus Kessle Hosel (Birch student) Hi, my name is Adakus Kessle Hosel. I am 11 years old and I go to Birch Elementary School. I have been at Birch since I attended preschool in 2018. School hasn't been all has school hasn't always been easy for me. I have dyslexia. When I first started at Girch, I could not read. But then I got help from all my wonderful teachers and supportive friends. I especially want to thank my special education teachers, Miss Feden and Miss Fel. Now, I love reading. I'm in fifth grade, so I'm leaving next year year. But Birch, Birch, I want current and future Birch Bulldogs to have the same learning opportunities that I had.

0:58:55Adakus Kessle Hosel (Birch student) I want the teachers at Birch to help students in our neighborhood that might have the same learning disabilities as me. I want Birch community to stay together. Please consider keeping the doors at Birch Elementary School open. But more importantly, please keep all the wonderful teachers at Birch, supporting students in our Broomfield community. [cheering]

0:59:23Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Charlotte Bacon, followed by Ensley Waters and Clara Chi House. We will move on to Ensley Waters.

0:59:43Ensley Waters (Douglas student) My name is Ensley. I'm a fourth grade Douglas Dolphin. I believe that this is the wrong way to fix what the district wants to fix. Why don't they focus on the school and students already here? Are we less important than the kids who are getting our classrooms? I'm from Gumbar. I can't walk to any school. My parents chose Douglas because it already had a f focus being a good person. If the district wants more people to come to a good school, they should focus on bringing kids to the school that is already there. Instead, their big idea is to replace us. We don't even have a choice to stay. If High Peaks have to take our building, Douglas kids should not be kicked out.

1:00:18Ensley Waters (Douglas student) All the other schools being moved have to go to the school they never picked. Why do the kids at High Peaks not have the same rule? Is this the best plan for me or the easiest plan for you? This plan says that me and my friends are just in the way. Please vote no [cheering] because not more important than another.

1:00:37Nicole Rajpal Our next speaker is Clara Chi Hasselbach, followed by Astred White and Will Ratlage.

1:00:51Clara Chi Hasselbach (Monarch PK-8 student) Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Clara and I am a seventh grader at Monarch PKA. My younger sister, who is also a Monarch student, will be zoned into Fireside next year if Monarch PK if Monarch Elementary closes. I'm here speaking today because I have concerns about the proposal for the Louisville and Superior schools. First, the proposal does not talk about all of the Monarch students who lost their homes in the Marshall fire. Monarch had the highest percentages of families who lost their homes. Many of these families had to move once, twice, or even several times.

1:01:24Clara Chi Hasselbach (Monarch PK-8 student) Some of the families only returned to their houses a few months ago after spending years dealing with the loss of their home and rebuilding their lives. Now, they might have to prepare to move to another school. For some families, Monarch has been the one constant thing in their lives during all of this change. It is important that those families are supported through whatever happens next. Second, the proposal splits up the Monarch Elementary students into three different schools away from most of their friends. This means that the students, especially those going to Fireside or Superior Elementary, would only know a few students at their new school.

1:01:59Clara Chi Hasselbach (Monarch PK-8 student) For example, out of the 50 students in my sister's grade at Monarch, she would only know five classmates who might be at Fireside with her next year. Finally, more than 100 students open enroll into Monarch Elementary, which shows how special and successful this school is. This is my eighth year at Monarch, and I really love the K8 model and getting to look up to the older students and now getting to help the younger students. But under this proposal, these students would the open enroll students would have no guarantee about where they will go next year. In the enrollment calculations presented to the board, they were not considered. They are also an important part of the Monarch community and should not be forgotten or left behind.

1:02:40Clara Chi Hasselbach (Monarch PK-8 student) If you choose to close Monarch Elementary, please carefully consider how you are going to support and transition transition all of these students to their new schools. Thank you for listening.

1:02:52Nicole Rajpal Thank [cheering] you. Our next speaker is Aster White followed by Will Ratlage and Juel Brown.

1:03:02Astred White (Monarch PK-8 student) Dear BVSD, this decision that you are making is unappreciated. There is an equal amount of grades in PK8 and well in preK through fifth grade and middle school and high school put together. Continue to find out everything I know about this situation. There are many kids in elementary. In fact, people in middle school next year, most of them have younger siblings in elementary. You are taking away a possibility for an elementary school. This miserable decision is misleading other schools in the wrong direction. What you are performing is unacceptably rude towards elementary students. With all the reasons in your head, these are some reasons to change from the these are some reasons not to change from Monarch PKA to Monarch Middle. Thank you for considering my reasons.

1:04:00Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Will Rattledge followed by Juel Brown and Finley Wilman.

1:04:08Will Ratlage (Flatirons student) Hi, I am Will Rage, a fifth grade student at Flatirons Elementary. I'm here to talk about why it is important to have neighborhood schools. One reason it is important you is you can walk to school. Sometimes I walk to school with my friends that live close by. I also like to walk to school with my family. When parents and kids can walk to school, parents get very engaged with other parents and sometimes they become friends. The same thing happens after school. Neighborhood schools create community and that is the fabric of our city. Being able to walk to school creates less pollution and traffic. It also means kids can get some form of exercise, whether it's walking, biking, or scootering before school.

1:04:44Will Ratlage (Flatirons student) The worst part of this plan is that you are breaking up our community. My sister will be separated from her friends next year. My other sister will never get a chance to go to the same school as her siblings. You say you care about communities and you say you care about children. This plan doesn't support either. Please vote no in the resilient schools plan. Thank you.

1:05:02Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering and applause] Our next speaker is Juel Brown followed by Finley Wellman and Skyla Enard.

1:05:16Juel Brown (Flatirons student) Hello, my name is Juel Brown. I am in fourth grade. I go to Flatirons Elementary. My teachers and friends are upset and sad about our school closing. If our school does close, we will have to drive to school, which will cause traffic, which will cause pollution. On a typical day, I walk to school. I walk with my family or friends. On the walk, I see my neighbors and classmates. And when the bell rings at the end of the day, I go to sack. If I go to a different school, I am worried I won't get into sack. And I also am worried that it will be stressful because there will be so many more kids and that and I won't know them.

1:05:50Juel Brown (Flatirons student) You have to see all the perspectives. Will it be good for the people who live close to the school? How will it impact the kids? And how will it change the neighborhood? Also, some kids have been at flat earths since kindergarten, and their friends from kindergarten might be split up and will be and it and that will be hard for both kids. And if our school does close, what will it turn into? And how will that affect our neighborhood? And what school are we supposed to go to if that school will just get shut down in one or two years? And the kids in the mountains will have to wake up earlier to get to school on time. How will that affect their families?

1:06:34Juel Brown (Flatirons student) I love my teachers because they are all kind and nice and respectful. My classmates are all kind and I might go to a different school than all of them. Please don't close our school. Thank you.

1:06:51Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Finley Wellman, followed by Skyla Enard and Emry Shively.

1:07:01Finley Wellman (former Douglas student, Platt Middle) Hi, my name is Finley. I'm a former Douglas student and I'm currently attending Platt Middle School. My speech focuses on the wonderfulness of Douglas and why we should keep it open. I started going to Douglas in first grade and the community was so welcoming and it was all the way through. I loved and still love Douglas so much because of the teachers, the classrooms, and all of the students and the community they have taken years to build. That would all go away if you close the school and split up all of the teachers and students. And younger kids won't get that special experience that I did.

1:07:30Finley Wellman (former Douglas student, Platt Middle) Another thing to think about is that right now Douglas has a great PTO and if Douglas is closed, they will be split up and the parents may not do the PTO at their new schools. I was on student council and the PTO helped so much and we would not have had the same experience and would not have gotten the same events and end of year party that we did. High peaks won't get as many kids as Douglas. It is because it is a lottery system and it's harder to get into and some parents aren't willing to sign their kids up for a school that they aren't guaranteed a spot in. Douglas provided so much more than education for me.

1:08:03Finley Wellman (former Douglas student, Platt Middle) They offer reliable daily meals, health care, speech therapy, and mental health counseling that lowincome or vulnerable children rely on. And Douglas has a wonderful nurse. My friend has diabetes, and the nurse helped her get through that. And without her, my friend may have had a way harder time with that. The staff was always so great, especially the custodians. Mr. Rick, the custodian at my lunch, um during lunch class, we would put our hands on our heads and he would come around and he would pat them and he would go to a different school and he may not do that with the new kids and he just made it so much more lively and I don't want that to end.

1:08:41Finley Wellman (former Douglas student, Platt Middle) I hope you take all of this into consideration and I know that you are doing this for a reason, but there should be no reason in the world to close such a special school because at Douglas we care. That means that Douglas has community, achievement, relationships, and a wonderful environment. Thank you.

1:08:57Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering and applause] Our next speaker is Skyla Enard, followed by Emory Shiveley and Zephr Height.

1:09:05Skyla Enard (Douglas student) Hi, I'm Skyla and I'm a fifth grader at Douglas Elementary. I'm here to tell you about our community at Douglas and why it should not be shut down. When I heard that Douglas was getting going to get shut down, I burst into tears because I may be in fifth grade, but Douglas is like a second home to me. I mean, the teachers practically raised us. One of my favorite Douglas memories is something my little sister was so close to, mini society, which is a special Douglas tradition. My favorite part of Douglas, is that we are all so close, the teachers, students, and our principal, Mr. Wolfer.

1:09:35Skyla Enard (Douglas student) Since learning that our school was going to get shut down, I have ridden my bike all around, passing out flyers urging people to sign a petition to help save Douglas. So, all I am asking you is please don't break apart our Douglas community. Thank you all for your time.

1:09:49Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Emory Shiveley Faler Height and Copeland Mans.

1:09:58Emory Shiveley (Douglas student) My name is Emory Shiveley. I live in Lafayette and I'm a fifth grade at Douglas. Fifth grade is a community full of people who have a special bond. Douglas is more than a school. It's a second home, full of a second family. Including me, the kids in our school are heartbroken because of three reasons. One, not only are the kids getting torn apart to different schools, but so are all of our favorite teachers. Two, the younger kids were just getting settled in and getting the con concept of the wonderful Douglas community. Three, finally, think of all the kids who wanted to go to Douglas. Where will they go now? My neighborhood is my classroom and my classroom is my neighborhood.

1:10:33Emory Shiveley (Douglas student) In our neighborhood, we have 10 fifth grades and we all take the school bus together. On the last day of our school, our parents spray us with water balloons and we have a huge water fight in the park. E my teacher even lives on one culde-SAC over. We love Mr. Woler and all of our teachers. Douglas is so special because we can work with all of our friends in the I can program and that means we get to learn about working with people who learn differently than I do. We are one big class and a family together. I'm lucky I got to have eight years at Douglas. I don't understand why anyone would like to close it. Please don't.

1:11:11Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Zephr height followed by Coblin Mans and Thomas Blackwood.

1:11:18Zephr Height (Flatirons student) Hello, my name is Zephr height. I go to Flatens and I think it's an amazing school. Flats Elementary is more than a school. It's the last piece of puzzle. It's peanut butter on a sandwich. It's a bow and a gift. Flats Elementary has no floss. I think everything is great. Reason one why it's great. We have a buddy bench, which is something where if you're sad and have no friends, they can sit there and someone will come up and to invite you to play. I've never seen anyone sit on it because we all have good friends. Reason two, everything is organized and nicely put together. Reason three, we get a great education and the teachers are incredible and help us learn how to do things.

1:11:47Zephr Height (Flatirons student) That's all the things that I can fit on the paper, but there's definitely other reasons why our school is great. Basically, all the kids at Flatirons want the school to stay open, even the teachers. What I really want is to at least have one more year besides this year. What I'm trying to say is if our school shuts down for good, then have the great last bit of it. Thank you for letting me talk.

1:12:07Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Copeland Mans followed by Thomas Blackwood and Janabi Naidu.

1:12:15Copeland Mans (Douglas student) Hi, my name is Copeland Mans and I attend Douglas Elementary. After my family lost our home in the Marshall fire, Douglas has been so supportive. All the teachers feel like family to me and they make me feel so special. And ever since I When I moved in to my new house, I had a lot of catching up to do because I was moving around all over the place and I was in VIP and other learning programs and they made me feel so confident. And now that all my neighbors are moving in to their new homes, it's not right that it's not fair that their neighborhood school has to go away and they have to be displaced again. Um, thank you.

1:13:07Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Thomas Blackwood, followed by Janavi Naidu and Sterling Smith.

1:13:17Thomas Blackwood (Douglas student) How do you turn it on? My name is Thomas Blackward and I'm a fourth grade student at Douglas Elementary. I was surprised when they announced that Douglas would be closing. I did not think that Douglas should close. I'm a fourth grade student and I want to stay at Douglas for my fifth grade year. I do not want to change schools for fifth and then change again for middle school. I'd only have a year to make new friends at the new school before I start a new middle school. I think this plan is unfair because Douglas and everyone in it will be placed into three other schools. It would be unlikely to have more than a few friends at each school.

1:13:49Thomas Blackwood (Douglas student) If High Peaks takes over Douglas building, Douglas should get free enrollment to High Peaks. Why can't they just combine the two schools? We can combine the two names so every from each school feels welcome. Is there a way that both schools teachers and staff can stay together in the Douglas building? It just feels wrong that there's a different school in the Douglas building that I cannot go to. I'm a walking biking student that goes to Douglas and I'm only two blocks away. Why do High Peaks kids gets to keep their school intact while Douglas gets torn apart? And I don't even get to go to my neighborhood school.

1:14:21Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Shavi Naidu, followed by Sterling Smith and Isabella Mason.

1:14:32Janavi Naidu (Douglas student) Hi, my name is Johny. My speech focuses on the amazing and one-of-a-kind Douglas Elementary and why we should keep it open. Douglas has one of the most amazing I can programs in BVSD. The teachers are very supportive and help IAN students in any way possible. This change might be hard for them because of the new school, new teachers, and overall new environment. Therefore, it would be better if I can stayed at Douglas to keep the I can program running strong and smooth. In the six years I went to Douglas, all the teachers were amazing. Each teacher made an impact on me and the Douglas community was very welcoming. The teachers made it seem like there was a place at Douglas for all of us.

1:15:09Janavi Naidu (Douglas student) Douglas supported me in any way possible, and I really don't want to see the school I grew up in go. At the end of each school year, the kids graduating from high school who went to Douglas walk the halls of their former elementary schools meet the teachers one last time and inspire new generations. All the kids who went to Douglas in the last 16 years, including me, will not get to be part of this special event. This event is so special, so please don't make it go away. The kids who are in Douglas now, I can assure you, are not very happy about this new transition. My neighbor is a kindergarten at at Douglas Elementary right now and she's already worrying about these new plans.

1:15:45Janavi Naidu (Douglas student) No child should have to carry this kind of anxiety at such a young age. I know we're facing an enrollment issue and it's a pretty hard problem to solve, but splitting up these schools is not the right answer. If you separate Douglas into three schools, students might end up going to a school without their best friends in the middle of their elementary school career. Mixing up schools is disruptive. Please consider keeping schools together to help students keep learning just the same. Thank you so much for your time and I hope you vote to keep Douglas open.

1:16:15Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Sterling Smith, followed by Isabella Mason and Benny Larson.

1:16:23Sterling Smith (Douglas student) Hello, my name is Sterling Smith and I go to Douglas Elementary. I do not think Douglas should be shut down because it's a great school and there are tons of good people. Um and unlike other schools they have I can and sack and it's a great school and friends and um teachers are like family so they should never um the school should not be shut down because it's a great school.

1:16:49Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Isabella followed by Benny Larson and Annabelle Stevens.

1:16:56Isabella Mason (Flatirons student) Hello. My name is Isabella Mone and I'm a fourth grader at Flatirons Elementary. Before I moved to Boulder, I went to a really big school in Washington DC. There were lots of students and lots of teachers. It was crowded and it was busy. I never felt like I belonged or that people really knew me. I started at Flats halfway through first grade and right away it felt different. I could walk to school every way. No more buses to ride. No more car lines to wait in. My mom and dad could hang out with me before the bell rang. Sometimes my dog even came to drop me off. It felt awesome. Because it was a small school, people noticed me.

1:17:27Isabella Mason (Flatirons student) My teacher took the time to understand me. The principal knew my name and even kids in other grades knew who I was. It felt safe, welcome, and like I mattered. That's when I first learned what it felt like to really belong in a community. I know other kids I know other kids at neighborhood schools like Douglas, Mesa, and Rich feel this way, too. I'm very worried about next year. Switch switching schools during my last year of elementary school is scary since our school community is being sped up. What will my fifth grade year be like without all my teach my friends and teachers? This is going to is this going to happen when I again when I am in middle school too?

1:18:08Isabella Mason (Flatirons student) I know the adults on the board have to make really hard decisions. You may think we know what is best for us, but this doesn't feel like a good plan to me. My experience having more students and more teachers doesn't instantly create a strong community or a better student experience. I hope you will take more time to listen to what students have to say before making such a big decision because we are the ones who will who will feel this change. Please don't take away my favorite place away from me. Thank you for listening to me.

1:18:37Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Benny Larson followed by Annabelle Stevens and Nev Pearson.

1:18:49Benny Larson (Mesa student) Members of the BVSD board, thank you for your time today. I'm Benny Larson and I'm from Mesa Elementary in the fifth grade. As I lay in my bed after hearing the night the news of school closures, I felt tears well up in my eyes. I thought about how much Mesa has felt like home to me. The school where I walked in for my first day of kindergarten. A sm a mask covering my face but smiling ear to ear nonetheless. But I'm not standing here as just a member, another member of my community to say save my school. A feeling in my gut tells me the decision to close my school has been made and that I should accept this reality.

1:19:22Benny Larson (Mesa student) That said, I have two younger brothers to look out for. Sammy's next in line, a first grader at Mesa who goes to sack. He loves to get his energy out and it's a chance for to get closer with his friends. Then there's Charlie, my youngest brother. He's not school age yet and he won't know the difference between Mesa Creek or Sesame Street. But what he does know is that his two older brothers go to Mesa and it's a safe, welcoming place to be. But here's what both my brothers and so many other students and community will feel firsthand. One, a nervous pit in their stomach entering a huge classroom either without walls or in temporary spaces with only one teacher to lead the pack.

1:19:58Benny Larson (Mesa student) Two, they'll definitely feel the communitywide impact of losing access to programs like STAC or personalized attention through RISE. And most importantly, traffic danger. Our parents have always taught us to look both ways when crossing the street. But when speeding drivers mixed with hundreds of kids trying to get to school, a one bottlenecked road called Table Mesa Drive, looking both ways sadly might not be enough to keep kids safe. So I ask you members of the BVSD board to help kids like Sammy and Charlie and so many others by addressing my top three issues. One, class size and location. Two, critical programs like SAC. And three, traffic safety. Thank you.

1:20:35Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Annabelle Stevens followed by Nev Pearson and Remy Pejo. Sorry, Remy.

1:20:50Annabelle Stevens (Flatirons student) Flatirons Elementary has helped teach me to do hard things like talking to a big group of adults like you. Hello, my name is Annabelle Stevens and I'm a second grader at Flatirons Elementary. I learned terrible news. My school is going to close along with other schools in Boulder. This is not good for our neighborhood. BVSD on its website states that walking to school is a brain boost, but you're going to send me to a school where I can't walk. Why are you taking this away from me and adding all these cars on the road? This hurts the environment. This is not a good plan.

1:21:31Annabelle Stevens (Flatirons student) Will you also be closing my new school in just a few years so we will have to go through this mess all over again? What I don't understand is why you're closing such a high achieving school. At Flatirons, we work so hard. I know all my classmates try really hard. Did you know Flatirons is in the top 10% of all Colorado schools? I know I'm not alone. My teachers, friends, and Flatirons community are all sad and disappointed. My parents always tell me to be kind and respectful to others, especially to other grown-ups.

1:22:06Annabelle Stevens (Flatirons student) But in a survey or survey BVSD put out, 64% of respondents said they didn't want kids to be s split up and separated into different schools, but that's what the plan does. Why aren't the grown-ups in charge of listening to us? You're not being kind or respectful. Please don't close Flatirons. It's the place where joy, community, and learning meet. Show your work daily. Vote no to school closures. Thank you.

1:22:37Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Our next speaker is Mev Pearson, followed by Remy Pau and Shephard Wikar.

1:22:51Nev Pearson (Flatirons student) I am Ne Pearson. I am in first grade at Flatirons. When I was a baby, my mommy and daddy moved to our new home so my sister and I could go to Flatirons. They really love this school. I love my school, too. I love my friends and I know the kids in my neighborhood. Um, I see them when I walk to school. When I found out my school might close, it made me sad. I know some kids from preschool. Please don't split us up. When I was little, I walked to school to Flat Iron every day to drop off my big sister. I was so excited when it was my turn to go to Flatirons. Now you are closing it.

1:23:54Nev Pearson (Flatirons student) I won't be able to walk to school anymore. My mommy will have to drive us. My community is being broken up. If I go to a new school, I'm scared it will close, too. I do not think this is a good plan. On Sesame Street, when they need to solve a problem, they say, "I wonder what if. Let's try." I think the grown-ups should do more wondering and think about the whatifs before trying something that will hurt us kids. Thank you.

1:24:49Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Our next speaker is Remy PJO followed by Shephard Wicker and Abigail Van Bachan. We do not see Remy. Is shepherd? I don't see Shepherd on deck. As a reminder, let's line up on the wall over there.

1:25:11Shepherd Wikar (Douglas student) My bad. Uh, my name is Chef and I attend Douglas Elementary. I'm black and Native American. Two cool things about me are I can solve a Rubik's cube and I can and I play competitive basketball. My brother and I have fical fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, ADHD, and dyslexia. My family chose Douglas because it is a school that understands and supports students like us. My my brother and I were adopted and our lives have been hard enough. We were exposed to substances before we were born and we have bigger mountains to climb than many other students. My neighborhood school is loud and overwhelming for me. My Douglas is peaceful and it is a much better place for me to learn and feel successful.

1:26:02Shepherd Wikar (Douglas student) Miss Schmidt is an amazing education special education teacher. She has changed my life. The teachers at Douglas are firm and kind. Douglas feels like a a focus school for me. Please stop and think about what you are doing to students with disabilities. Kicking students with disabilities out and giving it our building to a focus school doesn't feel right. How would you feel if this were happening to you? Please do the right thing and vote no. Students like me need Douglas. It's the best school ever. And by the way, it's Wikar.

1:26:41Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Abigail. audience, if you want to help the students hear their names, I just ask you to keep it down in between. Our next speaker is Abigail Van Bachan, followed by Marlo Hayes and Rowan Deovo Deovio.

1:27:01Abigail Van Bachan (Douglas student) Hi, my name is Abigail Van Bachan. I'm a fourth grader at Douglas Elementary School. When I heard that Douglas was shutting down, I burst into tears. When I got to school the next morning, I could not stop crying and thinking about it. I care about my teachers and classmates. When I heard that I had to move schools, it broke my heart. As I have learned, your plan is to create a resilient future. I have learned something about resilience. When my grandparents' home burned down, they were able to endure because of their friends and neighbors, their community. Please don't break our Douglas community up.

1:27:36Nicole Rajpalspeaker unconfirmed · check the video Thank you. Our next speaker is Marlo Hayes, followed by Rowan Demovio and Barrett Corner.

1:27:44Public commenter (unnamed Flatirons third grader) I'm a third grader that goes to Flatirons Elementary. When I heard the terrible news that our school was closing down, I was crying for a couple hours. Um, in kindergarten, I left the school and moved to California for 2 years. And then I came and my teachers were really mean to me. So then I moved back to Colorado and and then had amazing teachers. And then when I heard the bad news, I I was like, well, I just came back and I'll only have one more year. And also a lot of my friends told me that they're going to another school that I'm not going to and I don't want.

1:28:35Public commenter (unnamed Flatirons third grader) And then probably at my new school, you guys are going to close it again and then I'll have to go through the same struggle.

1:28:46Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Rowan Demo Bar that followed by Barrett Corner and Reese Gabriel.

1:28:53Marlo Hayes (Douglas student) Uh so do you press this button?

1:28:57Unidentified speakerspeaker unconfirmed · check the video Okay.

1:28:58Marlo Hayes (Douglas student) So I think like that guy went before me and I'm Marlo Hayes. So, my name is Marlo and I'm in third grade at Douglas Elementary. I love my school. My teachers know me and my friends are like family. Douglas is not struggling. Kids choose to come here because it's a great school. If you close it, my friends and I will be split into three different schools and we won't be together anymore. Please don't close Douglas. We are not the problem. Please give our school another chance to stay home. My friends are my family and Douglas is my home.

1:29:28Nicole Rajpal Thank you. And thank you for letting me know, Marlo, that somebody snuck in before you. Can um the gentleman at the podium, can you please state your name so I know where we are in line?

1:29:43Barrett Kerner (Douglas student) Um hello, my name is Barrett Kerner and I'm a fourth grade student at Douglas. Thank you for the chance to share my thoughts on why Douglas shouldn't be closed. My first reaction to your announcement was complete shock. Selfishly, I started to think about how this proposal would affect me, me directly. I mourned the loss of my Cowwood trip instead of the fifth grade highlight with the friends I've made at my five years at Douglas. This would be an adventure taken with strangers. I was angry that the district proposal would take away my chance at working with our favorite PE teacher, Mr. Soul, next year. I cried over the ridiculousness that my core group of friends would be exploded into at least four schools for fifth grade.

1:30:25Barrett Kerner (Douglas student) None of them will join me at my new neighborhood school. Do you really think it's reasonable to ask a kid to attend four schools in six years? This is crazy. I hope you can tell that I love my school. Mr. Wolf Melt welcomes me and my sister each morning with a smile. My friends and I feel safe in an environment where we can be challenged and ask questions and see growth together. The teachers take time to foster my individual interests so I can soak up a new learning. Douglas is a special place. I would like to challenge you to do what my teachers ask of me every day. I'm always told to show my work. Find more than one solution. So I challenge you. Get creative.

1:31:10Barrett Kerner (Douglas student) Think outside the box. Do better. There is always more than one way to solve a problem. This can't be the best one. Please do it better. Save Douglas. Thank you for hearing me.

1:31:24Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Reese Gabriel, followed by Sophia Watkins and Finn Gimble.

1:31:34Reese Gabriel (Flatirons student) Hi, I'm Reys Gabriel and I believe that Flatirons is the best place to be. When you want company, you need joy. Flatirons is the place. It's paradise. And sure, close our school, but just know that our hearts are built around it. That's how we made all of our friends our memories because that is why Flatirons is where we go to school and together we are so powerful. I always want to be there is the best learning environment where everyone can be friends. Thank you so much for listening.

1:32:04Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Sophia Watkins followed by Finn Gimble and Rio Annart.

1:32:13Sophia Watkins (Birch student) Hi, my name is Sophia Watkins and I'm a fourth grader at Birch Elementary. I have been at Birch since kindergarten and it means a lot to me because we have amazing teachers who help us do hard things. They make school fun, a place where I feel safe, loved, and supported. When learning has been hard, my school has given me extra help so I can focus and get better at my skill. At Birch, we have an amazing community. I don't want to move schools because I have been there a long time, have made amazing friends, and I don't want to lose my teachers.

1:32:56Sophia Watkins (Birch student) Going to Kohl or Aspen and having more kids in my class will make it way harder for me to focus and learn my best. Please keep our school and our open and our community to who gather.

1:33:14Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Our next speaker is Finn Gimple followed by Rio Enyard and Jane Vanbach. Is Finn here?

1:33:34Finn Gimble (Uni Hill student) Can I speak it in two languages?

1:33:36Nicole Rajpal Yes, we always allow people that speak in English and in Spanish a little bit more time. Yes, you may.

1:33:48Finn Gimble (Uni Hill student) ESP. Football profession. Gracias. [cheering] Hello and good afternoon. My name is Fendon Pel and I'm a third grade. I'm a third grade student at Uni Hillingo School. I began at Uni Hill in kindergarten. It's important to note that Spanish is not my first language nor that of my parents. At school, I learned half the day in Spanish and the other half in day in English. I like learning Spanish. My parents took me off to Uni Hill because they recognize how useful Spanish could be for my future. Eventually, I want to play professional soccer for a Spanish soccer team. But if that doesn't work out, I believe that speaking Spanish will open up opportunities when I grow up.

1:35:20Finn Gimble (Uni Hill student) I'm grateful that BVSD gives me the opportunity to learn in two languages, and I hope to continue that bilingual program after UN Hill. Thank you.

1:35:33Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering and applause] Our next speaker is Rio Enyard followed by Jane Van Bachern and Parker Palmer.

1:35:42Rio Enyard (Douglas student) Hi, my name's Rio. I'm a student at Douglas Elementary School in second grade. I'm here to tell you why I think the school should not be shut down. When I found out the school might be shutting down next year, I was so sad because it's the only school I've been to in my life. I don't want to move to another school because like I told you, it's the only school I've been to in my life. What feels unfair to me about this plan is that there are two new kids in second grade that just moved here and I don't think they want to begin. Also, a girl in my class thinks it's all her fault the school is being shut down.

1:36:19Rio Enyard (Douglas student) What what's what's important to me about Douglas is that there is that all my friends and wonderful teachers are there to support me. One of my favorite Douglas memories is when I first came to school this year and I got to see all my old friends from first grade. But all I'm saying is to please don't shut down our school. Thank you for all your time.

1:36:39Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Jane Van Bachan followed by Parker Palmer and Craig Dreer.

1:36:49Jane Van Bachan (Douglas student) Hi, my name is Jane Van Bachan. I and I'm here to tell you why Douglas should not close. I felt very sad when I got the information. I remember when I moved to my house. It was because I was going to go to Douglas. Douglas has given me my wonderful friends and teachers taught me how to spell what great words. Thank you for listening to my speech.

1:37:21Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Parker Palmer, followed by Craig Dreer and George Wilson.

1:37:29Parker Palmer (Douglas student) Hi, my name is Parker Palmer and I'm a student at Douglas Elementary. I'm here today because I don't think Douglas should be closed. What I love most about Douglas is my friends, my principal, and my favorite teacher, Miss Braun. I think that's what most kids would say about a school that's doing really well. When I found out Douglas might close, I felt really sad. I was especially worried about my sister because she might not get to stay with her friends anymore. She doesn't like big changes, so I know this would be hard for her. It doesn't feel fair that our school didn't even get a warning. We're doing everything right and we still might have to leave.

1:38:03Parker Palmer (Douglas student) I'm also worried because nobody can promise this won't happen again. It might not just be one move. It could be a bunch of moves. And it's really hard to leave teachers you have such a close bond with. I think they'd miss us, too. Our school isn't just a building. and it's a comm it's a community and it matters. Please vote no on this proposal so we can come up with an idea that gives us more time to make sure it's the best idea. Thank you.

1:38:26Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Craig Dreer followed by George Wilson and Ashar Aslam who is virtual this evening.

1:38:36Craig Dreer (BVSD parent) Good evening. My name is Craig Dreer. I'm a BBS.

1:38:39Nicole Rajpal I'm sorry. This first part is for our students only. We do students followed by adults.

1:38:46Craig Dreer (BVSD parent) You called my name, so I'm not sure what to do. I

1:38:49Nicole Rajpal must have indicated that you were a student. We'll move on to George Wilson, followed by Ashar Aslam.

1:39:03George Wilson (Fairview sophomore, Uni Hill graduate) Hola, is George Wilson. So, sophomore Freshman examine the AP espanol. Hill BVSD. literacy. Seal of climate literacy. Hill certific. in Boulder. I will now translate this into English. Thank you. Hi, my name is George Wilson. I'm a sophomore at Fairview High School and I'm a graduate of Uniill. I grew up in a monilingual house apart from my sisters who now speak Spanish. I was the only person speaking Spanish in my family. My mom is over there and she couldn't understand a word of what I was saying just a minute ago. Last year I was a freshman at in Fairview and I passed my AP Spanish exam without even being in the class.

1:41:29George Wilson (Fairview sophomore, Uni Hill graduate) I'm already taking IB French 3 and I plan to take the AP French exam next year and then I plan to study Arabic as a senior. I've already earned the language component for my syllabi literacy. However, I do want to tell you that since leaving Uni Hill, no employee of BVSD, academic counselors, teachers or district employees have informed me on how to earn this certification. It has taken word of mouth and my parents to read up on the requirements to stay on track. The Seal of Biliteracy is not promoted to the students at all. I have however received information on how to earn the seal of climate literacy.

1:42:01George Wilson (Fairview sophomore, Uni Hill graduate) Maybe the first question should be is how do we inform graduates of Uni Hill and other bilingual schools on how to stay on track to earn the certification before assuming it is a marker for success. To question whether bilingual education works based solely on who based solely on who goes to earn the seal of approval would be a mistake. Learning another language has given me confidence, compassion, a greater world vision, connections, and it has given me education the same as other elementary schools in Boulder, and I can speak, read, and write in another language. Thank you for your time.

1:42:32Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Ashar Assam is our final student speaker and they are virtual this evening. Are they online? They appear to not be online. Students, I want to say great job lining up on the side of the wall. Great job keeping your remarks to no more than two minutes. Uh you are very expedient. And as a result, we're going to move on to a few grown-up conversations before we take a little bit of a break, if that's okay, board members. Okay, grown-ups. Same rules apply. I'll call three names in a row. Ask you to line up on the wall over there. Um, we will start with Mark Shangree, followed by JC Long Bottom and Josh Stanfield. Okay, it does not look like Mark is here.

Public comment: adults, part 1

1:44:00Nicole Rajpal JC Longbottom. The stage lights are really bright. You're Mark.

1:44:13JC Longbottom (BVSD parent) Hey there. No, I'm JC.

1:44:14Nicole Rajpal JC. Is Mark here? Where's Mark? It doesn't appear to be. So, we'll go on with JC followed by Josh Stanfield and Craig Dreer.

1:44:23JC Longbottom (BVSD parent) Hey gang. You know, since this plan was announced, I've thought about speaking to each of you probably every minute since then. What would I say? What would convince you? What should be said in this room? And I've got an emotional story here about dropping our son off and how much he said feels a deep sense of belonging in his school, how he's bursting with self-esteem. But what could I say that these students didn't say? What could I say? They said, "Did you study the whatifs?" They said, "Show your work." And mostly they said, "I belong." But then I thought a lot about like, "What's your way forward? What's the way forward?" Like, does this feel right?

1:45:07JC Longbottom (BVSD parent) Does this feel in any way like this is the right moment and the right thing. We know we've got massive challenges. We understand that. But right now, we are rushing. We are rushing to an irreversible point. We are we are rushing to take everything these students just talked about away and we are doing it without a plan. We are doing it without knowing what exactly the next steps are. We are doing it without studying the impact of closures on childhood development on self-esteem. We are assuming that the opportunities of the future outweigh the promise of today. the things you see. Happy kids, happy communities, belonging. So, what are you gonna do? What's the way forward? Right? You said there's no plan B.

1:46:01JC Longbottom (BVSD parent) Well, this feels like plan B. We want plan A. Spend the time to do more work. Take the time to understand the details. Figure out the details before the vote and connect with the city. Take the time. The way to restore trust with this community, with everyone you'll hear tonight, is to take the time to do more work. It's so simple.

1:46:30Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Josh Stanfeld, followed by Craig Dreer and Vicas Ready.

1:46:39Josh Stanfield (High Peaks parent) Hi, my name is Josh. My wife and I have a second grader and a kindergartener at High Peaks. I want to focus on the an assumption that was made in this proposal that High Peaks can be relocated several miles east and remain the same successful school with its current enrollment simply following it. I don't think BVSD has demonstrated that. Superintendent Anderson himself has said that families choose schools for many reasons including quote geography even for focus and charter schools. Our family is exactly that case. When we chose High Peaks in 2024, we chose the program and its location together. Had High Peaks been located on 75th Street, we would not have enrolled our daughter there. It simply would not have worked for our family.

1:47:21Josh Stanfield (High Peaks parent) We reconsidered that choice this year as our younger daughter was entering kindergarten. It was a natural opportunity to return both children to their neighborhood school. However, we committed to High Peaks because we love it there and because High Peaks, where it is today, works very well for our family. If this relocation happens, we will have to consider leaving. I ask, did BVSD model how many current High Peaks families will make the same decision? And what evidence shows that new families at the Douglas location will replace them? High Peaks enrollment isn't a block of students that can simply be moved around on a facility spreadsheet. Families make choices. [screaming] This specific relocation was presented publicly only weeks before a scheduled vote.

1:48:14Josh Stanfield (High Peaks parent) A year of discussion about declining enrollment is not a year of discussion about relocating High Peaks. Please do not rush this decision. If these questions cannot be as answer answered now, I ask that you separate this uh relocation decision from the larger proposal and give the community more time to evaluate all these decisions, especially for the Douglas kids as well. Thank you. [cheering]

1:48:38Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Craig Dreer followed by the cost ready and Patricia Stanfield.

1:48:47Craig Dreer (BVSD parent) Good evening. My name is Craig Dreer. I'm a BVSD parent. I want to start by thanking all the children who came to speak on behalf of all of us. You're incredible. Um, I've read the full proposal. The superintendent has said himself that if we did nothing, we would still balance our budgets. Slide 60 confirms it. The savings are described as a funding redirected to the student experience, not as closing a deficit. So, this isn't cost cutting, it's an investment decision, and it should be invaluated like it is one. The numbers are the district's own up to 15 million in one-time costs, returning 3.5 to 4 million a year. Slide 8 states that three rounds are at the ideal state.

1:49:25Craig Dreer (BVSD parent) Slide 58 says that after closing four buildings affecting 16 schools and thousands of children, the average reach is 2.5 rounds with six schools still below two. So, we're asking we're being asked to spend up to $15 million, disrupt 16 school communities, and impact thousands of children only to land half a round short of the district's own stated goals. Enrollment decline is real, and we we may have to face some consolidation. But look at what three rounds gets us. According to the slide, dedicated counselors, specialist teachers, teacher librarians, special education teachers, smaller schools get traveling teachers, and programming limitations. Those are staffing allocation decisions. They were built for a district that was growing and now is in decline.

1:50:06Craig Dreer (BVSD parent) This proposal treats a staffing allocation policy as a fixed pillar in the decision and our children and communities as the variables that must change. My ask is that you treat our children and communities as the pillars and the policy as what must change to the reality. [screaming] So before you vote, direct district staff to price one alternative. what $15 million invested in our children and our communities through a a revised allocation model gets us the district weight options. You are being handed one. You cannot evaluate a recommendation when you're only given one option. Thank you for your time.

1:50:45Nicole Rajpal Thank you to the audience. It it's hard for us to hear our speakers when you are snapping or clapping in the middle of the remarks. And I just want to make sure that we can hear what they say and that they don't run out of time because they're pausing. Um, so with that, Vicas ready followed by Patricia Stanfield and Olivia Hines. No Vicass is Patricia here. Thanks.

1:51:20Patricia Stanfield (High Peaks parent) Sorry, I thought there was a button to push. Hi, my name is Patty and I'm the parent of a second grader and a kindergartener at High Peaks. We commute daily from Netherland down the canyon into Boulder. I urge you to reconsider moving High Peaks to the Douglas campus. For families commuting from the mountain communities, the current location on Aurora provides a vital central hub. Shifting the school clear out of town to Far East Boulder, nearly Lafayette, introduces a significant cross town commute through peak traffic both ways. This isn't just an added inconvenience. It adds dozens of hours of non unnecessary driving, making our current biking and walking population need to drive as well. It increases vehicular emissions and safety risks during the winter weather.

1:51:58Patricia Stanfield (High Peaks parent) And I don't just say that because I drive down the canyon every day. Many parents would then also need to backtrack to drive back into the heart of Boulder. I, for one, have been working at CU Boulder for nearly 20 years. Part of why we chose High Peaks was its proximity to campus. Beyond transportation, this move drastically disrupts critical child care logistics. High Peaks families face weight lists for school age care, as do I'm sure everybody else. Our family has never gotten higher than 14th on the wait list. We can't rely upon a lottery for child care. Because of this gap, we rely entirely on the YMCA after school program, which currently buses our children directly from High Peaks to the Boulder Y.

1:52:35Patricia Stanfield (High Peaks parent) Pushing High Peaks further east breaks these established functioning off-site care pipelines that working parents depend on just to get the keep their jobs. Imagine asking your boss to change your working hours from 8:00 to 5:00 to 9:30 to 2:15 just so you can get your kids from school. High Peaks succeeds because its location serves a diverse broad geographic footprint across the district. In the proposal, serving the eastern community was emphasized several times, but moving High Peaks penalizes the mountain, northern, and western families who choose this school in part for its accessibility and location. Please keep High Peaks at its central location. Protect the essential infrastructure our working families rely on every single day. Protect the relationships we and our children have built.

1:53:19Patricia Stanfield (High Peaks parent) And be thankful my kindergartner and singing grader didn't come up and talk because you would be crying with their comments. Thank you so much.

1:53:29Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Olivia Hines followed by Elise Longbottom and Tyler Haney.

1:53:41Olivia Hines (Douglas parent) Good even Good evening. My name is Olivia Hines. I am a parent of a second and fourth grader at Douglas. We are a family that chooses to open enroll at Douglas. We have found community at Douglas. And even though a majority of students, including mine, may not walk to our school, it doesn't mean that we're not a tight-knit community. The Douglas community shouldn't be penalized for being a school where less kids walk to school. My children couldn't even walk to the neighborhood school that we are assigned to. Open enrollment is unique to Colorado and we were happy to be able to find a school that best fit the needs of our family and children. 35% of Douglas students open enroll there.

1:54:21Olivia Hines (Douglas parent) That means Douglas is providing excellent educational opportunities and attracting more students. Why close a school that is successful in drawing in open enrollment students? How were schools with strong open enrollment demands considered in this decision-making process? Douglas is not a struggling or empty school. And this proposal sends our Douglas students to three different schools that have lower enrollments than Douglas. How can I be sure that under this plan my kids won't be subjected to multiple disruptions to their education caused by more school closures yet to come? This proposal barely moves the needle to address declining enrollment and closes a school that actively draws students in with open enrollment.

1:55:07Olivia Hines (Douglas parent) Please vote no to this proposal and find a district-wide solution that more clearly achieves BVSD's stated goals and the needs of our school communities. Thank you.

1:55:17Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Elise Long Bottom followed by Tyler Haney and Anna Sto. We'll move on to Tyler Haney and followed by Anna Sto and Lauren Kelso.

1:55:33Tyler Haney (Flatirons parent) Hi guys, I'm Ty Haney. This is my daughter Sunny. She goes to Flat Iron. She's in first grade. I have an upand cominging next year kindergartener who will also go there. I went there. I'm an alum from Flatirons and grew up in the Shiitakqua Hill uh neighborhood. In fact, went to New York City um started companies and moved my family back here specifically for our amazing neighborhood and Flatirons Elementary. I'm here representing a highly motivated, entrepreneurial and creative community, not only from Flatirons in Uni Hill, which is the Shiitakaco neighborhood we live in, but Douglas, Mesa, and Birch, High Peaks, etc. We're ready.

1:56:12Tyler Haney (Flatirons parent) I I want to mention that because I'm going to move this up so I can stand a little more appropriately. Um, we're all ready and actively here to authentically present alternatives to your guys' plan. While we acknowledge low enrollment is real, this plan for us in particular asks to cash out our kids. Both Flatirons and Uni Hill are among Boulder's highest value neighborhood school sites. Last night I was with the mayor and a number of city council members who said directly that this plan does not fit with their comprehensive plan. Their city comprehensive plan asks for more walkable neighborhoods, more families to move here, more affordable housing, and this resilient schools plan works directly against that.

1:56:58Tyler Haney (Flatirons parent) In fact, they mentioned they were not invited to collaborate in this resilient schools plan, but you asked them to pledge uh their help with the land use for the future Flatirons vacant lot. Sounds a little premeditated to me. Closing neighborhood schools is a choice. It's not an ine inevitability. Closures don't solve enrollment. They do the opposite. They tell the next families not to move here. As an entrepreneur myself, this plan has no vision and it has no precision. We live in one of the best cities in the world. As our elected officials, you guys, you should be advocating for our kids, all of our kids, and working with us and the city to chart a path for making Boulder the ultimate destination for quality family.

1:57:46Nicole Rajpal Your time is up.

1:57:48Tyler Haney (Flatirons parent) Okay. Thank you. [screaming] [cheering]

1:57:51Nicole Rajpal Our next speaker is Anna Soto. [screaming] [cheering] Quiet in the gallery.

1:58:05Unidentified speakerspeaker unconfirmed · check the video [cheering and applause]

1:58:05Nicole Rajpal Board members, our next speaker is Anna Soda, followed by Lauren Keelso and Sarah Barry. Does not appear that Anna is here. We'll move on to Lauren Kelso. Lauren Lauren Kelzo followed by Sarah Barry and Jordan Holles.

1:58:26Lauren Kelso (Douglas parent) Hello. I have questions about things I have heard in the last two meetings. First, there is no plan B. This is the plan we stand behind and that the board will vote on. Surely you recognize that rejecting a plan A and considering the alternatives is an option and a good one. Perhaps through that process you can bring forth a proposal that is more impactful and holistic. We are glad this proposal largely keeps school communities together and focuses on consolidation. Does sending our students at Douglas in three different directions achieve this goal? We want our families to continue to commit to their neighborhood schools. Really, this proposal dismantles ours as if it were merely a pawn on a chessboard.

1:59:10Lauren Kelso (Douglas parent) This decision isn't about the quality of the schools. It is looking purely at enrollment patterns. Has it occurred to you that the number of kids who open enroll into Douglas effectively means that it functions both as a choice program that many many families select into and a neighborhood school that is bound by a community, making it the best of both worlds, not the worst of either. We are so impressed by the level of public input into this process. For who? There was a multi-year process of engagement with schools that had low enrollment. Your public engagement at best failed to give us a fair warning and at worst left us out of the conversation on purpose.

1:59:45Lauren Kelso (Douglas parent) Aren't you concerned that you are working from input that weighs certain perspectives more than others? We aren't sure how this will affect the SAC program yet. Do you feel that a plan that fails to address this need is an acceptable plan? We waited two years to get into SAC and have built our lives and our work around that program. The parents and children of this district deserve meaningful answers to these questions, though my daughter pointed out that they are all mostly rhetorical and a better, more comprehensive plan. Thank you very much.

2:00:18Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Sarah Barry, followed by Jordan Hoel and Britney Smoot.

2:00:39Sarah Barry (Community Montessori parent) tall people, right? I'm going to try and go quickly and I hope you guys will give me a moment. My daughter wants to speak at the end of this. She didn't get a chance to sign up. Um, thank you for your time and the opportunity to speak tonight. I'm Sarah Barry. I am a mom to Hazel. um and she attends Community Montessori as a kindergartener. I understand BSD is facing real financial challenges. I support responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. But if the reason for closing community monaster and moving it is financial, then we need to see a much more complete plan. BVSD has discussed approximately three and a half to$4 million in annual savings from the entire resilient schools plan.

2:01:24Sarah Barry (Community Montessori parent) This does not tell us the actual long-term financial impact of community monator's closure and relocation. Before making a permanent decision, I believe the board should see a community monator specific financial analysis that looks at least 15 years into the future, not simply the next few years. That analysis should include current building costs, relocation and renovation, moving and transition expenses, transportation, staffing, preschool Montessori materials and classroom setup, and the costs that remain after the building closes. It should account for the possibility that enrollment changes when a successful established community is disrupted. Montessori also cannot be evaluated like a conventional elementary school. It's an educational environment, not a simple number of classrooms.

2:02:14Sarah Barry (Community Montessori parent) BVSD itself says preschool is an essential part of Montessori programming and acknowledges that receiving building the receiving building will need renovation to accommodate those needs. So this is not a simple question of moving students into available seats. It's a question of whether BVSD has fully planned and costed what it takes to recreate the entire Montessori program and whether that remains the best strategy 5, 10 or 15 years from now. While I don't believe families should be expected to quietly absorb additional costs through increased fundraising, transportation, or lost community support, the bigger issue is that those potential impacts. Thank you.

2:02:50Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker this evening is Jordan Hosel, followed by Britney Smoot and Gloria Handyside.

2:03:01Jordan Hosel (BVSD parent, Birch) Do you want to say anything?

2:03:03Unidentified speakerspeaker unconfirmed · check the video Okay, I want to do it. She sees her time.

2:03:05Jordan Hosel (BVSD parent, Birch) Thank you. Hello, my name is Jordan Hosel and I have three students in BVSD. Um, I have to tell you it's been kind of a rough start to the BVSD school year. Uh, it started with the district being sued for anti-semitism, which as a family that has Jewish members, I was I was going to come here and talk about Rob Anderson's beautiful message that he sent out and how wonderful it felt to be recognized and what that was like. And that was followed quickly by finding out that Birch was one of the schools that was going to close.

2:03:46Jordan Hosel (BVSD parent, Birch) So then I f thought thought, well this kind of feels like lip service on Rob Anderson's part because he said two years ago that school closures are not a surprise and that the reason that the LC was happening was that there are no surprises and there was going to be full transparency. So it's really hard to believe that there's going to be anything that changes with the Jews in the community if things that you said two years ago are not what you're following through on in terms of the Lac. That being said, so I'm not here to commend Rob Anderson on that because I don't really know what you're saying if it's transparent, if it's true, if it's honest, because it certainly doesn't feel that way.

2:04:27Jordan Hosel (BVSD parent, Birch) Douglas and Burch were two schools that were never mentioned as being part of closures. We were never on any list. We were never ever warned that this was something that could happen to us. Um, on that note, I will also say that it feels targeted specifically at your sped community. Uh this shouldn't be surprising. You guys couldn't manage to provide American Sign Language interpreters at a major district event at the school that hosts death and heart of hearing students. And then three out of the four schools that you chose to close have 56% higher, 49% higher, and 44% higher sped populations.

2:05:02Jordan Hosel (BVSD parent, Birch) So, what I can say is that OCR will happily be investigating this because we can see that it's targeted at the sped population and your ELLL students whether or not you guys choose to acknowledge that.

2:05:19Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Our next speaker is Britney Smoot, followed by Gloria Handyside and Savannah Ross.

2:05:32Britney Smoot (Birch parent) Hi, my name is Britney. Um, I am a mom of two awesome guys that attend Birch. I'm both a first grader and um, a preschooler. And I can go on and on about how amazing Birch is, but tonight um, I have something I think more important to say. BVSD, you you have been asked to make an important decision despite unresolved questions about enrollment capacity and the facility analysis supporting it. The safety of our children and staff cannot and should not be treated as a box to check after making a decision. BVSD's own AHA records identify asbestous containing materials remaining at both of our schools more at Kohl than at Birch. Our preliminary analysis identifies substantial asbestous concerns which pose a risk to both staff and students.

2:06:23Britney Smoot (Birch parent) Not only has the district not acknowledged this, but they also have actively withheld documents. This inspection logs show gaps more than four to six years between required three-year inspections at both schools that are required. Only BBSC announced this recommendation after parents began requesting the examining and Hera records and new reviews were those new reviews were conducted on August 31st and September the 1st. The district has yet to provide bianuals or bimonthly surveillance reports or I'm sorry bannual surveillance reports in accordance with the Hera regulations. The recommendation came first. Public scrutiny has followed. BVSD has not appropriately validated the safety, longevity, sustainabil and sustainability. BDSD has chosen a building for consolidation plan simply based on student capacity.

2:07:16Britney Smoot (Birch parent) None of these actively ignoring the community's concerns and are delaying the release of any evidence to substantiate the utilization of coal. I urge you to halt consolidation recommendation of birch to coal until BVSD has produced corrected enrollment analysis sideby-side comparison of capacity environmental compliance renovation scope abatement removal needs and projected costs. Thank you. Thank you.

2:07:43Nicole Rajpal Our next speaker is Gloria Handyside, followed by Savannah Ross and Lane Cavazos.

2:07:52Gloria Handyside (Douglas parent) My name is Gloria Handyside. I'm a gun barrel resident and a seven-year open enrollment Douglas parent. My husband and I both work full-time and have spent approximately $40,000 on Douglas's afterare program, which is fantastic and anecdotally the best of the district. When considering closures, we have to get this right. Everyone in this room understands that the district has declining enrollment. We don't, however, agree that there is no plan B to address this. The district doesn't even know exactly how much money, if any, the eviction of Douglas from its school building will save. This feels like a pretty important piece of information when disrupting the futures of nearly 300 school children.

2:08:28Gloria Handyside (Douglas parent) What we do know, and has been studied and researched, is that school closures have a negative impact on outcomes. When you wake up on the morning of September 23rd, will you be able to say to yourself with 100% certainty that you did everything that you could for our children? Because if not, then you need to give direction to staff to come back with a better plan. I say this is an eviction and not a closure because Douglas is a national blue ribbon school with excellent test scores, a vibrant G&T program that never triggered the district's own metrics for closure. The district has determined that our building has value, but not the educational outcomes of our children will be scattered to three different schools or more.

2:09:10Gloria Handyside (Douglas parent) The 2014 ballot language generously approved by Boulder County voters directed the district to spend money on special education dedicated spaces. In line with Taber, Douglas was built with this money and has successfully used spaces to integrate students with disabilities into the school environment. Douglas is being invicted in favor of a school that does not serve these students. Please vote no on this proposal and create the necessary time for further consideration. We need to get this right or we give the message that BVSD is most definitely not the place to be. Thank you.

2:09:45Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Savannah Ross followed by Lane Cavazos and Gary Morris.

2:09:53Savannah Ross (Douglas parent) I'm Savannah Ross and I'm the mother of a second grader and kindergartener at Douglas Elementary. I'm also a pediatric oncologist and a BVSD alum. I urge you to vote no on this proposal. I would like you to consider these questions. Why are the 281 children at Douglas, a neighborhood school with equal access, able to be peacemeal divided among three or more schools while a choice focused school moves into our building in their community has the opportunity to stay intact? According to your presentation, three more elementary schools still need to be closed. Can you tell us which three elementary schools will be closed next?

2:10:25Savannah Ross (Douglas parent) How can we make an informed decision about our child's future, not knowing if the next school we go to is safe even beyond next year? You said the district will will redraw middle school lines potentially in four years when many of these same kids will be in middle school. How can we invest in this community and have confidence in this district when you cannot provide stability or a clear path forward? We cannot allow our children to be shuffled year after year without warning or sound justification. Our house burned down in the Marshall fire when my boys were one and three years old. I know what resilience is. It is showing up for your kids even when you're exhausted.

2:10:57Savannah Ross (Douglas parent) It is doing the right thing even if it's harder and requires multiple tries. It is keeping your community together and keeping a common goal in mind. Preserve our kids' future and sense of security. This proposal is not about resilience. It is about numbers and buildings. 1,800U students disrupted for a meager 4.8% increase in utilization. And that's if we actually go where you propose. My kids are not just numbers. Again, I urge you to vote no and work to find a better solution for all of us that keeps our children's communities intact and preserves the feelings of home and security that all children deserve. Let's build our schools up and make people want to come, not tear them apart and drive people away.

2:11:35Savannah Ross (Douglas parent) Thank you for your time.

2:11:38Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Lane, followed by Gary.

2:11:45Lane Cavazos (Douglas parent) I didn't grab the shirt ahead of time, so I'm having to improvise here. Uh, my name is Lane Kavazos. I have two daughters enrolled at Douglas Elementary, a 10-year-old in fourth grade and a seven-year-old in second grade. My home school is Coal Creek Elementary in Louisville. Um, and we selected to open enroll at Douglas. Um, because we had a horrific experience, frankly, at Coal Creek. Um, my older daughter was being bullied and the administration really declined to support her in the way that we saw fit. So, we pulled her out in the middle of the year and sent her to a private school.

2:12:16Lane Cavazos (Douglas parent) Not coincidentally, while we were at that at that school, we met two other families who pulled their kids out of Coal Creek and brought them to that specific school. I brought my younger daughter to Douglas because I refused to send another child to CCe. And at the time, all signs pointed to the fact that Coal Creek was supposed to be closed and and not Douglas. Douglas was supposed to be the safe choice. So, we decided to bring our older daughter to Douglas because our younger daughter is thriving. We've had such a positive experience with the teachers and staff. I'm still dealing with the roller coaster and the after effects of that transition.

2:12:52Lane Cavazos (Douglas parent) I can't imagine having to go through this again next year, especially to a place where she had such a horrible experience to a school that was really supposed to be on the chopping block. It's frankly baffling to me that you can close a high performing school like Douglas, yet save a school that people are actively leaving like Coal Creek. Our children deserve better. You say that our children are resilient and that may be so, but I am not. And all the parents out here, we are not. We are all out of resilience. We're out here trying to do the best we can for our children. You're stripping us of the ability to do that and care for our children as we see fit.

2:13:29Lane Cavazos (Douglas parent) Please listen to this large community of registered voters and vote no on the resilient school program. Thank you.

2:13:37Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [screaming] Our next speaker is Gary Morris.

2:13:43Gary Morris (Douglas parent) Good evening. I'm Gary Morris, father of a 2023 Douglas graduate and a current third grade Douglas student. We came from Texas and bought our house in Louisville in November 2021 only to see it burned to the ground in the Marshall fire on December 30th. We retreated to Austin where we came from and until we could find a rental home in the area. Fortunately, we were able to return in May of 2022 to a house in Indian Peaks. Our older boy, then about to start fifth grade, was thus assigned to Douglas. What a break. He's a neurodeiverse kid. His school journey has been arduous. Mainly, we learned because most schools don't have a culture or resources to support someone like him.

2:14:21Gary Morris (Douglas parent) Indeed, he had not completed a full year of school since kindergarten. At Douglas, we found an emotionally intelligent faculty and staff, a supportive culture that didn't treat our son like a problem or an outcast, but rather as an integral full member of their community. He got the support he needed and went on to the twice exceptional program at Monarch Middle School, and he's now thriving here at the high school. Look, if you want to trump at focus schools, Douglas should be at the top of your list. Maybe you haven't named it as such, but uh Principal Woler and his staff have built a focus school that supports SEAL and neurodeiverse kids who have trouble elsewhere, like my son. Don't close Douglas.

2:14:59Gary Morris (Douglas parent) One final note as you deliberated on this plan. A wise person once said, "There are only two people in your life who you need to make proud of you. Not your mom, not your dad, not your boss, not your best friend." Nope. The two people you need to make proud of you are your eight-year-old self and your 80-year-old self. I want you to think of who you were at 8, third grade, maybe affected by this decision. Who did you expect to be when you grew up? What were your values going to be? What was your role? What was your impact going to be? Now, think forward to the 80-year-old version of you. Will that be p will that person be proud of what you do today?

2:15:34Gary Morris (Douglas parent) The decision that you're about to make is going to affect a lot of lives. When you ask yourself honestly, why are we doing this? What does your gut tell you? If the answer is anything other than doing what's best for our children, I hope you'll vote no. Don't close this blue ribbon. nationally recognized award-winning. Thank you for your time.

Recess, then public comment resumes (adults, part 2)

2:15:51Nicole Rajpal Thank you board members, members of the audience. We're going to take a brief comfort break before we resume public comment. We will be back here at 6:35 according to that clock in blue. Robert Seager, Michael Sherwin, Cheryl Blackwood. My clock is working. Quiet in the gallery. Robert, the floor is yours. Uh, Blur will help you. One second, Robert. Okay, great.

2:27:40Robert Seager (Douglas grandparent) Thank you all um for making the time to hear us all tonight. It's it's very much appreciated. I know it's it's a big night for everybody. Um my name is Robert Seager, Bob Seager, celebrity name. Um I'm a Lafayette resident and a proud grandparent of a Douglas third grader. I'll keep my remarks brief and really only have one point I would like to make tonight. That is as you consider your decision-making on this proposal, you are missing a very important step in this process. Our school communities and you as a board do not have benefit of an analysis that includes multiple equal weight alternatives to compare and evaluate to make sure that you are achieving goals in the most cost-effective and least disruptive way.

2:28:23Robert Seager (Douglas grandparent) You have a single proposal in front of you. I've been a professional planner for over 30 years and I'm sure the board aspires and the whole BVSD aspires to be a best practices organization. I'm sure in many ways you are. That's why a lot of us are here. But landing a single proposal on a board in a community with no time to deliberate is not a best planning practice. I'm connected to the Douglas community which has been immensely positive for my granddaughter. It's rich in learning and it's rich in caring and support. Is there an alternative that would keep the Douglas community on site and strengthen it rather than eliminating it?

2:28:59Robert Seager (Douglas grandparent) We can't know the answer to that question because we haven't seen any evidence that such an alternative was fully analyzed. When someone asked if this proposal is the best financial decision, we and by we I mean the community and the board in partnership do not have alternative scenarios to compare it to. When someone asks if this proposal dislocates the least number of kids, we the board and the community don't have other scenarios to compare it to. When someone asks if you considered strengthening their school instead of eliminating it, you do not have benefit of any fully analyzed alternatives to inform your decision.

2:29:37Robert Seager (Douglas grandparent) The Douglas community, all of these school communities, and you as a board deserve a much more robust analysis of alternatives before you make such a consequential decision. So, I urge you to vote no on this proposal.

2:29:53Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker this evening is Michael Sherwin, followed by Cheryl Blackwood and Olga White.

2:30:02Cheryl Blackwood (Douglas parent) Hello, I'm Cheryl Blackwood, a Douglas parent and an orthopedic PA. Before any surgical procedure, we do a timeout. We confirm the correct patient, the correct procedure, and the correct plan before making irreversible changes. Tonight, I'm asking this board to take a timeout. BVSD says this proposal was built in response to declining enrollment, building capacity, and long-term student needs. So, let's look at the full picture. Douglas has 281 students and is operating at 67% capacity. Enrollment is down only 3% since 2021 when districtwide it's down 10%. Two of the three schools proposed to receive Douglas students have experienced enrollment declines of more than 25%. So, I have to ask, are we solving the right problem with the right school?

2:30:52Cheryl Blackwood (Douglas parent) As classes move up, Douglas actually gains students, ranking fourth among BVSD's 27 elementary schools in that measure. And BVSD says its goal is to ensure students have the right level of resources and maintain highquality learning experiences. So, where in the evidence um where is the evidence that moving a focus school to Douglas achieves this? Two out of the three receiving schools that Douglas students would be zoned to are still severely under uh enrolled. In medicine, when the data and the proposed treatment don't seem to align, you don't proceed simply because the surgery's already scheduled because you feel pressured. You stop. You review the chart. You ask more questions. That's what I'm asking this board to do. Take a time out.

2:31:41Cheryl Blackwood (Douglas parent) Look at the whole picture, not just one metric or one projection. Make sure this is the right solution for the right school. And consider the community Douglas serves, including our rural and unincorporated families as well as our large Lafayette resident students. Parts of the pro proposal may make sense. Douglas does not amend the proposal to exclude

2:32:06Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Cheryl jumped in front of Michael Sherwin. I want to make sure they weren't there. Nope. We'll move on to Ogal White, followed by Jillian Waters and Megan Magcguire.

2:32:23Olga White (Monarch PK-8 parent) Good evening. My name is Olga White. I'm the mother of two Monarch students, Astred White, who who you heard speak earlier, and a second grader. Currently, Monarch PK8 is our neighborhood school. We chose PK8 for the PK8 program. First, thank you to the parents, community members, and especially students who came out on a school night. Um, maybe it was worth considering how many people signed up to offer feedback on this by itself, just the sheer volume of people who showed up today as compared to how many at a regular board meeting. I am here to address that this proposal eliminates an educational model that families deliberately chose. Your own community engagement process identified varied school models and walkability and neighborhood schools as community priorities.

2:33:15Olga White (Monarch PK-8 parent) Yet, this proposal eliminates approximately 40% of the PK program in BVSD. And both Eldo and Monarch PK8 are in the same neighborhood. When my fifth grader learned about this proposal, one of the first things that upset her was realizing that she would never get to peer tutor elementary students as a middle schooler. We chose PK precisely because of those relationships. Younger children grow up surrounded by older students who know them, mentor them, and model what comes next. Older students are given the responsibility of learning to be those models. That is not sentimentality. That is a deliberate part of the educational process we chose for our children. And this proposal eliminates that choice.

2:34:00Olga White (Monarch PK-8 parent) My daughter has also taken to calling us over here Dumbledore's army, which makes me wonder what that makes you. I imagine most of you understand the reference. At the last meeting at timestamp 1 hour and 4 minutes, one of you said, "This is not a decision based on quality of education." and I have struggled with that statement ever since.

2:34:27Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Jillian Waters, followed by Megan Magcguire and Celeste Rosavi Sheerer.

2:34:52Jillian Waters (Douglas parent) In February, BVSD hired two consulting firms that specialize in school closures. Later that spring, community engagement sessions were held to very cleverly convince families the only way to fix declining enrollment districtwide is to consolidate and close schools. Now selling half a proposal built on this feedback. On June 9th, we were told the top three must haves were smaller class sizes, more support staff, and top down admin cuts. This proposal makes no guarantees on the first two and is hoping you forget about the last. Walkability and focus schools, the two big justifications for this proposal, come after with meager support.

2:35:23Jillian Waters (Douglas parent) If you look at the enrollment matrix of the 14 elementary schools in Boulder and Lafayette, the two towns that make up Douglas's boundary, only one retains 80% or more of its population, while nine others only retain 59 or less. The data supports a much clearer mustave. What families actually value is choice. When the second highest choice enrolled neighborhood elementary school in both Boulder or Lafayette is marked for closure, it makes you wonder what this is for and which community is being prioritized. The real answer has nothing to do with building utilization or optimizing three- round schools.

2:35:52Jillian Waters (Douglas parent) Given this proposal dissects the Douglas community and places our children into programs that will have larger class sizes, lower utilized buildings, and with years of data proving they are the unstable ones. Here's what BVSD is hoping no one will say out loud. That facility and location can improve learning environments for some students, just not ours. Our building may have a Boulder zip code, but almost 50% of our students live in Lafayette. You asked for a district-wide solution, but you're being offered an incomplete proposal that completely ignores the geographical landscape of the communities and impacts.

2:36:21Jillian Waters (Douglas parent) I asked you to consider whether keeping Douglas intact leaves it on the table to play a pivotal role in solving Lafayette's problems of overcrowded classrooms, underutilized facilities, and true equitable access to highquality education programs for East County IEP and ICAN students. There's no financial cris crisis that justifies making a decision of this nature in four weeks. That clock is ticking. I'm in a time crunch, but you're not. Is this the best plan for enhancing the educational experiences of all children or is it just the easiest one that helps adults feel like they're making progress over perfection no matter the cost? Thank you.

2:36:54Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Our next speaker is Megan Magcguire followed by Celeste Rosavi Sheer and Steven Shehy. Megan does not appear to be here so we'll move on to Celeste followed by Steven Shehy and Kelly Sharp.

2:37:21Celeste Rosavi Sheerer (Birch parent) My name is Celeste and this is my second grade daughter Inita who is um at Birch Elementary. Our ancestral homeland is mere hours south of here and um this is unseated Arapjo and Cheyenne land that we are all residing on currently. Our family has survived over 500 years of force removal and other forms of violent policies that have made for us to have no other option but to be resilient.

2:37:52Celeste Rosavi Sheerer (Birch parent) I come to you in 2026 in one of the most racist eras of this country's history where we are afraid to leave our house every single day not knowing what might happen if we're going to be harassed by ICE or various other things um representing indigenous women who two and four are going to experience the most horrible kinds of violence and likely murder and disappearance. And so it was unexpected that we would have issues with racism when we go to our very white Boulder Valley public school, which we chose purposefully. We we researched it. My partner and I researched where we wanted to go. We bought a house across from Birch.

2:38:36Celeste Rosavi Sheerer (Birch parent) In fact, what I didn't expect was how much support we would receive from the staff and teachers at the school. What I didn't expect is to find this amazing community that had our backs no matter what. What I didn't expect was to find somewhere that we could call home in a moment where we were wondering if we should leave the country. Actually, we have the privilege to be able to leave the country and live be the first immigrants in my family since we've been been here since time immemorial. It is I cannot underline how devastating this would be to our family if we have to relocate again. This these this is who we know. This is our home. Birch has to stay open.

2:39:22Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Stephen Shehy, followed by Kelly Sharp and Blake Ununis.

2:39:31Steven Shehy (Cole parent) Hello. Uh, good evening. My name is Steven Shehy. Um, I am in the Kohl community. I'm actually I live across the street from Kohl. Um, probably one of the few here from a school that's not closing, I would say. Um, anyway, I just wanted to address a few different things. I have students going through Kohl. Um and I want to raise a concern around capacity and uh what that really means uh when we talk about the future of our schools. Under the current compo proposal uh it's projected that coal will be at 88% capacity. Um and that number as I understand it doesn't include preschool I can ILC or open enrollment.

2:40:08Steven Shehy (Cole parent) Um so my first question is what will Kohl's actual functional capacity be when all those students and programs are included? Um, and this is especially concerning because Kohl already houses an ILC program um that serves students with significant and sometimes very different needs. Um, they require appropriate space um and specialized instruction, additional professionals, and in some cases separate or low stimulation environments. Um, and they're going to be absorbing an I can program from Birch. Um, I'm curious where is this space going to come from? I also struggle to understand why Kohl is being asked to operate at such a different capacity level from other schools affected by this change.

2:40:45Steven Shehy (Cole parent) Aldo is projected around 66% capacity while combining Heatherwood and Douglas results in what I think I saw on there was 54% capacity. Um so why at 88% before several programs are counted uh would apply to coal. Um I didn't really sign my kid up for a full full school. my kid would be in a classroom group of three three rounds I think at 28 which is right at the limit uh for students uh for these teachers. So um I understand these decisions are being presented as necessary to provide students with high quality education. I just don't feel like my student is going to get that at a super full school.

2:41:25Steven Shehy (Cole parent) Um can capacity can't simply mean whether we can physically fit more children into a building before making that decision. I'm Thank you. Just please vote no.

2:41:36Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Kelly Sharp, followed by Blake Ununis and Britney Harvey.

2:41:43Kelly Sharp (Douglas parent) Hi, my name is Kelly. I have a first and a third grader at Douglas Elementary. Community is an asset. We all know and the data is clear that belonging and community unlock cognition and learning in children. This plan does not present a coherent perspective on the role of community and belonging or really on any other aspect of the science of teaching and learning. It's not to say that you didn't think about it, but it's not in what we saw. Community does not occur spontaneously. It is built. We build it. Parents, teachers, and school leaders put in the time, effort, and resources. This plan dismisses that work and assumes we'll do it all over again at the next school. and the school after that.

2:42:28Kelly Sharp (Douglas parent) Last week, you said we were emotional because we love our schools. We do love our schools and we do have emotions. But it's really not just that. We've invested hours of our time. I show up to read every week with a small group of kids in my students classrooms because I know differentiated small groupoup instruction is a high lever practice for tier one instruction and you don't have quite enough staff to do it. Last year, my kid wasn't even in the group, and now all those kids know me, and they know my name. I leave meetings early to do this, and I can do it because my school is 5 minutes away.

2:43:03Kelly Sharp (Douglas parent) We are not obstacles to be managed or avoided or blindsided with a few weeks notice. We are partners in our kids' education, and along with our kids' teachers, we are critical to the success this district enjoys. Douglas has not been engaged in a meaningful way. We've been blindsided and we would like more time to do what other schools who are at risk of closure have had time to do, which is to engage on that possibility in a meaningful way. I'll just give the 10 seconds back. Thank you.

2:43:39Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Blake Ununis, followed by Britney Harvey and Kyle Rudinski.

2:43:50Blake Ununas (Birch parent) Good evening. My name is Blake Ununas. I'm a parent of three kids who attend Birch Elementary. Board members, you are being asked to make a permanent decision based on temporary and demonstrabably flawed assumptions. BVSD's 2026 model assumes Birch will enroll with 34 kindergarteners a year. Birch has never enrolled that few. This year, we have 45 kindergarteners, almost exactly our 5-year average. Correcting the district's assumption puts Bur's 2030 enrollment at approximately 261 students, not 208. And Broomfield is not Boulder. Broomfield is more affordable, has significant neighborhood turnover, and its elementary schools are already attracting families through choice enrollment. Four Broomfield elementary schools account for 48% of BVSD's K through5 choice enrollment despite resp uh representing only 13% of the district's students.

2:44:42Blake Ununas (Birch parent) Closing Birch does not solve that demand. It concentrates it. Broomfield Elementary Schools are already at 78% capacity. Close Birch and move those students elsewhere and that figure reaches 101% with Aspen Creek already at 113% and Emerald at 95%. And now we are being asked to crowd more children in buildings while critical facility environmental records remain un unreleased. The public deserves to know what is actually going on here. I invite everyone to visit birchbarksback.com and examine the enrollment data, capacity numbers, facility records, and evidence for yourself. The numbers do not support closing birch. The demographics do not support closing birch. The capacity data does not support closing birch. Closing birch is not a solution.

2:45:25Blake Ununas (Birch parent) It is a decision to take students out of a functioning school and push them into schools that are already at or beyond capacity. Do not let flawed projections become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Do not make our children pay the price for the model that gets our community wrong. If your proposal is truly resilient, it should survive scrutiny. You have the authority to close Birch, but authority does not make a bad decision a good one. Thank you.

2:45:52Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Britney Harvey, followed by Kyle Rudinski and Laura Buckle.

2:46:04Britney Harvey (Douglas parent, PTO board) Good evening and thank you for your time tonight. My name is Britney Harvey. I am a BVSD graduate from Monarch High, a parent of two Douglas students, and a current PTO board member at Douglas. I am also a consultant by trade spending 15 years in data and business process consulting and the last nine years were focused on addressing enrollment challenges with education institutions. I know the difference between good consulting and bad consulting. Good consulting lets the data drive the recommendation. Bad consulting picks a recommendation first and then manipulates the data to fit it. I've read everything provided in this proposal and I can plainly see that this is bad consulting. Tonight I want to focus on a glaring gap. Lafayette.

2:46:49Britney Harvey (Douglas parent, PTO board) As a resident of Lafayette, I want to highlight how 51% of Douglas's choice students live there. And yet the entire plan for Douglas's future was built without considering Lafayette. The district has cited a need for a focus school to be accessible to East County students. Yet, no East County school is actually included in the reorganization. You can't solve an East County access problem with a plan that leaves East County entirely out of the equation. During the district's engagement sessions, Lafayette families said clearly they will travel further for the right school. Only 13.5% said neighborhood proximity mattered to them and only 12.3% said a focus school is a mustave. The data doesn't support closing Douglas and replacing it with a focused school. It supports the opposite.

2:47:41Britney Harvey (Douglas parent, PTO board) Redrawing Lafayette boundaries to relieve overcrowding and expanding transportation so Douglas can continue serving the families who already chose it. It is beyond me why when addressing enrollment concerns with Lafayette and Erie were removed from this uh and not in the analysis. I urge you to send the district back to do this right with Lafayette at the table. Our kids deserve a plan built on evidence, not one built backward from a preconceived con.

2:48:08Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Kyle Rzinski, followed by Laura Buckle and Honora Bernett. Kyle does not appear to be here. Laura, followed by Honora and Sue Lee.

2:48:29Laura Bachel (Eldorado PK-8 parent) Hi, I am Laura Bachel, a parent of two El Dorado students and a member of ELRACK board members. You asked the district for a proposal that resolves low enrollment for the next 5 to 10 years. A lasting solution, not something that we have to revisit again and again, and I agree completely. That's why I'm here. The proposed reconfiguration for Monarch and El Dorado does not meet the objectives you asked for in the town of Superior. BVSD said decisions should maintain and improve learning outcomes, better distribute students and resources, stabilize enrollment, and maximize efficiency. This plan misses on all four and superior. The learning outcomes K8 models produce better outcomes. It's backed by longitudinal research and BVSD's own school data.

2:49:20Laura Bachel (Eldorado PK-8 parent) Students in K8s show better performance, less anxiety, higher self-confidence, and half of Lewis and Louisville and Superior families said in the district's own feedback that they want to keep this model. The plan removes it with no justification. Distribution and stability. The plan leaves El Dorado underenrolled and Superior Elementary at capacity, an unnecessary, poorly drawn boundary that leaves Superior schools the same or worse than they are today and definitely not stabilized for the decade to come. And efficiency consolidating middle schoolers will mean fewer preps for teachers, but it leaves two large buildings underutilized. Elor Dorado is presented at 60% capacity on the slides, but that ignores the entire upstairs of our building. Next year, K5 alone will use just 30% of the building.

2:50:18Laura Bachel (Eldorado PK-8 parent) And within five years, Monarch Middle drops to 50% utilization. Board members, Dr. Anderson, I want what you want.

2:50:33Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Anna Bernett followed by Sue Lei and Mingchin.

2:50:44Honora Bernett (BVSD graduate, bilingual-education parent) Good evening. My name is Anora Bernett. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to share our thoughts tonight. I grew up in Boulder and I'm a proud BVSD graduate. I believe bilingual education is a gift and I'm proud of the strong programming we have here in BVSD that reaches back to when I was in elementary school with Washington Elementary. Because of this, I am disappointed by the limited engagement of Spanish-sp speakaking families in the last community engagement sessions. Only 39 packets were collected in Spanish as compared to thousands in English. I am concerned that the staggered timeline in monilingual education plan and bilingual education plan will exacerbate inequities faced by vulnerable communities.

2:51:21Honora Bernett (BVSD graduate, bilingual-education parent) My children have been in bilingual education for six years, and this is the very first time I've ever heard of the Seal of Biliteracy as a ne mechanism to evaluate bilingual education. Our community questions if it is appropriate to judge the multitude of benefits bilingual education brings to children, their families, and communities on this metric. I applaud your efforts to be thoughtful and agree that rushing into decisions is a bad idea, but please don't let bilingual education be an inappropriately evaluated afterthought. Thank you.

2:51:47Nicole Rajpal Thank you. The next speaker is Sue Lee, followed by Mingch Lynn and Anna Katherine Wearin.

2:52:01Sue Lee (Douglas parent) Good evening everyone. My name is Sui and I'm here today as a parent, an immigrant and a member of the Douglas Elementary community. Um, for an immigrant family like mine, that sense of welcome means so much. At Douglas, our family has never felt that we had to leave our culture at the door. Instead, our culture has been welcomed and celebrated. When it comes to the Luna New Year, I teach the kids the culture, the tradition, the food of Chinese food, Chinese culture. And also at the end of school year, I met the Chinese bones dumplings. I know the teacher staff love it and they really love it. Um I'm here because I heard that people say, "Our Douglas is very white."

2:53:08Sue Lee (Douglas parent) Yes, it's white, but um it's welcomed. It's very friendly community. And if the Douglas is close, you know, we have family, we have family, friends, we have small community here and we just lose the connection. That made me very sad. And the I want to share one interesting fact with you that I came from Taiwan and Taiwan never close school like this, relocate school like this. We have we have the lowest birth rate. So in Taiwan, we has many many schools under 100 students. Okay, thank you.

2:54:10Nicole Rajpal Next speaker is Minche Lin followed by Anna Katherine Wearin and Beth Weekly.

2:54:14Mingchin Lin (Douglas parent) Uh I'm the husband. It's my fault that uh yeah I'm the husband. Okay. I'm from Taiwan. Uh it's my it's our 18 years staying here living in this neighborhood. Uh I could have my professorship in physics from Taiwan and my wife was a teacher in special education. We care about education. So we pursue American dream here. 18 years living in this neighborhood. We choose BVSD Colorado because of PBVSD. But since this recommendation came out, I was surprised. Did we made a wrong decision? We choose Douglas because we choose this this house this neighborhood because of Douglas. Am I wrong? I did a survey 18 years ago. We we have four kids.

2:54:58Mingchin Lin (Douglas parent) two two BB BVSD kids did well they are pursuing their uh PhD program now thanks for BVSD but not at this moment this is a very rush decision why you try to close shut down the school just within a few meeting a few dis few person a a few number of board we mentioned we we have a all the wisdom that grow a tree takes 10 years. Build a good education takes a 100 years. Dogas has been there for like 50 years, decades. Why you shut down such a good school? We did a good survey long time ago. We choose the neighborhood because of us 18 years ago. Could you just take some time to reconsider it? K plus kindergarten.

2:55:51Mingchin Lin (Douglas parent) Kindergarten plus five years of elementary is more than four years college. The neighborhood is very important for our kids. You made my girl cry. I cannot stop her crying in the night. Please consider they are building their dream. Their dream childhood is most important in our life. Thank you.

2:56:17Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Anna Katherine Wear and followed by Bethle Weekly and Lucas Garcia. And Katherine is not here. We move on to Beth Weekley.

2:56:34Beth Weekley (Douglas parent, preschool director) Uh, hi, my name is Beth Weekley. I have three BVSD students, a senior at Centurus and two students at Douglas Elementary. I'm an educator, owner, and director of preschool in Lafayette. Uh we are Colorado Shine's level five program. We take UPK kids. A major point when parents are assigned to UPK schools is continuity of care. The state of Colorado works to keep children with their friends and adult communities. Why do they do this? Because research shows that community continuity of care is known to be beneficial both socially, emotionally, and academically for children. The plan on the table for Douglas will take away continuity of care from all of the students at Douglas. This will have social, emotional, and academic effects on all of these children.

2:57:25Beth Weekley (Douglas parent, preschool director) From 2022 to 2024, Douglas had uh 15 point gains in students meeting or exceeding expectations in literacy and 20 point gain in students meeting or exceeding expectations in math. This year, Douglas received the Governor's Distinguished Improvement Award for exceptional student growth and the John Irwin Award for exceptional academic achievement. These three last points show the students are thriving at Douglas Elementary. The district says they want smaller, more stable classes, richer programs, and more consistent staff. This describes Douglas Elementary. How did the district consider academic performance of schools and the students best interest? Uh where is the analysis that shows taking kids from high-erforming schools and breaking them up from their social networks will lead to better outcomes than their current school?

2:58:22Beth Weekley (Douglas parent, preschool director) If Douglas Elementary is not full, was expanding the Douglas boundary a consideration? This option would allow students continuity of care. Uh next, Proposition NN is on the ballot in November. It's my understanding that this will bring millions.

2:58:38Nicole Rajpal Our next speaker is Lucas Garcia followed by Brian Ziegler and Whitney Adair. I do not see Lucas is Brian Ziegler, Whitney Adair, and then Julian Molain.

2:59:04Brian Ziegler (Douglas parent) Process radical transparency trust. I'm a Douglas parent and son of public school teachers. I know public education relies on a sacred contract of trust. Decline in enrollment is real, but this is a compre this is not a comprehensive solution. It's just one round of disruption that will assure we're back here again in the near future. The district gathered isolated community preferences and misused that input to justify closing thriving neighborhood schools like Douglas. It's intellectually dishonest. Douglas operated well above established LRAC closure thresholds while the district ignored academic metrics that made Douglas a blue ribbon school all to justify stealing our building for a focused school that has no obligation to the surrounding community. We never were afforded a dedicated engagement session.

2:59:51Brian Ziegler (Douglas parent) We simply trusted your published rules. There's not a single parent here that wouldn't trade two-third time with Mr. Su for keeping our building. Instead of building real real stability, the district arbitrarily ignored East County, deliberately overlooking obvious solutions like United Indian Peaks Community under Douglas. You should be furious right alongside us at the at the position the district has put all of us in. You were handed a sales pitch that fails to solve capacity, saves virtually no money, and leaves major pieces unresolved. Seeing President Rajpal co-host a district PR stream before public hearings were even held was a heartbreaking collapse of independent board oversight.

3:00:33Brian Ziegler (Douglas parent) [cheering] When you destroy trust When you destroy trust, families like mine stop recommending BBSC to friends, neighbors, and young families shopping for homes in our neighborhoods. We seek options outside the district and take state funding with us, triggering deeper cuts tomorrow. You are disrespected by this process. Press pause. Don't approve a flawed plan just because action feels urgent. Demand is complete. Demand a complete district-wide solution because voting yes isn't leadership. It betrays the sacred trust of the community that you were elected to serve. Thank you.

3:01:05Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Our next speaker is Whitney Adair, followed by Julian Melain and Becky Kisser.

3:01:14Whitney Adair (District D resident, Douglas neighbor) Hello everyone. My name is Whitney Adair and I'm a constituent of District D and live within walking distance of Douglas Elementary. I have a 2-year-old daughter and we moved to this neighborhood six years ago in part because of its exceptional and accessible public school. I have followed the resilient schools project closely. In the spring, I reviewed the enrollment data and took the survey. Douglas did not meet the criteria explicitly set identified for closure. I submitted my feedback and believed the process would follow those criteria. So, my neighbors and I were blindsided, as many others have said on August 25th. The proposal to close Douglas contradicts the materials presented for public review this spring. Criteria appear to have changed without meaningful public notice.

3:02:01Whitney Adair (District D resident, Douglas neighbor) Douglas's stronger enrollment than neighboring schools. Yet, a community that had little reason to believe its school was threatened is now being asked to defend it in a matter of weeks. A neighbor gave me this Newsweek cover from 2006 highlighting Douglas for its innovative teaching. They also appeared on Good Morning America. 20 years later, this school is slated for closure without the rigorous public process a permanent decision requires. I grew up in, let's say, a tax averse community outside Phoenix that faced its own school funding crisis in the late 90s. Voters nevertheless approved additional taxes to protect education. So I ask, what voterapproved revenue mechanisms remain legal legally available to BVSD to raise the $4 million these closures are intended to save?

3:02:50Whitney Adair (District D resident, Douglas neighbor) This process has cost the board immense community trust. I urge you to vote no on September 22nd. The proposal does not follow the criteria the public was given and it does not provide a comprehensive solution to declining enrollment. My daughter and her peers deserve stability and this community deserves a transparent, comprehensive plan before you make an irreversible decision. Thank you.

3:03:13Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [applause and cheering] Our next speaker is Julian Mlain followed by Betsy Casser and Kenneth Bruce Carlson.

3:03:23Julianne Mlain (BVSD parent) Good evening. Thank you board members who have engaged with your constituents. My name is Julianne Mlain. I'm a public school graduate and the parent of two young BVSD students. This proposal runs on platitudes and slogans, not facts. Progress over perfect. Access out east. All options on the table. Resilient schools and resilient kids. Slogans aren't a plan. Tonight, I'm going to give you what the plan is missing. The facts. This proposal shuffles 11 schools, 2,000 students for a meager 1% budget savings and a 4.8% increase in utilization. It still leaves schools underenrolled. And with more closures coming, making it impossible for Boulder families to pick their next school. Access is not an address. The proposal is to move West County students to an address in the east.

3:04:12Julianne Mlain (BVSD parent) High Peaks is full, including 65% of its student population coming from homechools west of its current address. Today, moving High Peaks to Douglas increases travel by 24%, adding more than a 100,000 miles of driving each year. BVSD's own community engagement showed that 54% of participants disagreed or strongly disagreed with expanding or creating new focus schools. Real resilience is Douglas. Douglas has 281 students, operates at 67% capacity. Its enrollment has declined just 3% since 2021, compared to approximately 10% districtwide. It is the second most choice school in both Boulder and Lafayette clusters. Douglas is receiving accolades today. Douglas clears the twoclass bar and its receding schools do not.

3:05:00Julianne Mlain (BVSD parent) A week of gym, music or art will not be added to the schools where Douglas kids will go next year. And they won't have their friends, their teachers, their building, know where a bathroom is, or have support staff. Learner experience is destroyed on all fronts. Borrowing a cliche from the youths these days, the math ain't math. Please amend the resilient schools proposal to exclude Douglas. [cheering]

3:05:26Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Next we have Betsy followed by Kenneth Bruce Carson Carlson and Nick Corner.

3:05:35Betsy Kesler (Birch parent) Hi, my name is Betsy Kesler. I'm a parent at Birch Elementary. For those of you tuning in that would like a visual description. I am a middle-aged white woman that looks like a teenage boy wearing a blue polo and gray shirt shorts. Um, I have a whole speech planned with all sorts of data points and I'm going to do what every speech writer loves and go rogue. Um, and not read any of this because the reality is that the data that you have been presented by the district is not correct data. It is based on projections that have been wrong year after year after year.

3:06:03Betsy Kesler (Birch parent) So, I'm not really sure how you're making a decision based on projections, based on numbers that have been wrong, and why you think all of a sudden those projections and those wrong numbers are going to turn correct. The reality is that I, as a non-data person, where the math never maths, I can easily Google data and projections and enrollment and neighborhood information and all of the things that do not match with the data that you are being presented. Many people have commented about how you need to show your work. I'm asking you to do your work. Do not rely on the data that has been provided to you by the district. As I said, I'm a parent of Birch Elementary.

3:06:42Betsy Kesler (Birch parent) BIC is the only school on this list that receives Title One funding. The majority of our population walks to school. I'm not going to give you the data and the numbers that are not correct, but I'm going to ask you the questions of the information that has not even been touched. One, how are our kids that typically walk to school, how are they going to get to school? Because whether they go to Kohl or Aspen Creek, they're going to have to cross major intersections. Birch has been marked a Green Star School and now you're going to force hundreds of cars on the road. We don't know what the building use is going to be for Birch Elementary. Every other school closing has a plan.

3:07:17Betsy Kesler (Birch parent) Nobody has announced what the plan is for the B for the building of Birch, which makes the neighborhood taxpayers very nervous. The future of broomfield growth is not taken into consideration in this plan at all. The environmental reports that we're still waiting on that have only been requested by you after we requested them have still not been released. Don't show the work.

3:07:42Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Kenneth Bruce Carlson followed by Nick her and Natalie Jankee.

3:07:56Ken Carlson (Douglas parent) Good evening. Um, my name is Ken Carlson. I'm the father of a third and fifth grader at Douglas Elementary. Um, first and foremost, really proud of the Douglas community for showing up tonight. Pretty difficult to make a case better than our wonderful kids already did. Um, but when I sat down and tried to take some time to think about what I wanted to say tonight, I kept coming up with like, how do I do this and not use the word community about two dozen times? And I realized it's not just community we're losing tonight. We're losing trust. This is trust that has been built and earned through hard work.

3:08:34Ken Carlson (Douglas parent) You know, we made a conscious investment in each other through carpools, sports teams, social activities, and all the ways we show up for one another. That's how trust gets built. The Douglas teachers and administrators asked us to trust them, and they delivered repeatedly. If Douglas If the Douglas community gets fractured as proposed, all that hard-earned trust will be lost with it. The BVSD board is asking us to trust them to make the correct decision, but the Douglas utilization data doesn't fit the criteria the district has offered for school closure. I was advised directly by a member of the board that High Peaks is being relocated to provide equitable access to a focus school for East count county families.

3:09:28Ken Carlson (Douglas parent) I have to say it doesn't feel particularly equitable to displace the most vulnerable students in the BVSD system. Relocating I can students roughly the same distance the high peaks move is meant to save. I don't trust that this has been fully thought through. Unforeseen consequences are already surfacing. Is that time right? Okay. I'm going to be fast. I don't trust that these disruptions won't.

3:10:01Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker this evening is Nick Corner, followed by Natalie Jenkee and Lee Porson.

3:10:13Nick Kerner (Douglas parent) Oh boy. Hello. My name is Nick Kerner and I have two kids at Dunglas, a first grader and a fourth grader. I'd like to start off by thanking the board for its time tonight. It's an incredible time commitment from all of you along with everybody here to put in all this time and effort. I really hope that this is not purely performative on the board's part. I hope that the whole community can be heard. We live within Douglas boundaries and Douglas is our home school. We considered going the private or charter route, but ultimately wanted our kids to experience public school because of how much it offers beyond academic advancement.

3:10:52Nick Kerner (Douglas parent) We wanted our kids to engage with other children and families from broad socioeconomic backgrounds, varied political viewpoints, and broad learning needs. All at a school with strong academic credentials. Because of the school boundaries and strong open enrollment, the student population, and a strong academic performance, Douglas checked every box while being a neighborhood school. Unfortunately, with the proposal to explode Douglas across three plus schools in the local area, all of this is being taken away. In fact, Douglas was completely blindsided by this proposal as we never met the board's own criteria for starting a community engagement process and thus we were not engaged. If this goes through, two of the three schools receiving Douglas students are expected to be at or below the district under enrollment threshold.

3:11:44Nick Kerner (Douglas parent) What does this fix? On top of that, the proposed savings are less than 1% of the budget. It is because of all this all of this that I urged the board to vote no on the Douglas portion of the proposal and instead pause for a year to evaluate what will actually fix the system. In the past weeks, I've heard so many better ideas, but seemingly none of those were considered. We're a big, smart, creative community. go back to the drawing board and engage with your school community so we can help come up with solutions together. Thank you.

3:12:19Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Next speaker is Natalie Jenkee followed by Lee Corson and Cassandra Kefir.

3:12:28Natalie Jenkee (Birch parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Good evening and thank you for being here. We are grateful for your time and your attention. And I am grateful to Lea who responded to some of my emails. So thank you to for engaging with me. Um, and I so I have four kids. Three are at BVSD. One will be next year. I have a sixth grader, a second grader, a kindergartener, and a soontobe prek. But I'm not here to talk about them. I am here because I speak Spanish. I am very white. I do not look like I should be speaking Spanish, but I do. And I have engaged with the apartment community that lives so close to Birch. Literally across the street, Kitty Corner, they are right there.

3:13:09Natalie Jenkee (Birch parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video No one is here talking for them. We are a title one school because of these people. They walk to school sometimes with a parent, sometimes with a sometimes with an abuel. These people do not drive. When they miss that bus that will be going to Kohl, they will be missing learning hours. They will not get to school. We have to serve these people. They deserve it. They left their countries to come here for this education. And I am so passionate about that. Um, there also right next to Birch is a Salvation Army that offers afterchool care that is affordable to these families that allows them to go to work so their students can have a better life. Please let us consider these people.

3:14:06Natalie Jenkee (Birch parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Let us think of them. Let's make education better for them. Thank you.

3:14:16Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [applause and cheering] Our next speaker is the course and ffell by Cassandra Kefir and Kelsey Ross.

3:14:27Lee Corson (BVSD parent, former first grade teacher)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Sorry, it's hard to hear for sure. Um, I'm currently rewriting my speech, which I know no one likes, so I'll read a little bit of both here, but um, thanks for having me and thanks for listening. I really appreciate the listening part. That's what I've been trying to do tonight. I'm a um, I'm a former first grade teacher. I've got three kids in the district. I was one of the first classes at Coal Creek and I graduated Fairview and we came back to Boulder because BVSD is a great place to be and we need to make sure that it continues to be. So, we're here for it.

3:14:47Lee Corson (BVSD parent, former first grade teacher)speaker unconfirmed · check the video We um went to the meetings, people listened, they were um you spent all this time gathering data, hearing from the community, and you got people on board for reconfiguration. Uh you did not get people on board for blowing up communities and dividing people by two and three. I think that was clear here today. Um I'm not going to throw a bunch of data at you guys because you've heard it and I hope you were listening. I really do because that's what I was trained to do as a first grade teacher. And what I hear is that people are worried. Uh kids are sad. Um I think I understand like we need to fix something. We need to do some changes here.

3:15:18Lee Corson (BVSD parent, former first grade teacher)speaker unconfirmed · check the video But can't we just stop for a minute and pause? Um and really do our homework, really look into this and see what we need on this to make our community stronger as a whole. We talk about BB BVSD being great and we need to make it great. We don't want to be some other I mean why can't we be a model for other districts in the nation going forward instead of another district who just botched school closures I've heard that this isn't making sense and numbers wise what are we doing then these are kids these are families and hearing what people are saying today I don't know I mean I've been touched to tears from some of these kids and just some of these families

3:15:46Lee Corson (BVSD parent, former first grade teacher)speaker unconfirmed · check the video here I think you know we have our little small eye on what's happening I think the board um you have the chance right now to look at this proposal and say does it really make sense it was handed to you by the district heads and I see that I see what it looks good on paper I hear these buzzwords all over town. I can see these numbers. I'm an educator through and through, and I think we need to listen. I think our our community deserves it. I just would hate to see it fragmented like this. I'd hate to see families move out of BVSD. I'd hate to see families um looking for other options. I don't know what happens if people don't follow the plan.

3:16:14Lee Corson (BVSD parent, former first grade teacher)speaker unconfirmed · check the video I mean, we're zone Douglas and now we're reszoned to a totally different area. My son is worried about his little league uh games because he's not going to be in the same league. A South Border Little League won't be the same for him. So, the repercussions are huge. And I just think you really need to look around the room and listen. That's our That's your job as board members and we believe in you. We believe in BVSD. So, let's do it right. Let's do it right now. Okay. [applause and cheering]

3:16:36Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speakers, Cassandra Kefir, followed by Kelsey Ross and Laura Glab. We'll move on to Kelsey Ross, followed by Laura Glab and Lauren Dean.

3:16:50Kelsey Randle Ross (Douglas parent, former BVSD teacher) Hi guys. Thanks for being here. Um, my name is KelseyRandle Ross and I'm a former BVSD middle school teacher. Um, I taught uh middle school language arts for 12 years and it was wonderful. I love BVSD. Um, and I just want you guys to know that we're here because we love our kids and we love our school district. First of all, um, I have three little kids. Um, two, uh, have graduated from Douglas. One plans to graduate next year in fifth grade from Douglas Elementary. I'd like to address two different things. Um, why weren't our East County schools studied as part of this proposal? Why was Douglas considered the eastern edge of the Boulder cluster instead of the western edge of the Lafayette cluster?

3:17:29Kelsey Randle Ross (Douglas parent, former BVSD teacher) BVSD already recognizes the value of our location. The proposal itself justifies is moving High Peaks to the Douglas building by citing the need for a focused school with accessible to East County students, but no East County school is actually included in this uh reorganization. You cannot solve, we've already said this, an East County school uh access problem when the East County plan or when East County is left out of the equation. Um this if this proposal is supposed to prepare BVSD for the next decade, we need to look at where the families with elementary age kids are actually living and increasingly that's east. Schools in Lafayette and East Boulder County are already running three classes in many grades.

3:18:10Kelsey Randle Ross (Douglas parent, former BVSD teacher) Douglas sits directly in that east county corridor and families are already choosing it. Douglas should be considered part of the BVSD long-term east county enrollment strategy, not an afterthought inside of a Boulder only plan. Here's the math that the district hasn't addressed when you account for both the resident and openen enrolled families. More than half of Douglas's population are are functionally a Lafayette community, not a Boulder one. So why does this proposal treat Douglas as the eastern edge of the Boulder cluster instead of the western edge of a Lafayette cluster? And this isn't theoretical. Indian Peaks West has a Lafayette address in Douglas as its home school. Our school buses cross the Boulder Lafayette line every single day.

3:18:48Kelsey Randle Ross (Douglas parent, former BVSD teacher) And on another note, I would like to know how the district that prides itself in transparency, community feedback. Oh, darn it. That was for my

3:18:54Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Laura Glab, followed by Lauren Dean and Valerie Nart.

3:19:11Laura Glab (BVSD community member) I go to Costco with my 72-year-old father and it's really embarrassing. Without fail, I will be midsample and someone will run up yelling, "Mr. Glab, Mr. Glab." Every time they tell stories that sound like, "When my kid was struggling in 8th grade, when I was the only kid who couldn't read, when my kid was in the deaf education program at Monarch K through 8, your dad was there for me." More often than not, it ended with, "Your dad was there for me when nobody else was." So, when I asked him what he thought of this plan, he shook his head and told me four things. He said, "This plan isn't kid-f first.

3:19:45Laura Glab (BVSD community member) It unnecessarily moves more kids to various schools with no long-term plans or commitments, meaning the same kids are likely to be shuffled like paper instead of people multiple times. The kids in desperate need of a trusted adult at school are unlikely to find one with this plan. Next, he said, "This plan isn't data driven. If we can close Douglas at 67% enrollment and growing high levels of family choice and student growth, and maintaining a high need special education program, then we are making the choice on the whims of individuals, not meaningful, accurate data." He also mentioned that a plan that should be collaborative consolidations is pitting school against school and teacher against teacher.

3:20:32Laura Glab (BVSD community member) We've already had High Peaks teachers sending ill-timed, poorly worded emails of privilege as they plan their takeover before the vote has even happened. Is that who we are? Finally, a plan that is take it or leave it misses the point of Boulder Valley. We are innovative, creative, and inspired. This my way or the highway plan approach lacks responsible budgeting or prioriti pri prioritization of our most valuable asset, our children. But I'm not here to point fingers. I am here to help. I have looked at the numbers and I know we can balance the budget, fill spots, increase access to coveted programs, and support every child. I'm here to help find better solutions, and I'd offer them now, but I only have two minutes. Let's work.

3:21:17Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Lauren Dean, followed by Valerie Enyart and Billy Enard.

3:21:28Valerie Enyart (Douglas parent) Hi, my name is Valerie Enyart and I'm here today as a mother of a Douglas family being displaced by this proposal and three girls at the Douglas school, two of whom spoke today. First of all, thank you for being here. While preparing to speak to you today, I took some time to look over BVSD's website. I wanted to remind myself of your mission, code of ethics, etc. While doing this, I came across your four values. The first three were pretty standard, but the fourth one kind of struck me. It states, "We value accountability and transparency at all levels." Reading this made me pause, thinking about how absolutely blindsided our family was at the news of our neighborhood school's closure.

3:22:09Valerie Enyart (Douglas parent) As my husband and I tried to do some research trying to figure out what we had missed, we learned about the long range advisory committee and the process that was set forward in 2022 to deal with the district's declining enrollment. Their mission was to provide a high level of accountability, engagement, and communication with the Boulder Valley community during the process of deciding as a district what to do with our schools. This would have been the transparency and accountability we as taxpaying Boulder County citizens are entitled to. Instead, we are a community reeling. No warnings, no meetings, just our children kicked out of the blue ribbon school they grew up in. And the kicker is the plan doesn't even solve the problem.

3:22:50Valerie Enyart (Douglas parent) The numbers still don't work and they don't account for the families who will leave the district based on principle. If you are aware you are going to make us emotional, come to us with a comprehensive solution that allows us to plan through our children's graduation. If you are going to take our community out from under us, at least make it a plan in which we cannot deny the results because this one looks worse the longer you sit with it. Board members, I urge you to vote no on this incomplete proposal and send the district back to find a solution that's more comprehensive, creative, and actually about our kids. You have the ability to stop this. Take your time to work the process and do this right.

3:23:29Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Billy Enard followed by Molly Smith and Katherine Dart Rattled. Not seeing Billy. Molly Smith, Katherine Rattlage, and then Lindsay Rosski.

3:23:50Molly Smith (Douglas parent) Thanks so much. Good evening. My name is Molly and I am a parent of two children at Douglas, a fifth grader and a second grader, one of whom spoke tonight. I want to thank you all for being here tonight, for listening to our community, and for giving us the opportunity to speak. I do wish that we had been given more time and more opportunity to learn about this resiliency proposal. I would have loved an opportunity to ask questions with more than two minutes on the clock. I would have loved the opportunity for meaningful engagement not just with our school Douglas Elementary but with High Peaks to learn more about High Peaks and Boulder Montessori. This proposal pinned us against them and that feels so unfair.

3:24:37Molly Smith (Douglas parent) After listening to the families come up here and speak about how this is detrimentally going to affect them shook me. This is not fair that we got less than 30 days to wrap our mind around something. My family was displaced in the Marshall fire. We moved to Gumbar and then we moved again to Louisville. We purposely chose to keep our children in Douglas. Originally, we started during the pandemic. Our son moved into kindergarten. They did a wonderful job bringing him in. Then during the Marshall fire, we moved to Gumbrell and chose to keep our children at Douglas because our second son is on an IEP. Mr. Dr. Goldman is the best thing that happened to our son.

3:25:17Molly Smith (Douglas parent) He has improved our son's speech in more ways than one. Encouraging us to get access to myofascial therapy, encouraging us to meet with an oral surgeon. That has changed my son's sleep apnea. He now sleeps through the night. He's able to communicate his needs. He's able to now speak and read clearly and come up here so boldly as a seven-year-old. I just want to follow the dominoes in this proposal. If Douglas closes, okay, then the next one that falls. High peaks. Okay. The next one will be Community Montessori that moves. It's just one after another after another. Thank you for your time.

3:25:53Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [applause and cheering] Our next speaker is Katherine Rage found followed by Lindseay Rosski and Sean Callahan.

3:26:03Katherine Rattlage (Flatirons parent, former teacher) Hi. I'm a Flatirons parent and a mother of three. I am also a former teacher. I thought a lot about what I wanted to say tonight, but I wanted to share a story that struck me as both a parent and as a teacher. Last week, excuse me, last week, I expressed my concern to a board member that my daughter, who will be in fourth grade next year, will likely go through a second school closure in middle school. The board member tried to empathize with me by saying, and I quote, "My kids went through COVID closures. Your kids will go through school closures. I was a high school teacher during COVID.

3:26:46Katherine Rattlage (Flatirons parent, former teacher) I spent a full year of my life speaking through a computer to groups of apathetic and depressed teenagers. The daily uncertainty of teaching in that environment was palpable. We are still reeling from the impact of that year on our children and our teachers. If my administrator had the audacity to tell me at that moment that they could not plan well enough ahead to prevent a disaster like this from happening again, I would have quit on the spot. It is unclear to me why the board would vote yes on a proposal that will surely cause more pain and disruption in the future. Why would you knowingly vote yes on repeated co COVIDs?

3:27:31Katherine Rattlage (Flatirons parent, former teacher) We chose to live in a community and be part of a school district that thrives on transparency. This plan is the exact opposite of that. I am asking you slow down. Consider alternatives. Give us a comprehensive meaningful plan that will protect our generation of students, not just the next year of budget cuts. Thank you.

3:27:56Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Our next speaker is Lindseay Rosski, followed by Sean Callahan and Noah Kesser Hoser. Sorry, Hoel.

3:28:09Lindsay Rosski (Douglas parent) Good evening. Uh, thank you board members for taking the time and the opportunity for us to be heard. My name is Lindseay Rosski. I grew up in this district. I was born and raised in Louisville and I actually went to school here, which is pretty surreal. A year ago, my husband and I left our home of 14 years in Boston when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. and my dad is in treatment right now as well. I left my career and we moved our two young children home to care for my parents where I was raised and where to raise my two young children as well. My son Wyatt is a first grader at Douglas.

3:28:47Lindsay Rosski (Douglas parent) Through everything my family has carried this year, our children had one thing that never wobbled, their school. That stability and community was not a luxury. It's what made this year survivable. This proposal takes stability from every family in this district and why is not justifiable and does not add up. The proposal spends $15 million upfront to chase a mere 4 million in a year. and it moves district utilization by less than five points and still leaves more schools opened than your own projections say the enrollment supports. This means these children will face this again. Our kids deserve a plan strong enough to meet this board's own goals.

3:29:32Lindsay Rosski (Douglas parent) An enhanced plan that leaves every family confident that this phase of this ch their children's lives won't be disrupted again and again as they grow older. I also really couldn't get over how Douglas has been misrepresented in this proposal because the district's own records tell a very different story. It was never flagged operating above warning threshold at 67% enrollment. It has two full classes in every grade. Fifth high. It's also ranked fifth highest in Boulder for resident families choosing their own school. It is not one of the lowest. And I'm

3:30:10Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Sean Callahan, followed by Noah Joseell and Dana Satir.

3:30:23Sean Callahan (Douglas neighbor, future parent) Sean Callahan and I will have uh students entering school here in the next couple of years. Um, we live within eyesight of Douglas Elementary and like many families that have been here, um, we've made meaningful financial decisions to choose where we live in proximity to a walkable school. Um, with that, I came here tonight fairly naively assuming that the hard work had been done and we were ripping a band-aid off and this was just the best option that we had. Having now sat here and listening to these emboldened families for the last couple of hours, I've learned that none of that was done and the hard work has not been done.

3:31:04Sean Callahan (Douglas neighbor, future parent) And frankly, I'm disappointed that a school district as regarded as Boulder Valley School District would even put forward a plan such as this. Given given all that, I on a regular basis talk to my now three-year-old who will be entering kindergarten in the next year or two about we have to get up every day and do hard things. And trying to teach him resiliency, do the work, get better. Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes better. From one disappointed dad to a group of people who I know can do better. Get up tomorrow, do the hard work, do better so all of our families can stay together. Thank you.

3:31:52Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Noah Hol followed by Dana Satir and Ben Smith.

3:32:02Noah Hosel (Birch parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Good evening. BVSD keeps pointing to declining enrollment as reasons to consolidate schools, but that argument does not explain what hap what's happening in Broomfield. Families who still want access to BVSD are increasingly choosing Broomfield because housing is approximately 60% more affordable than Boulder. Broomfield has a larger demographic profile that creates significant housing turnover. 30% of our households are 65 and older compared with 25% in Boulder. 17% are 75 and older compared with just 11 or in Broomfield compared with just 11 in Boulder. That creates an opportunity for new families to move to Broomfield. And the evidence shows that they are Broomfield's four elementary schools account for 48% of all K through5 choice enrollment in BVSD despite representing only 13% of the district's population.

3:33:01Noah Hosel (Birch parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Choice enrollment in BVSD Broomfield's elementary schools increased by 30% over the past five years while remaining flat in Louisville and Superior. Our location matters. We border several other school districts. That's not a community that we should simply fold into a district-wide story of decline. Broomfield is not Boulder. We have put the local data and documentation together at burbarksback.com. We've also emailed it to everyone sitting up there. Please feel free to engage with us and take a look. Thank you.

3:33:35Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Ben Smith, followed by Jason Sanders and Caitlyn Jablonsky.

3:33:47Ben Smith (Douglas parent) My name is Ben Smith. I have two boys at Douglas Elementary School. Rob, I'm frustrated. I was part of the BVSD leadership academy last year. I went to every meeting and I say that because you probably know the room in April a lot less crowded than it is in October. But it was dedicated. You and I had a couple conversations. We got together while touring Boulder Tech and we talked about you going to Heatherwood and talking to those parents and saying, "Who here has a neighbor that's not going to Heatherwood?" You told me almost every hand in the room went up. You're having these conversations with Heatherwood, which I appreciate. Why didn't Douglas get that same opportunity? I'm a product of BVSD myself.

3:34:35Ben Smith (Douglas parent) Columbine Centennial Boulder High. Really honored to have those bragging rights. Means a lot to me. On a weekly basis, I get a chance to chat with families moving here to the area and I get to celebrate BVSD every time. But now I'm finding it harder and harder to do that. Do me a favor, reverse the narrative and vote no on this proposal. If you look around, if you had what I learned by sitting here listening is I've heard a lot of things. Loss of trust, blind side, not very well thought out, the data doesn't speak for itself. We have a community that feels blindsided. You guys don't want that. We don't want that. We want everyone on the same page.

3:35:25Ben Smith (Douglas parent) So, I'm asking you to vote no so we can all get back together, move forward arm in-armm, locked, and be a solid community together and have everything copathetic. That's what I'm asking today. Thank you for your time.

3:35:42Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Jason Sanders, followed by Caitlyn Jablonsky and Patrick Richard. Does not appear that Jason is here. We'll move on to Caitlyn Jablonsky. Patrick Richard Terresa Schultz.

3:36:01Caitlyn Jablonsky (Douglas parent) Hello, I'm Caitlyn Jablonsky, a Lafayette resident, local business owner, and most importantly, a Douglas mom to Rice, class of 26, and Hope, my third grader. Last year, a month into fifth grade, Rice was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Three weeks later, we received the devastating news that Hope would also receive the same diagnosis. Type 1 is a largely invisible disease. My daughter makes a hundred decisions a day in order to keep herself safe. The teachers and staff carried the burden of this disease alongside her every day. Her friends walked her to the nurse daily so she never felt alone.

3:36:35Caitlyn Jablonsky (Douglas parent) Our Douglas community is the reason Rice is thriving and it's who I want beside my ne my next child when she is dealt the same challenging hand. I understand enrollment is an issue but this proposal doesn't solve that problem. We made the decision to buy our home site unseen from out of state in order to have a guaranteed spot at Douglas. There are 98 out of 281 students who open enrolled, meaning 35% of our student body live elsewhere, but still chose Douglas. We should look at this as a positive instead of being critical of its lack of walkability. It means parents make sacrifices every day so their kids can have access to this standard of education.

3:37:19Caitlyn Jablonsky (Douglas parent) This plan displaces the families who want to be there so other families can move in. I'm not standing here tonight looking for your sympathy. I'm encouraging you to hit pause in order to understand the impact of this incomplete proposal. The plan doesn't just affect the medically complex students like mine or the children with IEPs or those who have lived through the trauma of the Marshall fire. This vote impacts an entire community, even the students who are lucky enough to have what I would call a typical childhood. This proposal affects the teachers and staff who have dedicated their entire lives to fight to supporting our kids.

3:37:56Caitlyn Jablonsky (Douglas parent) Since there isn't a plan B, I'm asking you to vote no on the current proposal and push back until there's a solution that is more beneficial to everyone. If not, thank you.

3:38:07Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Patrick Richard, followed by Theresa Schultz and Laura Dion.

3:38:17Patrick Rishard (Douglas parent, oncologist) Good evening and thank you for allowing me to speak tonight. My name is Dr. Patrick Rishard. Uh my family and I have been residents of Boulder County for over 10 years now. Uh I represent my two kids, Ben in fourth grade and Maddie in second grade, both at Douglas Elementary. Um I'd like to share an analogy from my profession and uh link it to how uh the things that we're discussing today. I'm an oncologist. I've been serving this community and all the needy cancer patients for over 10 years, serving alongside excellent healthc care providers, some of which are very well known to our board members.

3:38:49Patrick Rishard (Douglas parent, oncologist) Uh one thing that is imperative with a complicated and challenging diagnosis of cancer is that we work as a team and we follow one very important guiding principle. The patient is always at the center and everything we do if we follow that principle outcomes are generally better. I'm not getting the same impression of this proposal because I'm struggling with who exactly is at the center. Um, [cheering] it's not the kids, it's not the parents, it's not the families, it's not the communities. When I sit down in front of somebody and break a terrible diagnosis, I'm transparent. I'm honest. I present options. I I'm educated, educating them. As a Douglas perspective, we have received not the same courtesy, not the same treatment.

3:39:38Patrick Rishard (Douglas parent, oncologist) We're underprepared to understand what exactly is going to happen to our kids, our community. I implore you, pause the vote, think about it, and truly answer who is at the center of this proposal because it's not apparent to me that it's the kids, the parents, the communities. And that's exactly what we've elected you to do is service in that capacity. Please, I implore you on September 22nd, vote no. Consider alternatives, engage the community, be transparent, educate us. Appreciate your time.

3:40:12Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Teresa Schultz, followed by Laura Dion and Dave Vanas.

3:40:20Teresa Schultz (Mesa parent) Hi board. Thank you for letting me speak tonight. Um, if I could ask people to look up and look at me, I'd appreciate it. You You have told us time and again that these are not decisions of the heart and that these are rational business decisions. And yet, what do you see before you? You see children pleading for mercy and adults on their knees. My children watched people leap over our backyard fence, eggs in hand when King Supers happened. My daughter spent her first year at Mesa doing virtual learning. And our best friends lost their home in the Marshall fire. The one constant in their lives has been Mesa.

3:40:59Teresa Schultz (Mesa parent) Please don't tell me all schools are the same because it would be the same as telling my children that moving in with our neighbors would be just the same as living with my husband and I. You tell us these are not financial decisions and they must not be with a savings of only 0.8%. Rob Anderson's salary alone of $325,64 with a 3% raise means that his pay alone would meet this plan savings in 9 years. One person's salary. I challenge you to look at me, to look at them and tell me that this fracturing of local community is the only option on the table.

3:41:35Teresa Schultz (Mesa parent) I work in a hospital and when I shared where I would be today because of this proposal, many of my physicians who were planning moves to Boulder said, "Wow, I think we need to reconsider." If you say yes to this proposal, you have will have created a self-fulfilling prophecy regarding Boulder enrollment. Word is out and the optics are not great. The good news about complicated decisions is there are almost always multiple options. I believe that you are good people and I believe some of you may feel the unsettling whisper that this is wrong and it would be hard. But I ask when you take this proposal under consideration to include the whisper of your heart even if this is not a heart decision.

3:42:12Teresa Schultz (Mesa parent) It is after all the guiding light of all of the greatest moments in our selective collective human history. Thank you.

3:42:22Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [applause and cheering] Our next speaker is Laura Dion, followed by Dave Vaness and Carly Goldsberry.

3:42:30Laura Dion (Eldorado PK-8 parent) Hi team, I'm Laura Dion. I'm here tonight as a parent in the El Dorado community. During the recent proposal meeting, board member Anger reminded us of the district's ultimate goals. Three round schools, near 80% capacity, ideal full-time staffing and resources for students. If you're willing, I invite you to write down some numbers. 419 per the proposal slides. 419 is the total number of combined El Dorado elementary and middle school students. Why the combined number I bring today? Because of the ultimate goal. These 419 elementary and middle school students share the space and capacity of the building. These 419 students share the resources and the access to our full-time staff, the counselor, the librarian, the art teacher, etc. Now, the next number, 360.

3:43:35Laura Dion (Eldorado PK-8 parent) If you eliminate the K8 model at El Dorado, they're left with 360. That's the proposal's estimated student population as a standalone elementary. As you can see, the current proposal leaves El Dorado with less 419 down to 360. Fewer students in a building does not meet the goal to increase usage and capacity. Fewer students in a building does not meet the goal to provide resources and staffing. The town of Superior has two schools on the CDE's top 100. One of those is already near capacity and proposed to increase. One is proposed to decrease and be left underenrolled. I'm here to ask for the board to create a more balanced, sustainable student distribution in the town of Superior, support our winning schools for years to come. Thank you.

3:44:31Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Dave Vanus, held by Carly Goldsbury and Anatit Michael.

3:44:44Dave Vanas (Douglas parent) Thank you, members of the board. I'm a Douglas parent and I recognize that BVSD has an enrollment problem that's bigger than any one school. We accept and understand that some schools may ultimately need to close. I know you spent the last year asking for input and any school could be affected, but general notice is not the same as meaningful engagement around a specific closure. This is the time to remember that leadership isn't the willingness to make hard decisions. It's the judgment to know whether or not you're making the right one. Pilots are trained to go around when an approach no longer looks right, even when seconds from landing. But they don't force that landing simply because they're already committed to it.

3:45:21Dave Vanas (Douglas parent) We didn't end up at Douglas. We chose it because it's a school that's right for our children. And high choice into a school is not a weakness in the system. That's the demand you should be protecting. A resilient district cannot simply become better at managing decline. It has to remain a district families want to choose. And before you dismantle our community, I hope you can sit with your answer to the larger question. Have you fully tested the alternatives? And are you 100% confident that this change makes BVSD stronger 5 to 10 years from now? Because right now, you've got something extraordinary. the captive attention and combined strength of communities coming together and fighting for public education.

3:46:05Dave Vanas (Douglas parent) You have the ability to shape how Colorado values public education and to set an example for communities across the country to respond to the same enrollment challenge. Embrace that opportunity. Come back to the table and allow us to help you build something stronger. I'm not asking you to make a difficult decision or avoid a difficult decision. I'm asking you to make a decision worthy of its consequences. Your leadership on the board will not be remembered for how firmly you held to a difficult decision. It can be the story that set the precedent for Boulder Valley and for the other communities facing the same challenge. So let this decision be remembered not for the schools you closed but for the moment a community came together.

3:46:43Dave Vanas (Douglas parent) You listened and we found a better way forward.

3:46:47Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Carly Goldsbury followed by Annati and Erica Costus.

3:47:09Anat (Mesa parent) Good evening. My name is Anat. I'm a missa parent. I'm sure you guys have braced yourself for this title wave of reactions. When facing an unpopular decision like school closures, it's tempting to write off community push back as purely emotional. You bet we're emotional, but that doesn't mean that we're not equally rational, critical, and thoughtful, and our concerns are grounded in evidence. You believe you're making the responsible decision. I ask you tonight to assess wholeheartedly whether you're making it responsibly. The resilient schools proposal promises the consolidation will improve the student experience through staffing efficiencies. Yet, independent research from districts like Jeffco, Chicago, and Seattle all point to the exact opposite.

3:47:51Anat (Mesa parent) Data shows closures consistently trigger academic declines in math and reading that can take years to recover. Behavioral issues rise while trust, safety, and sense of belonging plummet among students. Furthermore, promised cost savings are chronically overestimated, swallowed by hidden, unexpected, and long-term cost of the transition. The only scenario scenario where closures have yielded positive academic outcomes is when students transfer to significantly better schools. In a high performing district like BVSD, that is not the scenario. This means the net impact on most students will be negative. Closing a thriving, successful school like Mesa and dismantling a specialized environment for vulnerable learners will not improve outcomes. It will destabilize them. Take a minute to put yourselves in our shoes.

3:48:36Anat (Mesa parent) Would you really accept this level of vagueness, numbers that don't add up, and a total lack of concrete plan showing how your child's education will actually improve? If the superintendent has compelling evidence or ingenious plans showing how BVSD will miraculously buck national data and succeed where many other districts have failed, make that fully transparent to public prior to any action. If not, do your duty as our elected representatives. Ask the hard questions, protect our kids, and vote no. Thank you.

3:49:05Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Eric Aostus, followed by Cody Robertson and Elena Shiveley. Looks like Erica is not here. Cody Robertson, Elena Shiveley, David Jacobson. Hi Elena, you are up next.

3:49:43Elena Shiveley (Douglas parent) Um before I start, do you have accommodations for brain injury for timing? What might take two minutes that I wrote might take me three.

3:49:58Nicole Rajpal That's just fine. Well, you can give the same accommodations that we would if somebody was speaking in two languages, so you can have extra time.

3:50:05Elena Shiveley (Douglas parent) Appreciate it. That's the first time I've asked for it. Um, I'm Elena Shiveley. I went to Flatirons Baseline Boulder High. Now I live in Lafayette. My husband and I have trusted this district with our children's future like our parents did with ours. Our kids are third generation BVSD kids. I agree when Rob Anderson promised there are no bad schools in BVSD and that focus focus schools would not take priority over neighborhood schools. I trusted BVSD in 2014 when we supported and passed the record-breaking 500 million plus bond that included rebuilding Douglas and adding and modernizing much needed special ed facilities.

3:51:00Elena Shiveley (Douglas parent) It feels like a bait and switch just years after construction is finished to dislodge the Douglas community from that building to move in a school that isn't asking to be moved. You each ask voters for the privilege to serve and the responsibility to make these difficult decisions. I know you don't take it lightly, but you did leave us out. I hoped that by 2026, this district would truly be datadriven and traumainformed. Instead, it appears you've abandoned your own process and criteria you spent years selling to us, blindsided us, pulled the stable rug of our beloved school out from under kids who have already had to be resilient far too many times in their young lives.

3:51:55Elena Shiveley (Douglas parent) This single plan feels on track to be rubber stamped because of inertia as the only option that leaves your stated problems unsolved and causes more issues. Moving High Peaks to Douglas, it's a solution looking for a problem. Please amend the resolution to exclude Douglas and High Peaks from this inertia. We deserve, our kids deserve, your educators deserve the due diligence and the time to get to know the Douglas community to pass a long-term plan that prioritizes your students, the educators, your budgets, and are under enrollment. We have families that live east and drive west. You can't walk to Douglas from everywhere because it's on arterial roads by design. It's convenient, but it's community despite our kids taking buses. Come see what Douglas is.

3:52:51Elena Shiveley (Douglas parent) Watch the fourth graders write their own Harry Potter mock trial with every single kid engaged, valued, integrated. Every single kid participated for weeks to write that mock trial despite IEPs and I can. Principal Woler Woler has championed Douglas for 18 years. He's the only person I know that can dress up for Halloween as Mr. Rogers and pull it off because he can do that. Replicate Douglas's community. Don't dismantle it. Please take them out and amend this resolution.

3:53:33Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is David Jacobson, followed by Katie Rosenthal and Kathy Glab.

3:53:44Public commenter (unnamed Birch parent, speaking for her husband)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Hi. I come to you guys as a Birch parent of 14 consecutive years. I've been on their PTO board for six years as well as a BVSD employee for the past four years. I don't come to you guys with data or numbers. I that's not my thing. I come to you guys with my experience. We, as I said, have been at Birch consecutively with our four kids for 14 years. Our oldest started there in preschool. He's now a senior in high school at Broomfield. We have a freshman there, a sixth grader at Broomfield Heights, and a third grader at Birch. Um, we started there when our oldest was in preschool. We lived across the street.

3:54:23Public commenter (unnamed Birch parent, speaking for her husband)speaker unconfirmed · check the video We moved to Thornton after that and spent the next eight years driving back and forth 25 minutes. six of those years being three times a day as our kids were in preschool because of the community at Birch, because of the teachers that they have there and the parents that they have there. Um my daughter who is in sixth grade, she has ADHD. She was um we figured that out in first grade. I did not give her a 504 until last year right before she went into middle school because there was no need with the teachers and community that they had there. They were accommodating. They listened to their students. they'd learned their students and they just naturally accommodated them.

3:55:04Public commenter (unnamed Birch parent, speaking for her husband)speaker unconfirmed · check the video The only reason we did a 504 was because she was going into middle school, you have seven teachers, then everyone needs to be on the same page and know them as they come in. Um, yeah. So, 14 years driving back and forth making sure our kids were able to be a part of this community. I've been through losses with these teachers and staff. I've been through losses with these kids and our friends. Anytime that we've moved, we have made sure to stay in Birch because of the people and the teachers and the staff there. Thank you.

3:55:45Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Was was that you Katie that just spoke? And you are

3:55:56David Jacobson (Boulder resident, future Douglas parent) David Jacobson. She spoke on behalf of her husband who couldn't make it tonight.

3:56:01Nicole Rajpal Oh, okay. So, David Jacobson, Katie Rosenthal, Kathy Glab.

3:56:10David Jacobson (Boulder resident, future Douglas parent) Thank you. My name is David Jacobson. I'm a father of a 2-year-old named Lily. We have not been enrolled yet in the BVSD program. I came here to talk about why we moved to Boulder. I'm from Memphis, Tennessee originally, and I don't know if many of you know, but Memphis, Tennessee does not have a great school system. We came to Boulder because my wife is from Boulder. She went to Boulder High, Fairview High, excuse me. She'd be very upset if I said that. She can't be here tonight because she's with Lily, but she wanted me to talk about what school means to her.

3:56:42David Jacobson (Boulder resident, future Douglas parent) We lived overseas for about 10 years, and we moved back to Boulder and chose where we live because it's in walking distance to Douglas. Douglas is where our daughter Lily is going to go. We bought a bike. We biked to daycare just down the road. We envisioned that that same bike we'd be taking Lily down to Douglas in a few years time. Right now, that dream is in jeopardy. I work in financial planning and modeling. I do a lot of complex financial modeling for governments, families, corporations all across the world. I've spent 25 years in it. And in financial planning, we have a little term, and I'll tell you that term in just a second, but 1% is what we're talking about.

3:57:27David Jacobson (Boulder resident, future Douglas parent) 1% on the annual budget savings. Actually 08, I think, is what it is. In financial planning, when we run a multi-million dollar, billion dollar financial plan, a 1% differential at the end, is a rounding air. But what's not a rounding air is those kids and those families. And there was 80 or so kids that spoke up here so bravely today. I couldn't imagine doing that as a first or second grader. Those kids and those families and the 1,800 people that are potentially displaced, that is not a rounding air. So I urge you to vote no or simply just delay till all the facts of the financial analysts are here. Thank you.

3:58:13Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Katie Rosenthal, followed by Kathy Glab and Jed Brown.

3:58:26Katie Rosenthal (Flatirons parent) Good evening. My name is Katie Rosenthal and I'm the parent of a second grader at Flatirons. Tonight, we've collectively raised questions that deserve careful consideration before any vote. If I were in your position before voting on a plan with such permanent consequences, I would expect clear answers to several questions. What measurable educational benefits will students receive as a result of these closures and consolidations? Has the district analyzed whether closures could accelerate enrollment decline by pushing families to private schools, homeschooling, or neighboring districts? What alternatives were considered and rejected and why? The problem is not simply that these questions remain unanswered. The problem is that the proposal appears to be aimed at entirely different goals.

3:59:12Katie Rosenthal (Flatirons parent) It prioritizes enrollment utilization and operational efficiency while giving far less weight to educational outcomes, community impacts, family retention, neighborhood vitality, and the diversity of learning environments available to students. As a Flatirons parent, I'm co I've come to appreciate something that's missing from this discussion. Not every successful school is designed to be large. Flatirons was built to be small. Families choose it because it offers a different educational experience. The question should not simply be how to maximize utilization. It should be whether BVSD benefits from offering a diversity of educational environments that meet different student needs. I'm not asking you to ignore the challenge of declining enrollment. The district has documented that challenge extensively.

4:00:03Katie Rosenthal (Flatirons parent) I am asking you to reject the idea that enrollment and utilization should be the primary or only factors determining the future of our schools. I urge you to vote no on this proposal and direct uh the district to return with a plan that's fully developed in engagement with this community which has shown it's ready to have that conversation with you. What we need now is a process and a proposal that are worthy of.

4:00:29Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Kathy Glav followed by Jed Brown and Robert Hefern. I don't see Kathy. Jed, is that you waiting in the wings? Great. Robert Hefern and Rishi Raj.

4:00:45Jed Brown (Flatirons parent) I'm Jed Brown, a parent of two Flat Iron students. We're told the district believes school closures are better for students and families, citing demand for full-time specials in the spring survey. Yet survey participants were not informed that the district was already paying consultants who tout their role in quote closure or consolidation of more than 30 schools. End quote. A boutique consultancy that markets itself solely for consolidation is hired to plate the community, not to carefully consider evidence. In the spring engagement sessions, the context of school closure was more explicit and neighborhood proximity surged as a priority. If asked whether to have full-time specials or to keep the neighborhood school, families choose the school every time. As you can see today, we did not consent to this.

4:01:28Jed Brown (Flatirons parent) Closing neighborhood schools decreases civic engagement and shifts a burden onto working families. It should be a last resort and weight against the district's strategic priorities, including sustainability and walkability, bikability. We can find solutions that center students, families, teachers, and trust that don't devalue neighborhood schools. In an interview with Boulder Frequency, Randy Barber said the district anticipates a quote slight increase in teacher employment because essentially we will have to still take care of the same number of students end quote. So where will the projected financial savings come from? According to the district reduced staffing, these two statements cannot both be true. Ha have the other districts advised by planfully realized their projected financial benefits. Research shows that most school closures do not.

4:02:16Jed Brown (Flatirons parent) Why does BVSD think it will be different here? I ask that you delay a vote on the school closures until we can substantively assess the impacts on teachers, families, and finances. Thank you.

4:02:29Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Robert Hefern followed by Rishi Raj and Devin Rosavi Shirer.

4:02:41Robert Hefern (Community Montessori parent) Good evening. Thanks guys so much. Appreciate it. You guys have been champs tonight and still got a long way to go. Um, I'm speaking on behalf of the PTA even though I'm not in it yet. Hopefully that's next week and uh, you know, we've been doing things. Um, we're not asking the board to resist the move right now. We are asking for a specific um, we have five specific asks. One, show the math. So far, we have not seen the data when it comes out that we've seen for everybody else. Community Montessori high peaks and BCSIS basically haven't gotten the same treatment that all the other schools have gotten when it comes to uh enrollment projections and capacity.

4:03:19Robert Hefern (Community Montessori parent) Uh second ask we need a written operating agreement between Community Montessori and BCSIS. I don't know what's going on at High Peaks. I didn't even know high peaks existed until you know this all happened. So we just need to work with BCSIS and we need some time to do that hopefully before November 1st. um a staffing floor. We're asking for holding of staffing for two years. So, I know that happens in the February 28th allocation. So, we would very much like for you guys to hold the staff for two years. What we've got right now that leads into the preschool classroom. Uh one of the things about community monitor is children's house. That's uh K, prek, and preschool.

4:03:58Robert Hefern (Community Montessori parent) Um, right now as far as I was able to peer in the windows over there at Aurora 7, there's no bathrooms. Nothing can get, you know, it's not up the code and stuff like that. Um, and 12 weeks between when High Peaks moves out and Community Minister Server moves in. That's a lot for a plumbing job for four elementary school classrooms. Uh, because if we went up if we went down to three, that would put us over 30 for elementary school uh, children's house. My apologies. That didn't mean elementary school. Um, five, bus stop continuity. We about 31%. It's the biggest thing in our survey. We managed to get a survey done this weekend. It was a lot of work.

4:04:38Robert Hefern (Community Montessori parent) Um, 31% of our students take the bus. That's a lot of us going up and down there. I used to live on Gilpin, which is right across there. Thank you so much for your time.

4:04:49Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Rishi Raj followed by Devon Rosavi Sheer and Liz Wilmers. No Rishi. Move on to Devon, followed by Liz Wilmers and Bri Myers.

4:05:07Devon Rosavi Shear (Birch parent) Ready? All right. Hi everyone. My name is Devon Rosavi Shear. This is my daughter Anita. You've already seen her once because my wife spoke. She's a great speaker. I take a little different approach, which is why I emailed each and every one of you a PowerPoint detailing my own community uh plan and really looking at the data. So, I'm here because of her, right? She's my daughter. But in my other life, my work life, I work for the World Health Organization doing modeling for 110 countries around the world. My specialty is modeling. and very unfortunate for your modeling team. My specialty is reviewing modeling for publications and for use in public policy. This model is all over the place.

4:05:57Devon Rosavi Shear (Birch parent) And I'm sorry to tell you that your assumption, which okay, it's a linear I understand it's a cohort. There's lots of mathematics. I wish I had so much more time to dive into this because I like love it. But the issue is you assume 34 kindergarteners coming into Birch, 35 class size average. We've never had that small size. You assumed that there would be only 238 kids at Birch this school year. There's 261. I'm asking you to look at Broomfield differently because Broomfield is different. We're currently at 78% capacity for the BVSD section of K through5. Why was redistricting not considered? I don't understand. You projected Emerald would be at 90%, they're already at 95. Aspen at 111, 113.

4:06:46Devon Rosavi Shear (Birch parent) We don't have an undercapacity issue inside of Broomfield. We have an over capacity issue. And if you close Birch, we'll already be at 101% capacity. So, you're looking me in the face and telling me going from 62% to 95% is a better education for my daughter. and I'm calling your bluff.

4:07:10Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering and applause] Our next speaker is Liz Wilmer is followed by Bri Meyer and Pablo Velasco.

4:07:25Liz Wilmers (Uni Hill parent, former BVSD teacher) My name is Liz Wilmers. I'm a parent of a first grader at Uni Hill and a former BVSD teacher. Thank you for listening to us speak tonight. I get it that tough decisions need to be made in response to declining enrollment. This has been an issue in BVSD for a very long time. But what I don't get is how it's equitable to make these change these decisions to merge and close schools in stages. If passed, the resilient schools proposal provides families at Mesa, Douglas, Flatirons, and Burge with a massive head start at figuring out their next steps.

4:07:54Liz Wilmers (Uni Hill parent, former BVSD teacher) Holding off on deciding the fate of the dual language schools until after the open enrollment window has come and gone cripples the chances of BVSD's dual language schools at increasing enrollment at a critical time where many families at other schools will be making transitions in the wake of merges and closures. Uni Hill is not a neighborhood school. It is a school that relies on families choosing to open enroll because they believe in its mission bilingualism by literacy and biculturalism. And for many because it preserves their cultural identity. I have friends whose children attend schools that are projected to close under the resilient schools proposal and they are interested in the possibility of their children attending Uni Hill, especially folks at Flatirons who live right there.

4:08:32Liz Wilmers (Uni Hill parent, former BVSD teacher) But they are hesitant to take the chance that they might enroll their child in yet another school that might be merged or closed in the near future. It is inequitable to give some communities the opportunity to make their decisions before the upcoming enrollment window closes and then to force other schools and in this situation only the dual language schools to wait in limbo until their fate is decided at some unknown later date. This is unacceptable. It is a privilege and a luxury to feel confident and safe standing up in this room tonight saying my name and advocating for the dual language schools in BVSD. And this is not a privilege that many Spanish-sp speakaking Hispanic parents at dual language schools enjoy.

4:09:11Liz Wilmers (Uni Hill parent, former BVSD teacher) Oh my god, where am I? Perhaps this is why you are lacking the data that you seek. Please, if this is all inevitable, if you're going to pass the resilient schools proposal, no matter what, then double down. Get creative. Do the outreach, collect the data you need from the Spanish speaking families now to make a decision about the fate of dual language schools before the upcoming open.

4:09:29Nicole Rajpal Thank you.

4:09:29Liz Wilmers (Uni Hill parent, former BVSD teacher) about equity. Now is the

4:09:33Nicole Rajpal thank Thank you. Our next speaker is Brian Myers, followed by Pablo Velasco and Daniellea Ro.

4:09:41Brian Myers (Mesa parent) Hi, my name is Brian Myers. I'm a Mesa and Rise program parent. My biggest concern with the merger of Mesa and Bear Creek is that the school will be at capacity. The lack of individual classrooms and Bear Creek's open concept room structure or lack of walls separating classrooms. It's hard enough for kids to sit and listen to a speaker, add two to three other teachers, their 30 students for class and their noises, and it's going to be near impossible for kids to sustain that listening energy for 7 and a half hours. So, what is the plan to change this open concept layout and provide a distraction-free learning environment? We don't know. The current BVSD proposal has no details and there's a huge lack of transparency.

4:10:16Brian Myers (Mesa parent) As everyone else has mentioned, all we know is that schools will close. We don't know what the target classroom size is and we don't know how or where an additional classrooms that are needed will come from to shove an additional 200 kids from Mesa into Bear Creek. Both Mesa and Bear Creek have great test scores. The district loves to show off these test scores and reports on them regularly. They are proof of how awesome our teachers and staff are at helping our kids grow and learn in a supportive learning environment.

4:10:42Brian Myers (Mesa parent) However, if the district doesn't prioritize maintaining supportive learning environments in these new combined schools, we're going to hear of teachers struggling to keep their students engaged in learning activities and see an immediate drop in those first test scores and lack of academic growth throughout the school year. Thank you.

4:10:59Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Pablo Velasco, followed by Daniela Ruff.

4:11:10Pablo Velasco (Uni Hill parent) Good evening. My name is Pablo Velasco. I'm a native Spanish speaker. You guys wanted to hear from us. Um, I have two kids. Uh, I was born in Boulder, but I grew up in Bolivia. During my time in Bolivia, my parents enrolled me in a bilingual school, which I am super grateful for because it allowed me to be fluent in two languages, be able to come back to the States, study here, etc., but also more importantly, be fluent in two different cultures. Uni Hill is a focus school um and just like many other focus schools in Boulder, but the mission and the model that Uni Hill has is quite different.

4:11:43Pablo Velasco (Uni Hill parent) It's a delicate 50-50 balance that has been uh uh that has been crafted over 40 years. You cannot simply recreate this somewhere else quickly. Um UNIL is not a school that can easily merge as you would tarnish that delicate balance that currently exists right now. We believe in good education. Um uh and I and we believe that scores are important but using only the Seal of Biliteracy to determine the value of UNIL is a very narrow view and also it seems like nobody knows about this seal thing. So um UNIL has educated thousands of successful people including Malcolm Scott Carpenter, one of NASA's original seven astronauts. But Uni-In the value of UNIL is much bigger than the scores or the seal.

4:12:34Pablo Velasco (Uni Hill parent) Uniill teaches two languages, two cultures and gives kids the opportunity to choose the best aspect of two cultures and combine them and leave behind the bad aspects of cultures and leave those out of their life. So it allows our kids to be better people than us. It gives more opportunity to our kids which is I think what we all want and that is what Union Hill brings to our children. Thank you.

Recess (10 min), then public comment resumes (adults, part 3)

4:13:02Nicole Rajpal Thank you. I do not see Daniela here. Um we're coming on two additional hours of public comment. So we are going to take a 10-minute comfort break and come back to the rest of our speakers. Back everybody. We will resume public comments starting with Alana McCormick, Miran Katcha Abuit, and Elizabeth Fedak. I see someone rushing to the stage like the price is right. You're the first one here. Come on up or

4:28:05Public commenter (unnamed Uni Hill parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Today I feel frustrated and fearful. Fearful that my rising kindergartener will not have the same opportunity as my two older sons. Frustrated that a process that has been explicitly said to be about declining enrollment seems to have been muddled with talk about school performance. Frustrated that at the last board meeting, Uni Hill, who by your numbers also happens to be the second highest enrolled school in the city of Boulder, appears to have been singled out for its performance.

4:28:34Public commenter (unnamed Uni Hill parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video judged by how many of its graduates attain a seal of bi literacy in high school, which by the way we all had to look up because it seems it is not universally promoted and judged by how many of its students continue on to bilingual middle schools and high schools when these opportunities also seem to be limited to a few schools in Boulder City. I am fearful that seeds of doubt have been planted by this board and families about the viability of bilingual education as they choose which schools to send their kids to next year.

4:29:03Public commenter (unnamed Uni Hill parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video I ask this board to think both about the value of bilingual educations for Spanish-sp speakaking families as a way to reinforce our cultural heritage and for English-speaking families who want to give their children opportunities in this interconnected world and this bilingual country. I also ask that you not single out bilingual schools and judge them by their performance as you make decisions in this upcoming year. I can tell you they are excellent and I'm happy to bring my fifth grader to a future meeting to prove it. Thank you very much.

4:29:37Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Up next we have Elena McCormack, Elizabeth Fedak, and Michelle McKay.

4:29:45Public commenter (unnamed, reading a Uni Hill mother's statement)speaker unconfirmed · check the video I'm gonna do her part in Spanish and English now.

4:29:49Nicole Rajpalspeaker unconfirmed · check the video Oh, that's great.

4:29:50Public commenter (unnamed, reading a Uni Hill mother's statement)speaker unconfirmed · check the video It was different. Yes, I am a mom of three and a product of a bilingual education in Argentina. Before we became parents, we knew what we wanted for our children. We moved to Boulder after having met parents from Uni Hill. They spoke of Uni Hill with great pride and love. We decided to stay in Boulder because of Uni Hill where we found an excellent school, excellent teachers, and a diverse community that received us with open arms. Thank you.

4:30:30Elena McCormack (Mesa parent) Hi, I'm Elena McCormack, a parent of a Mesa kindergartener and third grader. There are so many unanswered questions about the proposed consolidation of Bear Creek and Mesa that everyone, including you as the board, should have answers to with time to digest before any board vote on the proposal. Here are some. Given that current enrollment suggests that the Bear Creek building would be at capacity next year and that the 2030 resident student count will exceed the building's capacity. How is the building large enough and how were the projections calculated? How many classrooms does the building have and how many would be allocated to each grade rise aim G&T and breakouts? How would the student experience even remain steady in an overcrowded school with loud open classrooms?

4:31:22Elena McCormack (Mesa parent) Are there guarantees with regard to max class size, building modifications, or accommodation of all students without trailers? What's the earliest time that students will have lunch? Would open enrollment students be kicked out? If so, would it unfairly impact only Mesa's open enrollment students? What would happen to Mesa's preschool? And why haven't the preschools been considered simultaneously considering that factoring them in could make a different option more favorable? Would the capacity of sack at the combined school be at least as large as the combined capacity of the two schools sacked programs? The community shouldn't have to hope for the best. We need a comprehensive proposal. I could get on board with the consolidation, but only if satisfactory answers to these questions were provided. Don't rush this.

4:32:18Elena McCormack (Mesa parent) Get a complete proposal, share it, and only then vote. Thank you.

4:32:25Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Elizabeth Vidac, following Michelle McKay and Crystal Chin. Michelle McKay.

4:32:32Michelle McKay (Douglas parent) This me. Okay. Sorry. I thought I heard you say someone else was in front of me. My favorite leadership quote is pressure is a privilege. And my ask of you is that you lean into the privilege you have in the seats you've been elected to sit in. We're not asking you to stop communities in this closure of our schools. What we are trying to ask you to do is to pause. There's been plenty of data shared across this evening. Um and there's a lot of holes in the data and the way it was represented to you. Jillian Waters provided additional data that is absolutely worth looking at.

4:33:11Michelle McKay (Douglas parent) The job in front of you is to ask whether the po proposal as it has been built earns the disruption it causes. And clearly the numbers would say no. There's a lot of people here from Douglas on the behalf of our Douglas community because the data does not represent the performance of our school or the draw that the school has for Eastern Boulder. My husband and I moved from Denver, pulled our kids out of private school in Denver to go to Douglas. It is an award-winning education that deserves its school and deserves its spot.

4:33:45Michelle McKay (Douglas parent) Every other school deserves a conversation, but we're asking you to remove uh Douglas from the proposal because the data does not support that the uh return into the schools you're resoning us into makes sense. The previous consolidation in 2000 that BBS did expected 300 to 400 of the 700 affected families at that time to accept their assigned school. Only 120 did. Less than one in 10 Douglas families report that they will go to the school that they have been resoned to. 86% say uncertainty of the future closures that this proposal will mandate creates uncertainty of whether or not they will stay in BVSD at all. East Boulder currently has choices and people in our community are willing to make those choices outside of BVSD.

4:34:38Michelle McKay (Douglas parent) Our first choice is to stay here.

4:34:43Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Crystal Chin, followed by Xiao Marcos Aavo, Korea Desoza, and Libby Peterson. After that is Brian Blackwood, Leath Stevens, and Lynn Pearson.

4:35:17Juan (Mesa parent, CU scientist) Hi, my name is Juan. Uh, I decided to move here with my family about two years ago. We have a second grader, Misa. And Miza was a key factor on us deciding to move to the to the US and to border specific. Uh, I am a scientist at CU and as a scientist, what I did when I received this proposal was contrast that against evidence. So I went to the bibliography. I say what happened with previous experience and I compile a document that I shared with the board on Friday. And just to to resume or to summarize a few of the key findings that I saw from previous experience. Well, there's very strong evidence that school closures can can lead to short-term achievement losses.

4:36:05Juan (Mesa parent, CU scientist) Very strong evidence that school mobility forcing transitions can hurt achievement. Strong evidence that receiving schools can experience disruption. Again, strong uh evidence the largest school can weaken attachment uh attachment and relationships that actually smaller schools have academic advantages. Again, strong evidence that teacher turnover can harm achievement. The loss of belonging can affect achievement. the transportation chains can affect attendance and I I could go on. There's a long list and uh so just adding to what my colleagues said before about specific concerns around MSA and other schools I just ask that the board consider all that before puts proposal to a vote to the risk of hurting this relationship this necessary relationship between parents and the BVSD and that's all. Thank you.

4:37:00Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Next up, we have Libby Peterson, followed by Brian Blackwood, Leaf Stevens, and Lynn Pearson.

4:37:12Libby Peterson (Douglas parent, former BVSD administrator) My name is Libby Peterson, educator, former BVSD administrator, and proudly parent. Our youngest attends our homeschool Douglas. She joined after a private school's leadership failed our family and others. Mr. Woler, Miss Gibson, and their team were welcoming, supportive, the best we have seen. Because of them and her classmates, she loves Douglas. The thought of it closing indefinitely is unfathomable. As an educator, I empathize with making difficult decisions. It's from that perspective I urge you to make this student centered. A choice best for our current and future kids. Cultivating a community that is as inclusive, stable, and excellent as Douglas is is a long-standing and intentional endeavor. It's this kind of environment that breeds academic success.

4:38:01Libby Peterson (Douglas parent, former BVSD administrator) Students, after all, only learn best when they feel like they do at Douglas. The data speaks for itself. This year, Douglas earned the Governor's Distinguished Improvement Award for exceptional student growth and the John Irwin Award for exceptional academic achievement. From 2022 to 24, the percentage of Douglas students meeting or exceeding expectations had a 15 point gain in literacy and a 20 point gain in math. Academic outcomes should matter in a proposal intended to create stronger schools. So, how did the district consider academic performance data in its process? If not, why not? If the claim that consolidation improves the learner experience is true, why is the district planning on a 67.9% post-plan use of K5 facilities still below levels that triggered concern in the first place?

4:38:54Libby Peterson (Douglas parent, former BVSD administrator) If underfilled schools are the problem, how does a plan that leaves a third of seats empty solve it? Was everything else considered that would affect adults first before displacing kids? Was it discussed, for example, to sell the multi-million district office and have employees work directly in our schools? Why wasn't this?

4:39:18Nicole Rajpal Thank you, Brian Blackwood, followed by Leaf Stevens. So, Brian and Leaf are not here. Oh, you are here. Okay, great. Brian is not here. Leaf is here. After leave, it will be Lynn Pearson and Wendy Block.

4:39:41Leith Stevens (BVSD parent) Good evening. Uh my name is Leed Stevens. I'm a parent of a second grader at BVSD and an upcoming kindergartener uh next year. I'm asking the board for one thing, to delay the vote this year, and come back with a complete plan. I'm going to give you three good reasons why. First, waiting is cheap. The district projects 3 and a half to four million, less than 1% of the budget, to be saved by this proposal. Against that $10 million in onetime building costs that could even be higher. Only half of it is so far budgeted. The waiting costs just 1% and closing that school lasts forever. Second, the plan isn't finished. This is stage one.

4:40:19Leith Stevens (BVSD parent) Middle schools, boundaries, dual language, and more consolidations are still to come. A thousand elementary school uh kids will lose their school at the end of this year. But 5,000 students at over 16 schools will end up uh having their schools moved, merged, consolidated, reconfigured, or have new students come in with no way to know if that new school is on next year's list. Asked about the details, your own board president, Miss Rajpal, said nearly it's nearly impossible for me to answer with a high degree of confidence until a board votes. So, you're all being asked to vote before the answers exist. I don't know why. Third, the practical questions are unanswered. My daughter is slated to move to Whidier.

4:41:01Leith Stevens (BVSD parent) Whier and foothills after school care is already full with weight lists. What happens to working families on that first day? Are we prioritized over the existing students? That would seem fair to some people, but certainly not to others. Uh what about pick up and drop off at Whitty? It's already unmanageable. What are the new class sizes? Which was the number one priority in your own survey? We're considering open enrolling to Uni Hill, but we don't know the fate of dual language schools. What if they close next? Do we move our kids twice? Closing a school is permanent. An enrollment projection is not. A one-year delay costs 1%. Getting this wrong cost neighborhood schools forever. Delay the vote, finish the plan, and then decide.

4:41:43Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Lynn Pearson, followed by Wendy Block and Michael Stanley.

4:41:52Lynn Pearson (Flatirons parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video All right. Um, school closures have become commonplace. We've seen it in Colorado. It has not gone well so far. In Chicago and DC, closures have been studied for decades, and they have not produced the fiscal gains predicted. They hurt children's academic performance for years, not to mention the social and emotional harm, and it can be devastating to to communities, especially when you're closing an area's only neighborhood school. Districts always rely on a dominant frame that presents closures as inevitable, datadriven, and neutral. But closing schools is an active decision that BVSD is making and it is not a budgetary necessity that is forcing your hands. One, school closures are avoidable and alternatives do exist. Heatherwood was given this chance and other schools should be given the same.

4:42:34Lynn Pearson (Flatirons parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Flatirons, for example, has an integrated CU science program that our principal fought for and it is amazing. We could easily be a STEM focused neighborhood school. We could also have preschool integration and so on. The criter two, the criteria for closure has lacked consistency. You've heard that a bunch. Um, three, the process has lacked transparency. On February 9th, BVSD signed a $60,000 contract with Planfleet Consulting for quote consolidation and closure of schools end quote. I've read the proposal and it touted that two senior consultants had quote supported the closure of more than 30 schools end quote. Closures were a foregone conclusion before community engagement. Four, biased data. Consulting firms oversimplify financial metrics and ignore the deep community and social value of neighborhood schools.

4:43:21Lynn Pearson (Flatirons parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Smaller neighborhood schools have value. For example, the benefit for neurode divergent students cannot be overstated. Our neuro spicy kid has thrived there. Um, and they even spoke tonight, which blows my mind. Um, the surveys and data presented were biased towards school closures, which is not surprising given the track record of the two firms that were hired. There is no data that students are going to benefit. Uh my first grader here asked you to listen to Sesame Street and I would ask you to delay the vote and do the same. Okay.

4:43:55Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Our next speaker is Wendy Block followed by Michael Stanley and Scott Harris.

4:44:08Wendy Block (Mesa grandparent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Good evening. I'm a Mesa grandparent and a longtime resident of Baldd. One of this board's primary responsibilities and goals must be enhancing neighborhood schools. Neighborhood schools improve neighborhoods and build community. This proposal makes no attempt to enhance or protect neighborhood schools. It only closes them. It maximizes disruption to neighborhoods and community. It maximizes chaos to students and families. All for negligible savings that might occur after a fiveyear break even period. The proposed plan must be rejected and your staff must go back to the drawing board. is being rushed through without adequate transparency or community input. It's poorly conceived and shortsighted. It is massively complex and disruptive and set to be implemented all at once with little consideration as to how one change will impact the others.

4:45:22Wendy Block (Mesa grandparent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Mesa Elementary School is a case in point and it must not be closed. It's an amazing award-winning school with a tremendous culture and a vital part of our neighborhood. If um if let's see Bear Creek simply cannot accommodate all of Mesa students for the next year unless some 70 to 100 students disappear or you have class sizes that are 30 31 kids per school and you add like five or six portables and I don't know if you've ever driven by Bear Creek had school closure.

4:46:09Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Michael Stanley, followed by Scott Harris and Erin Penorthy.

4:46:26Michael Stanley (Monarch PK-8 parent) Hello, my name is Michael Stanley. I have a first grader at Monarch PK through 8. Uh, I kind of consider Monarch actually a PK through high school, right? The buildings are right next to each other. It's practically one and the same. I had a really cool opportunity two years ago to pick any school in the whole state of Colorado and I researched endlessly. I visited so many schools. I had five other school districts that I was comparing Boulder Valley School District to. And it's not just the school district. It's everything about Boulder. It is the innovation. It's the creativity. It's the community. All the things that we know makes this whole area so amazing and so special. Nothing about this plan represents that.

4:47:08Michael Stanley (Monarch PK-8 parent) Nothing about this plan represents the best of Boulder. We have this plan or the highway. And I'm about to hit the highway again after being here for two really wonderful years. When we talk about searching for schools, it is a competitive process. Those other five school districts, I'm looking at Cherry Creek, I'm looking at school districts up in the mountains, they are very competitive and you guys have to compete with that. This plan does not do that. You guys are shortch changing yourself. You are presenting a solution that in one year is going to meet your needs. In five years, it's not.

4:47:45Michael Stanley (Monarch PK-8 parent) Other parents are going to be looking at other schools, other school districts, and they're going to say, "Boulder Valley School District does not represent the stability, the innovation, the creativity that I'm looking for to raise my family." The proposal that is in front of you today is the wrong proposal. Vote no.

4:48:04Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering and applause] Our next speaker is Scott Harris, followed by Aaron Penorthy and Amanda Calendarer.

4:48:13Scott Harris (Community Montessori parent) Uh hello, it's nine o'clock. Uh hope everyone's uh staying awake. My name is Scott Harris. I have a daughter who's a kindergarten student at Community Montessori. I think there's been two of us from Community Montessori speaking tonight. Um I'm also a scientist and engineer. I'm a a numbers and data person and this proposal is bad. Uh there's data that's missing. I had to reverse engineer plots and tables to get numbers out of this. It's focused entirely on school closures, but we there's multiple knobs to turn here. There's financial knobs, there's utilization knobs, there's draw to get more students to go to BVSD, and that's not addressed. There's no narrative here about how this proposal was put together.

4:48:57Scott Harris (Community Montessori parent) Some other proposals are uh are mentioned but not really justified. There's no metrics. If I I took the numbers that I reverse engineered and I computed for all of the various proposed subproposals what the number of seats saved is versus the number of kids displaced and the three-way trade between High Peaks Community Monuri and Douglas is the worst. In that case, you get less than half a seat saved for every kid displaced. Not to mention that Douglas is split into three different schools, which is terrible. I mean, worst case, community monator might move. However, the building that's going to is not set up for PK. Um, it's size so that community monator can't grow.

4:49:44Scott Harris (Community Montessori parent) And in the proposal, the integral uh preschool students that are part of the Montessori experience were not even counted. Committee Montessori got two bullets. Didn't even get a slide in this proposal. So I I I can't imagine the board voting for this proposal and we'll be back in a few years if you do because this doesn't even move the needle very much and we're still going to have to come back and and face more hardship. So extraordinary measures require extraordinary evidence. There's not enough data here. There's no clear metrics and how this was proposed. So thanks.

4:50:17Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [applause and cheering] Our next speaker is Aaron Penorthy, followed by Amanda Calendarer and Cali Wyant.

4:50:24Aaron Penorthy (BVSD parent) Hello, my name is Aaron Penorthy and I'm the parent of two BVSD kids, a first grader and a preschooler. And I'm a BVSD graduate myself. Like many families here, we open enrolled our older child into her current elementary school in Louisville when open enrollment was very lenient two years ago. We did this for a number of reasons. One being that our home school would add 20 to 30 minutes to our daily commutes from West Lafayette to our work in Boulder. My concern with the proposed closure and consolidation of schools in Louisville and elsewhere in BVSD is that siblings will be split up. With schools merging together, open enrollment spots will presumably diminish. The pendulum of lenient open enrollment will swing the other way.

4:51:05Aaron Penorthy (BVSD parent) I haven't heard any comment from BBSC around the plan to address this. With the proposal to consolidate schools, many buildings will be closed to max capacity. This has ripple effects on families, most significantly for the families who are displaced and also for the students and teachers at the existing school. You shared in the resilient schools email that parents and educators have spoken loudly and clearly that they would like smaller class sizes. How does maxing out building capacity solve this? I would like to hear a clear plan on how BVSD will work to keep siblings together for those families who already have an open enrolled child with a younger sibling who will be trying to get into that same school in future years after the proposed consolidation.

4:51:45Aaron Penorthy (BVSD parent) I would also like to understand what open enrollment will actually look like moving forward. So many families depend upon the flexibility that open enrollment provides and BVSD draws students in because of open enrollment as well. as a top district within the number one state for education in the United States. I think we can do better and I think we can set a better example around the value of public education. Thank you for your time and consideration.

4:52:12Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Amanda Calendarer followed by Cali Want and Carolyn Schilling.

4:52:22Amanda Calendarer (Douglas parent) Good evening. My name is Amanda Calendarer and I am a parent at Douglas Elementary. At this point in the night, you have heard what I'm about to say um over and over, but I think it bears uh worth repeating. BVSD has clearly established the challenge of declining enrollment. We understand that difficult decisions need to be made. What remains unclear and what has been raised several times tonight, like I mentioned, is why Douglas is being proposed for closure. Douglas has 281 students and is operating at 67% capacity, which is above the 60% threshold that initially triggered warnings about underutilized schools. Its enrollment has dis declined just 3% since 2021, compared with approximately 10% districtwide. 98 of our students are open enrolled.

4:53:10Amanda Calendarer (Douglas parent) That means people are choosing Douglas over their neighborhood school as you've heard tonight. And Douglas is exceeding academically. Again, you've heard this. the Governor's Distinguished Improvement Award for Exceptional Student Growth and the John Irwin Award for exceptional academic achievement. Yet, our students will be divided among three plus schools, some of which are currently operating at approximately 55, 54, and 46% capacity. For Douglas, the story is clear. Stable enrollment, strong outcomes, questionable solution. We asked you to consider not only whether the evidence supports Douglas as a candidate for closure, but whether this proposal does enough. Amend the resilient school proposal to exclude Douglas Elementary. Thank you.

4:53:58Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Cali Wyant, followed by Carolyn Schilling and Jen Ogard.

4:54:06Callie Wyant (Boulder resident, BVSD alum parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Hi, thank you so much uh for your time tonight. So, my name is Callie Wyant and I've been a resident of Boulder since 2000. I'm not quite a grandparent, but I did have three kids go through uh kindergarten to 12th grade in BVSD. And I just want to thank you all for your time and your service. Um, it's really important and I know you're all taking this very seriously. I have talking points that I'm going to diverge from because I think so many of the community have really really focused on so many of the shortcomings of the plan. Uh so I have five new points that I've been uh wrote down since I've been sitting here. First of all, this is a proposal.

4:54:46Callie Wyant (Boulder resident, BVSD alum parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video So the district has provided something for you all to think about and for all the reasons tonight, I encourage you to vote no. Second, we are truly a community and I think that uh that people that are here tonight really show that and it's really unfortunate to have schools have to sort of vive for each other. So I really encourage you all if you haven't yet visited it there's a site better plan BVSD it has a lot of reasons all the reasons to vote no or delay the vote there were also um some talk about projections in terms of enrollment and as a de facto statement it's been assumed that there's declining enrollment. We live in one of the most creative communities in the entire country.

4:55:35Callie Wyant (Boulder resident, BVSD alum parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video We're the center of quantum. We have CU here. We have growing industries. And to look at this in a silo feels very shortsighted. So I encourage you all to talk with city council, talk with the chamber, talk with Louisville. There's a new comprehensive plan. There will be growth. And so um take the time to really talk to the rest of the community. Most of the parents here, most of the people here are parents. And lastly, this is a 1% decision. And so this is a 40. Thank you.

4:56:06Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Carolyn Schilling followed by Jen Odgard and Andrea Castanada.

4:56:19Carolyn Schilling (Douglas parent) Good evening. My name is Carolyn Schilling and I'm a parent at Douglas Elementary and live within walking distance of our school. If the proposal is supposed to prepare BSD for the next decade, we need to look ahead and consider our growth in the east county where families are choosing to live. Douglas sits directly in that east county corridor and families are already choosing it. It's worth repeating, 35% of Douglas's 281 students are open enrolled. Our enrollment is declining just 3% since 2021 compared to the district's 10%. and 20 in and our 2022 kindergarten cohort has grown from 42 students to 59. Those numbers and everyone here tonight tell a sto different story from the resident population alone. BVSD itself recognizes the value of this location.

4:57:08Carolyn Schilling (Douglas parent) The district specifically cites improved access to east county families as a reason for moving high peaks to the Douglas campus. So the location is valuable. Families are moving east. Nearby schools are already reaching three round grades. Removing Douglas as a neighborhood school in this location could make future restructuring more challenging. Instead of eliminating elementary capacity in this quarter, Douglas should be considered part of BVSD's long-term East County enrollment strategy. Was whole school consolidation of Heatherwood into Douglas fully evaluated. If capacity is a concern, a small fourclassroom expansion at Douglas could consolidate these two neighborhood schools while keeping classes small and increase the capacity as East County grows.

4:57:55Carolyn Schilling (Douglas parent) This approach would be better use of 2022 bond funds that are currently allocated to Heatherwood's aging infrastructure, less costly, more sustainable, and in better alignment with BVSD's facilities development goals and planning policy. I ask that you follow the families, vote no, and consider an alternate consolidation strategy for Douglas that supports multiple communities for the long term.

4:58:20Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Jen Ogard, followed by Andrea Castanada, Katherine Wendell, and Alexander Gerard. I don't see Jen, so we'll move on to Andrea. Ready?

4:58:38Andrea Castanada (Birch parent) Good evening. My name is Andrea and I'm a Birch parent. Tonight, what I'd like to do is put the board on notice that if you approve this proposal after hearing all of the evidence that was presented tonight, you're not merely accepting the superintendent's assurances. You are choosing complacency over scrutiny, and you will have to own that decision. I'm going to go ahead and reiterate a few points that a fellow parent made because I think it's worthy of repeating. BVSD is asking you to make a permanent decision to close Birch. Yet, it has produced no evidence that a comparative facilities analysis occurred before coal was selected as the location as the building of relocation and consolidation. BVSD's AHA records identify asbestos containing materials remain at both schools.

4:59:25Andrea Castanada (Birch parent) However, a preliminary comparison of the records made available to parents indicates substantially more materials and areas of concern at Kohl than at Birch. Were you guys aware of this? AHAR AHA requires reinspection every 3 years and surveillance every six months. Yet, the management plans made available to parents as complete and current records. They recorded the last review in June of 2022. New reviews were recorded on August 31st and September 1st after BVSD announced its recommendation after parents began digging. Oh, that's convenient, isn't it? That sequence matters. The recommendation came first. Public scrutiny came next and the reviews followed. Meanwhile, core requests are actively being uh withheld and delayed um in the name of extenduating circumstances.

5:00:17Andrea Castanada (Birch parent) And many of these records, in fact, aren't going to be received until you guys are tasked with uh deciding on action. If the required reinspections and surveillance were completed, why isn't this in the records? If they weren't completed, then why is the school district out of compliance? And why wasn't our staff and children considered when this decision was made? I urge you to separate Birch.

5:00:43Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Katherine Wendell, followed by Alexander Gerard, Tim CZ, and Matt McKay.

5:00:58Alexander Gerard (Flatirons parent) Good evening. My name is Alexander Gerard and I have three kids in Fatians. I want to start tonight by reminding everyone of a very old parable and I know there's a few kids here, so hopefully it gives them a little bed bedtime story. So the story goes as follow. There's a group of blind men that come across as a large elephant. None of them have ever encountered one before. They don't know what that animal is, and they don't know how to deal with it. So, each of them starts touching the elephant, examining one, and only one part of the animal. One grabs the tail and swears that he's found a rope. One leans against the side and calls it a wall.

5:01:34Alexander Gerard (Flatirons parent) One takes hold of an ear and calls it a fan. The moral is that the men could not actually fully comprehend nor deal with what was in front of them because they did not examine every single part of the elephant. I keep thinking about that story because that's how I feel about this vote on September 22nd. I'm being handed a tail and I'm asked to deal with to deal with the whole animal I don't know. There is so much that hasn't been touched. Middle schools, boundaries, dual language programs, weight lists for sack. What school is going to close next? How does this proposal play alongside urban development goals, climate change goals, transportation goals? How can the board vote responsibly on a proposal that is not complete?

5:02:18Alexander Gerard (Flatirons parent) How can we as parents plan for what is ahead of us when not all of the elements are being considered? I know families in this district, including my own, generally wondering whether to stay in BVSD simply because we don't know what next year is going to look like. And that erosion in trust is already costing BVSD a lot. I'm not here asking you to not make hard decisions. I'm asking you to slow down and see the whole elephant before you decide how to move it. Please vote no on the 22nd. Thank you.

5:02:49Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Our next speaker is Tim CS followed by Matt McKay, Katherine Wolf, and Allison Smith.

5:03:12Tim Couts (Mesa parent, economist) Good evening. Uh my name is Tim Couts and I'm a proud BVSD alum. Uh my son Henry uh is a kindergartener at Mesa Elementary and I also happen to be an economist who studies education policy and assesses evidence uh for my job. So I approached uh this proposal through that lens. Um my first reaction was to download all the data available. I downloaded downloaded 10 years of historical enrollment data, hundreds of reports from the board and other sources. But it turns out that that was not necessary to find really serious flaws in the current proposal and the math behind it. So, let's take a moment and do what some of those kids suggested and show the work. Let's take actually one minute and 12 seconds.

5:04:01Tim Couts (Mesa parent, economist) So, when I looked at the data for Mesa and Bear Creek, if you took all the K4 K through four students this year and added the number of expected kindergarteners for next year, we would be at a number of 490. The capacity of Bear Creek is 492. That is a very thin margin. When you think about it, an annual change in kindergarten enrollment can easily fluctuate 20 kids in either direction. So, we are at the cusp of reaching capacity. Yet, there was a funny discrepancy. When I looked at the report, it estimated at most 445 students would be enrolled at Bear Creek next year. So, what happened to those 45 students? We don't know. Are those open enrollment students who are assumed not to be attending?

5:04:57Tim Couts (Mesa parent, economist) Do those families know that that's the situation that they're in? This report leaves so many unanswered questions and I urge the board to pause, do some basic arithmetic, and look at the numbers yourself before voting on this. Thank you very much.

5:05:14Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Our next speaker is Matt McCay, followed by Katherine Wolf, Allison Smith, and SJ Maxton.

5:05:22Matt McKay (Douglas parent) Hi everyone. I'm Matt McKay. I have a fourth grader and a second grader at Douglas. I have one more in pre-K planning on going there for kindergarten next year. Um, sometimes being the adult is not about making the tough decisions. It's about making the best decisions. And sometimes that means realizing you're on the wrong path, taking a pause, and thinking more clearly. Closing Douglas Elementary is the wrong path. And the last board meeting only underscored how poorly this proposal has been examined. Where was the real questioning of Rob Anderson in this plan? He works for you. [cheering] Yet, the presentation moved forward with far too little push back. Douglas currently has 40 students enrolled from the home school um of Lafayette.

5:06:10Matt McKay (Douglas parent) Why was critical Lafayette information omitted from the proposal entirely? If open enrollment is what you're after in East County, Douglas provides that. Where was the questioning about the resources for the kids in the IAN program? Douglas was built and equipped for the specialized resources those kids need. Why are we now planning to spend money retrofitting another building instead of keeping them where the supports already exist? And what happens to property values and family life in the 95th and Arapjo area when there is no neighborhood elementary school within six miles to the north or five miles to the south? You say your goal is neighborhood schools, but doesn't this plan create an elementary school desert in East County?

5:06:53Matt McKay (Douglas parent) We moved to Boulder three years ago and pulled our three kids from a Denver private school to go to BVSD. Based on what this proposal suggests, we wouldn't make that move again. And I doubt BVSD is going to attract future families with the same choice. You do not have to double down to prove you can make a hard call. Strength is the willingness to say the process so far has been insufficient. The questions remain unanswered and we are going to pause, demand clearer data and explore alternatives that do not sacrifice a neighborhood school or create.

5:07:26Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Katherine Wolf followed by Al Allison Smite, SJ Max, and Natalie Green.

5:07:35Katie Wolf (Flatirons parent) Good evening. I'm Katie Wolf, a Flatirons parent. Declining enrollment is real. Nobody's arguing, but closing a neighborhood school is a choice, and you haven't shown us it's the right one. The numbers you have over the last decade, enrollment fell about 10%. Central administration grew about 50%. One of these looks like a problem, and it isn't the second graders. This plan at best saves 3.5 to 4 million, 1% budget. It costs up to 15 million in construction and transaction transaction costs. Stanford University looked at the closures. They rarely save what districts expect because families often leave to private or charter schools. We've done this before. BVSD closed schools in 03. Two decades later, nobody can tell this community what it saved.

5:08:30Katie Wolf (Flatirons parent) But the superintendent said, "Last week, you're still hearing about the fallout." So, we kept the receipts for the pain, just not the savings. The numbers you don't have. Redraw boundaries. Reform open enrollment. Put programs people actually want into the schools. Relocate Flatirons with Uni Hill. Trim administration growth. Were any of these modeled? Not just lost, not modeled. Show your work. Every kid in this district is taught to show their work. If a second grader can do it, why can't you? We want alternative models next two closures. Finances, transportation, community, academics, outcomes. What happens if enrollment turns as city council vision is at odds with closures? A neighborhood school where kids walk, parents meet, friendships form. Once it's gone, it's gone.

5:09:20Katie Wolf (Flatirons parent) Closing schools weakens the community and weakens the trust in the school board. The most dangerous idea in the room is that you have no choice. You do. Please look at all of them before you pick one. Extend for more logical comprehensive plan. Vote no.

5:09:39Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Allison Smith, followed by SJ Maxxid, Natalie Green, and Kelly Frey.

5:09:48Allison Smith (Flatirons parent, paraeducator) Hi, my name is Allison Smith. I'm a BVSD parent from Flatirons to Fair View. I'm a neighbor on Uni Hill, which we have two neighborhood schools, both Flatirons and Uni Hill. And what I'm most proud about tonight is I'm a proud parah educator at Flat Flatirons and the Rise ILC program. And frankly, at this moment, I'd like to ask you to stand up and do a move break. You're looking kind of sleepy. It's a long night for all of us, but I feel like we all owe each other some respect. And it would be really great if you guys would move around because you're looking kind of sleepy. But back to business. I feel like we have all been bamboozled by your consultants.

5:10:36Allison Smith (Flatirons parent, paraeducator) They project savings, but it's less than 1% of your budget. I believe some gentlemen said that was a rounding error earlier. And they plan the plan leaves onethird of elementary seats still empty. The math ain't math like somebody also said. So, I'm asking you board members, I implore you to hit pause. We need a community plan that addresses the declining enrollment. Why is Flatirons being split into two different buildings when Uni Hill is just steps away? We have been told this plan is all or nothing. It must be a no for nothing. Please work together. Build a district-wide plan. Please vote no on September 22nd.

5:11:28Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is SJ Maxid, followed by Natalie Green, Kelly Frey, and DavidWigley. I'm not seeing an SJ. Natalie, hello.

5:11:46Natalie Green (Broomfield resident, Birch neighbor) I'd like all your attention. My name is Natalie Green. I'm 34 years old and a new homeowner on Birch Street in Broomfield. My spouse and I just bought our home uh one block down from Birch Elementary School at the end of June. We chose to settle in the desirable Northmore community for many reasons, but most notably the appealing established elementary school only 12 doors down. Over the last three months, we have enjoyed the neighborhood brimming with Burj pride. I have met students, parents, substitutes, and alumni of the school whose foundations were laid by the values taught at Burge. respect, ethics, environmental consciousness, and kindness to name a few. I hope everyone in this room still has space to inherit these values.

5:12:29Natalie Green (Broomfield resident, Birch neighbor) Having multiple elementary schools in a small town such as Broomfield will only encourage diversity in the lives of our youngest citizens. Birch Elementary School is adjacent from apartments and town houses filled with families who need a convenient avenue to their children's education. Younger families can and are moving into our school zone, but please allow the time to do what families do, grow. I come here as an example as this grow of this growth as a new resident and in the fragile early days of my first pregnancy. But my child's formal education won't begin until the year 2032. I ask you to please consider the future beyond our noses.

5:13:09Natalie Green (Broomfield resident, Birch neighbor) I hear that the desirable Boulder Valley School District is struggling, but cancelling convenient public education isn't the solution. Creatively sourcing resources from our community, sacrificing the excesses, and practical long-term planning can save our schools. Reszoning is the answer to this proposal. Please do not permanently waste infrastructure, close uh stop the strong neighborhood support, or the futures of our children. Do not close birch. Thank you.

5:13:41Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Kelly Frey, followed by David Quigley, Melissa Zens, and Chelsea Colewin.

5:13:50Kelly Fry (Douglas parent) Good evening. Um, appreciate everybody's attention. Um, know it's a long night. My name is Kelly Fry. This is not my comfort zone. I hate public speaking. I'm speaking because my kids encouraged me to and b because it's on all of us here in this room to give this fair process that sets example that we want them to see. I'm a Douglas alumni myself uh 97. Yeah, class of 97 fifth grade. I've got a third grader at Douglas and then a sixth grader in Plat Choice. We chose Douglas not by default. We examined all schools within our zone, within our drivable distance. We chose it because it is a school that is an amazing fit. Um, we had that choice. We opened enrolled. We live in Lafayette.

5:14:44Kelly Fry (Douglas parent) Closing our school is painful. At the 8:31 talk educa, let's talk education. It was repeated over and over how emotional that can be to close schools. I'm here to talk in that emotion right now. It is. But that's not the only thing. Um there's lots of questions being asked. Um it's true. It's emotional. We shouldn't fill the space with that though. It should really really examine what questions are being asked in this room. Um and give space to those questions. Douglas sits at 67% capacity as we've heard over and over, above our own 60% above your own 60% threshold for even an advisory review in past processes. All three schools absorbing our students sit below it. We're missing from every atrisisk conversation because we've been thriving.

5:15:35Kelly Fry (Douglas parent) The healthiest school in our cluster here by choice, not zoning, are these students in our in our school that are open enrolled. A thriving school should be built up, not closed. Please vote no on the vote on September 22nd.

5:15:55Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is DavidWigley, followed by Melissa Zen's Chelsea Coen.

5:16:02David Quigley (BVSD parent) Hello, my name is David Quigley. Uh, thanks for taking the time to be with us here. It's been hours now and you've heard way more comments than you may have first expected. I also want to say thank you to everyone who has been here. You've answered all or addressed all of the concerns I had and more. So, I'm pivoting a little bit. Uh I am a new parent in BVSD. I have been a parent in BVSD for 19 days now. So, I'm playing a little bit of catch-up. It's not hyperbole. My child started 19 days ago. Um but I've been here for 13 14 years now.

5:16:34David Quigley (BVSD parent) Uh first I have a uh specific h uh uh hypothetical question and then I have a very specific question that I want anyone to answer please. Uh first I believe it's slides 70 to 71 in the resilient schools uh proposal slide deck. It's titled resilient schools overall timeline. It says decisionmaking June to August 26. develop school adjustment options. Options with an S. Staff to develop facility planning options June to August. Again, options with an S. August 25th, present school adjustment proposal to the board. So, it seems like between June and August, suddenly the plan changed and we were all thrown by this. Uh, the second question I have, so the hypothetical is what happened there?

5:17:27David Quigley (BVSD parent) The actual question I have is for the uh the need for a bus in BVSD. It says elementary schools is 1.5 miles. Is that uklitian distance as the crow flies or is that transportation doortodoor like Google maps? Crow flies. Does anyone know? Like literally anyone know by one my kid doesn't get a bus by the other my kid does. And I don't know the answer to that. and I don't know what's going to happen next year. I understand this is not what this meeting is about, but that's what I need.

5:18:07Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Melissa Zens, followed by Chelsea Coin and Todd Beecher.

5:18:16Melissa Zens (Mesa parent) I have a few points to make and like so many here have changed the points as I've heard more. The first remains the same. I want to double down on data integrity in the proposal. The example I'll give is the Mesa Bear Consolidation. The rationale for this recommendation was the schools are 71 miles apart in big bold letters and that Mesa is projected to decline in enrollment. I presented to the board at the beginning of this year. Mesa actually has had steady enrollment for many years and the BVSD produced analysis also shows Mesa as projecting stable for 2029. This is an incorrect data point and that this is a huge deal. The only rationale for closing Mesa is its 71 mile proximity to Bear.

5:18:53Melissa Zens (Mesa parent) Our kids deserve better thinking and reasoning behind what any person on a street could do, which is to point on a map and say two things are close. I sent an email saying if this saying if there was this gross of an oversight for these two schools in the proposal, I wouldn't trust the data for other consolidations. And sure enough, the community of talented professionals is pointing out even more holes. Double downing. You have a talented community of professionals who is telling you this proposal does not make financial or data sense. Stop hiding behind the sentiment that this is a business decision and we don't understand. We have business acumen in spades in this community. Protect our kids from data theater and vote no.

5:19:31Melissa Zens (Mesa parent) This all schools are good line discounts the parent choice and why we chose the schools we chose. Hopefully you can hear all these unique reasons parents chose their respective schools tonight. It also gives the pass to not look at data deeply because you are making this a binary decision. I want to double down on what Craig said earlier as it has not been repeated. Change the policy, not our kids. There is more than one solution. To quote one of the kiddos, be more like Sesame Street and start with I wonder. Thank you.

5:19:57Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Next speaker is Chelsea Coin followed by Todd Beecher and Natalie Brown.

5:20:10Chelsea Coin (Mesa parent) Good evening. I am the parent of a third and first grader at Mesa and a proud alum of Mesa, Southern Hills, and Fairview. I want to thank you all for your public service and for taking the time to take to listen to all of us tonight. Whether you knew it or not when you ran for this position, you now have a massively important decision in front of you. A decision that will likely impact more people, more children, more families, and more communities than any other decision you're likely to make in your lifetime. It's a decision that will impact people today and long into the future because these schools are the heartbeat of communities.

5:20:45Chelsea Coin (Mesa parent) It's a decision that I would dare say will even impact the future of our democracy because public schools are critical to our democracy. Closing schools is irreversible and it's a decision that demands to be made with the real input and engagement of community that meets agreed upon goals and that minimizes harm to students that are impacted. The comp the current proposal does none of these. We open enrolled into Mesa not because I was a alum, but because it was truly the best fit for our family. Because the elementary school in our neighborhood was closed years ago, we cannot walk to our neighborhood school or any school.

5:21:25Chelsea Coin (Mesa parent) A major reason we picked Mesa is because we can get there on bicycle without having to cross a major intersection. We also picked Mesa because of the wonderful, welcoming community, and we couldn't be more pleased with our decision. Our daughters are thriving there academically, socially, and emotionally. My daughters know the name of nearly every single child and adult in that building. They feel truly welcomed at Mesa and that they belong there. And I can tell you that even though they have part-time specialist teachers, for reasons I'd be happy to explain when I'm not timed, oh boy.

5:22:06Unidentified speakerspeaker unconfirmed · check the video [gasps and laughter]

5:22:07Chelsea Coin (Mesa parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Um, they're having a more enriching experience than I had with full-time ones. Please delay the vote.

5:22:11Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Todd Beecher, followed by Natalie Brown, Nancy Coons, and Marcus Cohen.

5:22:39Todd Beecher (BVSD parent) I want to start by saying something directly to the families of every school affected by this proposal. I understand why you're fighting. I fought just as hard when our school was at risk. These are communities people love, but our school is no longer proposed for closure. So, I have nothing personally to win tonight. I want to make one point about governing. Leadership creates unhappy constituents all the time. Years ago, our school was overcrowded. BVSD reduced its attendance area to solve that problem. Families were unhappy. Years passed. The overcrowding disappeared, but the boundary remained and eventually our schools suffered the consequences. Our families were unhappy. Last year, the board moved to a neighborhood that had originally been part of our attendance area back to our school.

5:23:29Todd Beecher (BVSD parent) Another group of families was unhappy. Different people, different years, different sides of the same boundary. That's the difficult reality of governing a changing district. And it matters today. Attendance boundaries aren't permanent possessions. There are decisions made to solve conditions at a particular time. When those conditions change, sometimes those decisions have to change, too. Every affected school community should advocate passionately, challenge the evidence, explain what would be lost. But disappointment and mobilization demonstrate intensity of preference. They don't represent the entire district. Thousands of constituents aren't in this room tonight. They count exactly as much. That is why we elect you. Community input should inform your judgment. It cannot replace your governing authority. Your responsibility isn't to protect this proposal nor to satisfy its loudest opponents. Listen.

5:24:31Todd Beecher (BVSD parent) Test the evidence. Consider the entire district. Then determine what best serves it and have the courage to govern accordingly.

5:24:40Nicole Rajpalspeaker unconfirmed · check the video Thank you. Our next speaker is Natalie Brown, followed by Nancy Coons and Marcus Cohen.

5:24:49Natalie Brown (Mesa parent) I am a parent of a Mesa child and a Bear Creek graduate. I know that declining enrollment is real and that South Boulder needs to change, but BVSD projects that the new Bear Creek attendance zone will have more resident students than building capacity by 2030. That's four years. The number of resident students may be even higher if the Montessori and Mesa buildings are sold for housing and if CU South is developed. We have not been told what will happen to the open enrollment families currently at Mesa and if they will be treated equally with those at Bear Creek. Buildings at capacity cannot accommodate cohort bubbles and keep class sizes small.

5:25:28Natalie Brown (Mesa parent) Buildings at capacity cannot effectively serve students with sensory needs, including those in the Rise and Ames program. My own child was encouraged last year to transfer from Bear Creek to Mesa because he was failing to thrive in the overcrowded and open classrooms. Your plan is to send him back to an even more crowded Bear Creek. Has anyone on the board visited Bear Creek during school hours to see the problem? I'd like you to delay the vote and work with us as a community to address the concerns about overcrowding, ensure that we achieve small class sizes, and protect the special educations and open enrolled families at our schools. This meeting has persuaded me that a good decision requires targeted community in input at the impacted schools.

5:26:23Natalie Brown (Mesa parent) The sprint process also did not um incorporate outreach to the special education committee community. I believe that it was a missed opportunity to not create a real solution to 2E education um and to continue the plan of shuffling those students from one school to another. Um we deserve real solutions um that will meet the numbers. Um thanks.

5:26:51Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Nancy Coons, followed by Marcus Cohen, D Knight, and Rachel Kraut.

5:27:02Nancy Coons (Broomfield BVSD parent) Hi, my name is Nancy Coons and I have been a Broomfield BVSD parent for 12 years serving on school accountability committees at three different Broomfield schools. I'm here today to talk about all of our Broomfield elementary schools. I should also note that by day I am a data analyst. So through the sack committees and my own natural skills I have been watching our unique enrollment trends for years now. The resilient schools plan noted that only current in district school enrollment numbers were in were considered in the plan. But as others parents have noted, not including open enrollment is a gap. And for Broomfield, this paints a very incomplete picture. Broomfield is unique in that our town is literally split between BVSD and Adams 12.

5:27:57Nancy Coons (Broomfield BVSD parent) Every year since my son was in kindergarten, he's now a senior. Every year, Broomfield families who reside on the Adams 12 side of Broomfield choose BVSD for its quality. This is sustained out of district demand. It fills our schools. Last year, our ele Broomfield elementary schools gained 200 extra students. This has a sustained revenue impact for our district. As noted, Emerald's utilization is at 95%. The city of Broomfield has approved plans to build more affordable housing within Emerald's boundaries. Aspen Creek is at 113% with more homes and condos being built right off of Dylan Road and Aspen Street as we speak. Closing Birch would leave our remaining elementary schools at absolute filled capacity with more real estate development coming. Thank you.

5:29:06Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Marcus Cohen followed by D. White Knight and Rachel Kraut.

5:29:16Alicia Cohen (Douglas teacher, BVSD parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Good evening. Thank you for your time. Thank you for your attention. Appreciate you all. I'm Marcus Cohen's wife, Alicia Cohen, and I have two BVSD students. I also have been proudly teaching at Douglas Elementary for the last 23 years. At the last board meeting, like many people, including staff at both schools, I expected to hear that Heatherwood be consolidated into Douglas. Heatherwood is operating at enrollment levels in the 40th percentile range, while Douglas is in the high 60s, which you all know from all the data tonight. well above the threshold that was supposed to trigger consolidation consideration. So, I assume there must be compelling data behind the decision to close Douglas, but it didn't seem that the data existed.

5:30:00Alicia Cohen (Douglas teacher, BVSD parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video Instead, I saw maps and heard an explanation that Heatherwood has a better opportunity to attract neighborhood students than Douglas. The plan seems to depend on jerrymandering several attendance boundaries and hoping gun barrel becomes affordable to enough young families and hoping those families choose Heatherwood rather than open enrolling somewhere else. Then we were told that High Peaks was the most requested focus school and could use a new building in East Boulder County. So I assumed we would see projections showing the High Peaks would substantially outperform Douglas by 2030. But the projections for 2030 were identical. And then most importantly to me, there is the decision to move I can program to Heatherwood, an open concept building that is by nature more noisy.

5:30:50Alicia Cohen (Douglas teacher, BVSD parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video I wonder if anyone involved in this decision has worked with students like I have in the IAN program. Many need headphones in overstimulating environments like assemblies, lab classrooms, etc. or they become escalated by the excessive noise and need quiet spaces to disregulate. Please consider the needs of special education in our decision. Thank you.

5:31:16Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering and applause] Our next speaker is D Knight followed by Rachel Kraut, Maline Valisquez, and Maryanne Barton.

5:31:27D Knight (Monarch PK-8 parent) Hi, I have a fifth and second grader at Monarch PK8. I'm here to ask the board to reconsider the impacts of eliminating the Monarch K8 model in the Louisville Superior area. For many of us, the K8 model was and is a conscious choice. The K8 model provides access to a very different type of robust programming and learning environment than what the board is prioritizing. A robustness that reaches its entire population currently. Our community values unique synergy across all ages and levels with the nearby high school. What a unique opportunity. But you are proposing to eliminate programming with some of the strongest ties to community building and mental health for our kids.

5:32:04D Knight (Monarch PK-8 parent) Connect buddies, peer tutors, and going to school with your siblings are the type of ro robust programming we want to keep. The ability for my fifth grader to actually attend an in-person advanced one math class this year because it's in the same building and that will continue through high school. That is robust. And for so many families and teachers at Monarch, the K8 model is the only choice that worked for their family. We have one of the largest open enrollment from outside the district boundaries. Families choose a K8 specifically for multi-grade drop off and synergy with the high school. Many families cannot split up and drop off and will be forced to go back to their home district, further declining your enrollment.

5:32:48D Knight (Monarch PK-8 parent) BVSD would no longer be the place to be for so many. Monarch was also one of the most impacted schools from the Marshall fire. The district has said it was a priority to keep these families healing and succeeding together. I guess that priority had a time limit. Many families fought hard to rebuild in this community or keep their kids at Monarch for a smooth transition from K8 to high school. School became a place of joy during that time um and with similar struggles. You plan to divide family and friends between four different elementary and middle schools. Losing the K8 model at Monarch will have a negative impact on your effort to maintain enrollment and push so many more families out of BVSD. Thank you.

5:33:31Nicole Rajpal Thank you. [cheering] Our next speaker is Rachel Kraut, followed by Maline Velisquez, Maryann Barton, and Janette Jensen Wolf.

5:33:41Rachel Kraut (Monarch PK-8 parent) Good evening. My name is Rachel Kraut. I'm a parent of a first and fourth grader at Monarch PK8, a school we love dearly. We, like so many families at Monarch, lost our home and our entire neighborhood in the Marshall fire. Monarch, by all data that I've seen, is the school most impacted by the fire. That is not a footnote. In the past four and a half years, many families have lived in seven, eight, nine places, multiple hotels, friends, guest rooms after their homes had been destroyed or damaged, unlivable. This should not be a footnote. If this proposal passes, our daughter will have attended three elementary schools by the time she finishes third grade, two years of which were in mixed grade classrooms at two different schools.

5:34:32Rachel Kraut (Monarch PK-8 parent) So, we know the enrollment issue is real. We also still believe in the district to find a solution that fits the stated goals. In the years following the fire, our schools were the only source of physical stability in our kids' lives. We even considered staying at our first school because our school community had become our family and our stable base. However, we like so many other families ultimately picked Monarch, rebuilt our home because of Monarch due to the eight plus years of stability this K8 would provide our family. It isn't about a drop off or inconveniences. It's for continuity for our kids who have already faced more displacement than anyone should have to in a lifetime. Our neighborhood is finally coming back.

5:35:24Rachel Kraut (Monarch PK-8 parent) Please don't cut it off. I know Monarch isn't the loudest voice for our families. It is not for lack of caring, but for the fact that we are tired of fighting. For the last four and a half years, we have been fighting insurance companies, builders, and local governments. We've asked our children to be resilient over and over and we are tired. [cheering]

5:35:46Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Maline Balis, Maline Velisquez, Marian Barton, Janette Jensen Wolf, and John Meyer. I do not see Maline, so we'll move on to Maryann Barton, Janette Jensen Wolf, John Mayer, MK Cook.

5:36:05Miriam Barton (Douglas parent) Hello, my name is Miriam Barton and I'm a parent at Douglas Elementary. I have a third grader and a kindergartener. The BVSD proposal points to the number of students living within the Douglas attendance boundary as the reason for closing our school. But the resident population is only a part of the enrollment story. Let's say the numbers again. Douglas has 281 students today and 98 of them are open enrolled. That's 35% of our student body coming from families who live outside the attendance boundary and have chosen Douglas. Our numbers show a school with demand beyond the families assigned to it. Attendance boundaries tell us where families are assigned to go. Open enrollment tells us where some families are choosing to go. My family being one of them.

5:36:50Miriam Barton (Douglas parent) We landed at Douglas 5 years ago while looking for a preschool and we have chosen to stay. that distinction between attendance boundaries and open enrollment. When evaluate evaluating whether a school is sustainable, it matters. A low resident population may reflect the geography and the boundaries uh surrounding Douglas. It does not necessarily reflect the demand for the school itself. 35% of our students come from outside the boundary. Our enrollment has remained comparatively stable and we have seen significant growth within individual cohorts. That's an important part of our enrollment picture and it should be part of the decision about Douglas. Please consider the family demand, not just resident population when evaluating Douglas. Our children deserve that. Thank you.

5:37:47Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Janet Jensen Wolf, followed by John Mayer, MK Cook, Kate Bright War.

5:38:06Janet Jensen Wolf (Louisville resident, Marshall fire victim) Sorry, I'm short. I'll stand back. Wow. These last few hours listening to these parents, my heart breaks. I hope your heart is breaking too. You are blessed to have a supportive parent and community. Good evening. My name is Janet Jensen Wolf and I'm a citizen, a taxpayer and a longtime member of this community and own a international education company plus a Marshall fire victim. I have lived at Turnberry Circle in Louisville since 1995, 31 years. My two children attended Monarch Elementary and Monarch High School when when they opened and I served as a PTO member. I have supported Boulder Valley School for decades. Now, it's hard to continue to do so. Tonight, I ask you to stop and think. I am addressing two points.

5:39:14Janet Jensen Wolf (Louisville resident, Marshall fire victim) Boulder Valley has a long history of school closures and always produce the same results. Community mistrust, enrollment loss, des destabilization neighborhood, and long-term damage. The Boulder Valley School consolidation of 1999 2000 is still remembered because families felt blindsided and betrayed. The mistrust lingles lingers to this day. Now Boulder Valley School is repeating the same mistakes, repeating the same disasters as years ago. Second point, I remember November 2014, Bonarch Boulder Valley School asked citizens to pass a bond to remodel and strengthen schools, including Douglas. It was a landmark $576 million bond package, the largest in Colorado history at this time. Taxpayers stepped up. We invested over a half a billion dollars. Douglas was rebuilt less than 10 years ago. Please.

5:40:20Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Next up is John Mayer. Not here. MK Cook not here. Kate Bright War followed by Julie Fernie for our final in-person public participant.

5:40:41Kate Brightwick (Douglas parent, Erie) Good evening board members. My name is Kate Brightwick. I live in Erie and I am a parent of four BVSD sons. My oldest son made a perfect score on his PAT. He's a National Merit Scholar and he just graduated from Centurus. He did not need a focus school. For the purpose of this presentation, I am going to f focus on my two children with IEPs who have thrived at Douglas Elementary. My boys were adopted at birth and have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder or FASD. FASD awareness day is tomorrow, September 9th. If you have not heard of it, you are not alone. FASD is more common than autism, but no one really talks about it.

5:41:23Kate Brightwick (Douglas parent, Erie) Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is estimated to impact 1 in 20 BVSD students and is a leading cause of learning disabilities. Our family lives in East Boulder County. Our neighborhood school was um the open concept was an extremely poor fit for our children with dyslexia and ADHD. We opted to leave BVSD for a few years when our children were younger. Our family returned to BVSD specifically to attend Douglas when we learned of its exceptional special education services. Closing Douglas and reallocating a beloved neighborhood school to a focused school that attracts high achieving students would be deeply inequitable and would send a powerful message about who BVSD values most. One alternative would be designating Douglas and Platt as dyslexia focused schools.

5:42:13Kate Brightwick (Douglas parent, Erie) This would attract families from all over the district who have felt that BVSD is unable or unwilling to meet the needs of dyslexic students. Many students at Douglas cannot simply be shuffled into a nearby school and have their unique educational needs be met. Douglas is already a focus school for neurodeivergent families from East County. In the disability community, we say no decisions about us without us. The decision to close Douglas was made completely without us.

5:42:43Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Julie Fernie, followed by Abby Stanford, who is the first of our virtual participants, Dina Bronze, and Janai Vasu Vasu Dean. Sorry, Janai. Julie. Julie.

5:43:05Julie Fernie (Birch parent) Good evening. I'm Julie, parent to a child at BIR, resident of the Birch neighborhood, married to a BVSD alum who completed K through2 in the district, and here on behalf of Birch and Broomfield. BVSD has described school consolidation as a way to create a more efficient and sustainable system. But when you look specifically at Broomfield, closing Birch does not solve a capacity problem. It creates one. My fellow Birch parent Devon reported modeling errors, and we've asked you to show your work. So, let me show you some of ours. Using October 2025 capacity data from BVSD's long-range planning update meeting and August 21st, 2026 enrollment data, Broomfield's K through 5 BVSD schools are currently operating at 78% capacity as a region.

5:43:48Julie Fernie (Birch parent) That is above BVSD's own target under the resilient schools proposal. So, we're not talking about a community with a massive amount of unused elementary capacity. We're talking about a region already exceeding the district's own threshold. Why are some schools in our region allowed to be at or above capacity while others in our region are slated for closure? Um, this also pulls in the question of Aspen Point, um, the Dylan Point neighborhood on Aspen, that's slated for Aspen Creek, which is already at or above capacity. The Broomfield Town Center is zoned for Emerald, which is already nearly at capacity at about 92%. Um, there's also the question of the capacity of the building that we're slated to enter in Kohl.

5:44:30Julie Fernie (Birch parent) Um, there's been reports from school members um of incompatibility between Kohl's ILC program and and BIR's ICAN program coexisting in the same building. So, we'd like to know how that will be addressed. Um, there's also questions of just the changing demographics in our neighborhood. Um, as people have talked about, people are moving to Broomfield. Um, on my block alone, going back just five years, nearly half of the homes have transitioned from older neighbors to families with school-aged children. The director of a local preschool told me she has seen increased demand for preschool neighborhood enrollment in our neighborhood, so there's more children to come. Please vote no.

Recess, then in-person add-on and virtual participants

5:45:09Nicole Rajpal Thank you. I have been asked for a comfort break. Um, so the board is going to take a 10-minut break and we'll return for our virtual participants. Um, I don't have any additional inperson speakers for agenda related items, but you can inquire over here with Laura Schaefer. Welcome back everybody. We had one request for somebody that was signed up virtually that would like to part give their comments in person. Yuri Eisman is on deck. We will then move virtually. Abby Sanford, Dina Bronze, and Venet Vasu Deon.

6:03:27Yuri Eisman (Eldorado PK-8 parent) Hello, my name is Yuri Aman. I'd like to add my voice to the chorus of people that have already much more eloquently than me spoken about most of the things I'm going to mention. My wife Samantha and I placed our son Bruce in El Dorado specifically for the high-quality PK through8 program. This program is very important to us and in fact my wife after surgery today sent me out here to make our family's uh concerns known. To me I see three major flaws with the El Dorado part of this proposal. The first one is the building. It's designed as a elementary and middle school and in fact uh speaking to the principal it it's unknown what's going to happen to those upper floors.

6:04:03Yuri Eisman (Eldorado PK-8 parent) So my question is what's going to happen to those facilities? The second issue is the timing because it's going to become an elementary school. The timing is going to shift. That's essentially unworkable for our family and I wonder what is going to happen to the enrollment numbers once that timing u impacts everybody else. Um uh the second is uh or sorry the third is the boundaries. They're disjoint and they don't make sense naturally when looking at the map. They're going to ensure that El Dorado has fewer students and it's going to probably lead to more changes down the line. I ask that we consider all of the facts before we make this judgment too quickly.

6:04:45Yuri Eisman (Eldorado PK-8 parent) I we we'd like to know all of the details to decide if this is a necessary sacrifice or a rushed blunder. Thank you for your time.

6:04:54Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Abby Stanford is not here. Dina Bronze is not here. Janai Bessie Vidon not here. Bernardet O'Keefe. Bernardet, you're up.

6:05:15Bernardette O'Keefe (Broomfield homeowner, virtual) Hi, good evening. Uh, thank you for giving us the opportunity to speak virtually. Um, I'd like to thank you all for taking on this challenging but necessary endeavor. I'm not here tonight as a concerned parent. I actually don't have any children, but rather a homeowner deeply vested in watching the decisions that are made around my tax dollars. I have reviewed the plan and I'm worried about part of it. With respect to the proposed closure of Birch Elementary, I'm concerned that the decision being made will actually result in decreased enrollment in BVSD and eliminate the possibility for future growth opportunities with open enrollment on the east side of the district. Aspen Creek and Emerald are both at capacity. Moving Birch to Kohl will put coal at capacity.

6:05:54Bernardette O'Keefe (Broomfield homeowner, virtual) Yet, there is continuing new construction happening in this area. These new homes will push these remaining schools over capacity and force those already using open enrollment out. and they may leave to go to Adams 12 or Jeffco. You are completely eliminating the potential for future open enrollment growth on the eastern boundary. It is also worth noting that an elementary school in Adams 12 is actually closer to this neighborhood than Kohl, which may result in actual BVSD parents leaving the district. Heatherwood Elementary is an example of what can work with respect to targeted growth and we should implement that plan at at Birch.

6:06:29Bernardette O'Keefe (Broomfield homeowner, virtual) You have a large group of committed parents and neighbors who are eager to help if you just tell them what you need, which is what you promise to do. The past couple of years have had a consistent message from the district. Just give us a little time. Having a vested administration at Birch will also help. Look at the growth Aspen Creek has had with a principal dedicated to seeing it grow. I'm also concerned that BIR is the only Title One school on the closure list. It is suspicious that Birch has never been identified previously for closure, but now it is, which will result in kids from poorer neighborhoods not being given the same opportunities kids in rich neighborhoods get.

6:07:06Bernardette O'Keefe (Broomfield homeowner, virtual) Don't discount how important the that Title One designation is. I think the decision to close BIRH will be one that will result in some regrets in the future. Don't make the decision, make the smart one and keep Birch open and focus on intentionality of increasing enrollment. Thank you very much.

6:07:22Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Aaron Palmer, followed by Mary Sheeter and Marcos Boon.

6:07:37Aaron Palmer (Douglas parent, virtual) Good evening. I'm a Lafayette resident and we open enroll our children at Douglas Elementary because I work full-time in restaurants in downtown Boulder. Douglas is the sixth most stable school of 29 in this district. the only one of the four neighborhood schools in this plan gaining more families than it loses three years running. Every receiving school is losing students right now. And the projected savings 3 to4 million a year come against a 12 to$15 million 12 to 15 million in added cost. That's not savings, that's a loss paid for by displaced kids. I was talking with my son about the rally and he asked me what the difference between a rally and a protest is. The best way I could explain it is was this.

6:08:18Aaron Palmer (Douglas parent, virtual) A protest is speaking up against something. A rally is speaking up for something you believe in. Today could have easily been the former, but we framed it as a rally because I believe in our schools and I believe the board has this opportunity to meet the moment and get it right. You have taken the time to listen to strong, compelling gaps in this proposal. You have a data deck correcting the Douglas narrative in your inboxes from Jillian Waters and a survey our parents completed honestly called where would Douglas families go from Savannah Ross. I urge you to read them and see the data in a clear objective light.

6:08:51Aaron Palmer (Douglas parent, virtual) I have the utmost respect and gratitude for this board for taking time tonight to listen to our community. So I have one ask will you meet this moment as a leader listen to the community. look at the data holistically and do the hard but bold thing of saying no to this specific proposal. As we listened and waited online, my son then asked, "What if they forget what I said?" So, I will repeat what he said. Please vote no on this proposal so we can come up with an idea that gives us more time to make sure it's the best idea. Thank you.

6:09:23Nicole Rajpal Thank you, Mary Sheeter.

6:09:32Mary Sheeter (High Peaks parent, virtual) My name is Mary Sheeter. My son is a first grader at High Peaks Elementary and we have two younger kids that we hope will join him. This comment focuses on the lack of consideration for transportation impacts among other critical flaws of the resilient schools proposal. We love our current current school high peaks and its current location. Shabby building and all and our hearts go out to the families at Douglas and all the other schools impacted by the resilient schools proposal. I am struck that I've not heard a single person from any school, unless I missed it, speaking in support of this plan. We chose High Peaks for the community and the great program offered.

6:10:08Mary Sheeter (High Peaks parent, virtual) Naively, I didn't even occur to me that High Peaks would be impacted by this plan since it's not underenrolled. Surprise, the plan at large seems broadly disruptive and to not have demonstrated beneficial outcomes. This decision to move High Peaks to another building seems to assume that moving buildings will not meaningfully meaningfully impact the High Peak school community, nor a meaningful impact on the families and programs displaced from Douglas, which we have heard this evening is not the case. The transportation aspects of this plan do not seem well thought through and do not align with DBSD's own safe routes to school philosophy that schools should have multimodal transportation access options for all income levels. Um, uh, currently Douglas students walk, bike, and or bus to school.

6:10:59Mary Sheeter (High Peaks parent, virtual) And I assumed it was designed with this in mind as a neighborhood school. Will the campus work if all students are brought by car? Have the transportation impacts been studied? Our family is one of many families that currently bike to High Peaks from many far-flung neighborhoods. High Peaks is safely accessible to us via the Boulder Bike Network. The ability for families surrounding the loca location to bike and walk safely to school reduces traffic congestion at drop off and pick up. Having all these students be driven to Douglas would likely result in major traffic issues. I'm asking the board to vote no on the proposal.

6:11:34Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Marcos Boon, followed by Stephen Calendarer, Daniel Sheeter. None of those individuals are on. Oh, Marcos is not. Stephen,

6:11:52Steven Calendarer (Douglas parent) I'm here.

6:11:53Nicole Rajpal Great.

6:11:55Steven Calendarer (Douglas parent) Uh, my name is Steven Calendarer. I'm the father of two students at Douglas Elementary. Tonight, I ask the board to thoughtfully consider overall family demand, not just resident population, and amend the proposal to exclude Douglas. For 74 years, Douglas Elementary continues a long-standing tradition of education excellence in rural East Boulder County. It was never a school designed to accommodate a walking student body in a densely populated neighborhood. Just as our mountain schools draw a widely dispersed student body from families that value mountain living, so too does Douglas of the families that choose to find more space and affordable housing in East County. This doesn't make Douglas less of a community asset. It serves a different yet valuable purpose.

6:12:37Steven Calendarer (Douglas parent) Under this proposal, Douglas is unfairly penalized for its number of open enrolled students, a privilege afforded to all Coloradoatans for over 30 years under the public schools of choice law. The first rationale li list listed for closing Douglas is its low resident student population. Onethird of the current student body are open enrolled. Not too far out of line from most other elementary schools in the district. Yet in the same breath, this proposal suggests that a focused program with 100% open enrollment is a better fit for the Douglas campus. Douglas currently captures a wide and diverse student body, resident and openen enrolled students alike, yet is found wanting.

6:13:19Steven Calendarer (Douglas parent) By moving High Peaks to Douglas, the proposal seeks to capture a wide and diverse student body from all corners of the district, but at the expense of an established resident school community. Why wouldn't we consider schools with strong open enrollment populations for a holistic decision-making process? We should embrace open enrollment rather than exclude it as a valuable data point of where families choose to attend. Resident student population is only one element of what makes a thriving school community. I urge the board to amend this proposal to exclude Douglas and separately address the issues specific to our community. Thank you.

6:13:59Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Daniel Sheeter.

6:14:03Daniel Sheeter (High Peaks parent) Hello. My name is Daniel Sheeter and I'm the parent of a first grader at High Peaks with two younger children we hope will follow. Like nearly 70% of High Peaks families, we live west of 75th Street and south of J Road. And we along with many others chose High Peaks in part due to its accessible southeast Boulder location connected by safe sidewalks, paths, and major regional roadways. Moving the school six miles east to the Douglas campus would make the daily commute unworkable for many current families due to the distance and the lack of safe walking and biking routes from Boulder. At the same time, keeping Douglas as a neighborhood school preserves accessibility for its community without fracturing families for minimal benefit.

6:14:41Daniel Sheeter (High Peaks parent) My family situation is just one of the many you've heard tonight, and I urge the board to vote no on the resilient schools proposal. The analysis shared to date does not support the project's stated goals. The district needs a holistic plan for declining enrollment that avoids rush conclusions and further peacemeal disruptions over the next 5 to 10 years. A clear example of where the current analysis falls short is the failure to evaluate safe active transportation against BVSD's own sustainability and transportation goals. Right now, BVSD and Boulder County are collaborating on the safe streets for students project to assess crash risks and safe routes around our schools. Rushing this proposal ignores that work.

6:15:22Daniel Sheeter (High Peaks parent) Voting no allows these safe those safety findings to directly inform proposed school changes and ensures needed infrastructure improvements are integrated into transition costs. Please reject this proposal until we have a comprehensive plan that better serves all students and ensures long-term stability for our schools and their surrounding communities. Thank you.

6:15:42Nicole Rajpal Thank you, Annie Lynn. Hy Lyn is not here. Excuse me. Elliot Flayen Fladen.

6:16:01Elliot Fladen (Monarch / Eldorado parent) Yes. Can you hear me? Okay,

6:16:02Nicole Rajpal we can.

6:16:04Elliot Fladen (Monarch / Eldorado parent) Hi, my name is Elliot. I have three kids that are either in or will be attending your schools. One is one's at Monarch, the other is currently a seventh grader at Eldo and the third is two and a half. And I'm not sure if she's going to go to Superior Elementary or Eldo because we live between the two schools. And I say that just to make clear that although I have some slight preference for El Dorado, um it really doesn't matter to me what which one you guys close or how you guys move this around. What does matter is your plan just doesn't really make sense. Looking at it, you got two buildings in the area.

6:16:43Elliot Fladen (Monarch / Eldorado parent) You got a very large building at El Dorado, which even under your plan, you're going to have the upstairs closed down and the downstairs is going to be under capacity. And then you got a very small building, which is going to be over capacity at Superior Elementary School. If I was just moving this around, the obvious solution would be closing Superior and moving everything to El Dorado. But you guys don't seem to have considered that. my guess because apparently Superior Elementary School wins a few awards. But guess what? These are all good schools. You guys should make your decision based upon logistically which buildings the district can keep and to give your guys capacity potential in the future in case the population recovers.

6:17:23Elliot Fladen (Monarch / Eldorado parent) I don't see you doing that. I don't see you having considered that. I know these are difficult decisions, but just because they're difficult doesn't mean you've made them right. But whatever you do doesn't really matter to me. We're equidistant between the two. Thanks. Bye.

Public comment: non-agenda items

6:17:39Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Sophia Lens is not online. That concludes public participation on agenda items. We do have a couple people listed for non-aggenda items and I just want to make sure um they are not still they may or may not still be here. So I have first Jessica Tom followed by Ray First and Jennifer Cedar. You are the last one. So, uh, Jessica not here. I do see Rafe behind you. So, you are not quite up yet, Katherine. Followed by Alana. And then if Alana after Alana would be Katherine.

6:18:29Unidentified speakerspeaker unconfirmed · check the video Meeting is still going.

6:18:31Rafe First (non-agenda commenter) Okay. Because light was on before. It doesn't seem like it's on. Thank you. I've started a website to track all things anti-semitism in our schools. BVSD no place forhate.substack.com. After watching the recording of the August 18 board meeting, I was struck by several horrifying facts. Number one, there is an enduring culture of tolerating and turning a blind eye towards bullying, hate speech, and violence at Southern Hills Middle School. Number two, there's been no acknowledgment of any investigation into the root cause of this.

6:19:21Rafe First (non-agenda commenter) Number three, there has been no accountability for the current Southern Hills principal under whose leadership a Jewish boy was harassed for nearly two years and assaulted twice in class, leading to a federal lawsuit, to which I can only conclude that it is not safe for Jewish children at Southern Hills today. Here are three salient quotes from the August 18th meeting. I have been a student at Southern Hills as long as Melinda Murphy has been the principal of our school and I've seen her mishandle a lot of situations of harassment, bullying, things like anti-semitism over and over. A former Southern Hill student says, "My crutches were taken away from me and I was pushed around and told to convert to Christianity.

6:20:06Rafe First (non-agenda commenter) There was a teacher standing there who watched the entire thing and did not end up doing anything. I was too scared to speak to the administration or anyone else about it afterward because of the complete incompetence of the principal and the rest of the school staff. Formeral former Southern Hills parent, I communicated with Southern Hills more than 30 times asking for help, but nothing changed. The bullying became so severe that I had to remove both of my children from Southern Hills and enroll them elsewhere. I urge everyone to cons concern to watch the recording of the August 18th board meeting for even more evidence of these claims and a culture of tolerating anti-semitism in BVST more broadly.

6:20:45Rafe First (non-agenda commenter) I've created several polls and ways to comment publicly uh at the BVST No Place for Hate.

6:20:53Nicole Rajpal Thank you. Our next speaker is Jennifer Cedar, who I do not believe is here. Alana Logan, who I am also not seeing approach the podium. So that it is Katherine Awaukee.

6:21:11Katherine Awaukee (Flatirons parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video I can tell you it's painful to go last to someone who is a lot of anxiety about speaking in front of people. Um my name is Katherine Awaukee. I'm mama to Eva and Max who are fourth and first graders at Flatirons Elementary. I think a lot of people have said most of the most important um comments I'd like to make. So, I'm just here to provide an epilogue. I do not envy where you sit tonight in front of many upset people and upset children. And I believe that you sit where you do because you do deeply care about bettering BVSD for all of its students. You have within your power the ability to ask for a comprehensive plan that will do just that.

6:21:57Katherine Awaukee (Flatirons parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video This is not that plan. First, families are being asked to make binding enrollment, open enrollment decisions without an understanding of the long-term plans for the district. Second, this plan is fundamentally at odds with the community's top priority, smaller class sizes. In the district's own survey, small class sizes were the number one must-have and a top priority for 90% of parents and staff. Yet this proposal is built around filling classrooms. This means larger classes for all those that are being consolidated and those that are being consolidated in two.

6:22:41Katherine Awaukee (Flatirons parent)speaker unconfirmed · check the video We as parents understand that trade-offs need to be made, especially Flatirons parents coming from the smallest school in the district, but we would love to see a plan that includes BVEA and BVSD coming together in a meaningful way to deliver on the district's promise for better resourced educational environments. The plan asks for big sacrifices from our neighborhoods, our school communities, our teaching staff, and most importantly, our children. Thank you.

Board member communication

6:23:21Nicole Rajpal Thank you. That concludes today's public comment. On behalf of the board, I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to share their thoughts and experiences with us, both in person and online. The next item on tonight's agenda is board member communication. Um before we start that I just want to say that given the hour and our inability to project slides in this venue uh questions pertaining we will not be answer be able to answer specific questions that were raised today um during public participation. We can take the time to answer those next week. So board members, we will delay any of those questions until that time. We can move on to board communication or action items.

6:24:14Nicole Rajpal We will talk a little bit about the proposed resolution. But questions specific to the items raised today or the slide presentation which we cannot share will not be sharing tonight. We are going to withhold until next week when we can share those slides um for our public to help improve understanding. So with that are there I'm going to go just go down this line. Um, and if board members have anything that they'd like to share for board member communication, we will start with Jason.

6:24:44Jason Unger Um, yeah, thanks Nicole. Uh, I just want to really acknowledge and appreciate all the families who came out tonight. Obviously, I I can't see beyond the first row, so I have no idea who's still here, but uh I know it's late, and I really do appreciate um you know, this is uh I mean, this level, you know, I think when it comes to kids, your people's kids and their schools and their communities, this is the kind of the most passionate level of government and engagement in politics that there really is. And so just acknowledging uh you know the the pain, the hurt, the hurt feelings, um the sadness um and appreciate you know so many folks coming out to share their thoughts, their questions.

6:25:26Jason Unger We all have questions as well and we will answer them you know as over the course of the next few weeks. Um, I don't think there's any more students here, but I really want to acknowledge the students who came out here and uh bravely got up and spoke and um it was inspiring to hear them uh talk about how much they love their schools and how much their community matters to them. Uh, and so I just want to start there by just appreciating uh that level of feedback. I appreciate the kind of civil engagement tonight um and uh people's kind of sincere. I think we all want what's best for our kids, what's best for this district uh now and into the future.

6:26:06Jason Unger And I think that's something we all share in common. Um and I'm I kind of want to keep that close as we move forward over the next few weeks. So just want to start there. Um and happy to turn over to my other colleagues um on that. Thanks

6:26:22Nicole Rajpal Jorge and then Anna.

6:26:27Jorge Chávez Thank you. Um, I'd like to echo Jason's uh sentiment and thank the parents and families and community members that were here tonight. I appreciate you advocating for your schools. That's what you should be doing. Um, you care for your kids. We care for our kids. Um, we're all here for the same reason. Um, this has been a long road traveled. This goes back more than five or six years that we began this process. Um, and it has not been easy in terms of coming to these resolutions. Um, and you know, we're tackling a district-wide problem here that isn't simple to address. And we're not the only school district doing this.

6:27:00Jorge Chávez Um, declining enrollment is faced across every school district in the front range um, and across the state of Colorado and other districts across the nation. Um, this doesn't have easy solutions and we have to be able to address this for our entire district, uh, for any single school. Thank you.

6:27:21Ana Temu Otting Thank you. Thank you. And I do want to echo um just the appreciation of uh the families here tonight. Um I am always just so in awe of our students and um how articulate they are and how brave they are for coming up and um speaking their truth to power. Um has just been really really impactful. And um since the the beginning of the year, this has been something that we have been um discussing, talking about um that I've been talking to uh with um other constituents um former um high school colleagues um that I had um folks that I went to high school with that have been talking to me about this that have kids in BVSD. I am a BVSD alumni.

6:28:13Ana Temu Otting Um, and so I had a lot of community come up to me and um, my family has a lot of deep roots in Broomfield um, helping uh, found one of the churches there in Broomfield and a lot of them did also go to to Birch and so getting to hear the stories of um, how much they've um, they've lived and enjoyed um, being in that community and um, I am just I've said it over and over again that I am just so grateful ful for how engaged this community is in being able to um come to the board meetings, speak to the board, really engage us uh over email um at King Supers.

6:28:56Ana Temu Otting Uh, and I am just so grateful for all of the communication and I have read through all of the emails and this is something that I think about every single day. Um, that really just weighs on me and so um to the families um listening and and still here. Um, I hear you. I see you. Um, and I am taking notes and reading all your emails and really trying to engage as thoughtfully as possible with all of your concerns.

6:29:27Ana Temu Otting Um, and I am just so grateful that you are all here still almost at 11 at night and I for one am grateful that tomorrow is a late start day because I am going to take advantage of that um of sleeping in just a little bit more. Um, but I am, yeah, I could not be more grateful for for you being here, for you showing up, uh, for you speaking your truth to power. Um, and I am just so grateful that that you are here.

6:29:58Nicole Rajpal Deann Linia,

6:30:04Deann Bucher let's see. Uh in the last week I got to attend the DAC uh meeting that was principles and um school accountability committee members who were not talking about this. They were just focused on what's our next goal and how are we going to improve education. And it was pretty impressive to see them dig into um their day-to-day work and to remember that it's about the kids every day and what they what they get done and um what more they can accomplish. So I can say that our district leaders at the school level are working really hard to make sure that the focus is still on growth and the kids for this year which I think is the reason that there's a year.

6:30:55Deann Bucher I know there's been people that have asked for two years or three years or all different kinds of time for us to make this decision, but um a year uh really does give us some time to adjust. I I also got the chance to meet a lot of community members over the last um week or so that I didn't know before and every single one of them I was impressed with. Uh and it was uh humbling to see what a great community we really have as a whole district.

6:31:32Deann Bucher So, I want to thank everybody who contacted me and who sat down with me and bought me coffee and all of those things that I um glad I got to know you and I got I'm glad I got to hear your stories and uh I have been fretting all night long for five days. So, I bet tonight I sleep well since we've been sitting here for a while. But, um thank you for all your participation. There was two people who called me who were former students of Monarch High School and that was pretty awesome to get to talk to a student who was using their political power when I had taught them things like American history. So that was great.

6:32:19Lalenia Quinlan Aweida I always hate to go after you Dan because you have such a lovely thing to say. Um for me I uh I have spent the time since this proposal was brought forward talking to community um which I appreciate immensely. It's very informative to me and um you know I I think that there will always be questions and always be challenges no matter which way direction we go. But I'm um I'm just impressed with the community. They come forward with high level of intelligence um and I appreciate that. Uh, I also this week noticed, which I don't know if when the community's under a lot of stress if they hear the good things, but we were accredited with distinction for a third year in a row.

6:33:23Lalenia Quinlan Aweida And our uh strategic plan works and we do things by design. And um for me, I'm really proud of that because I came into this knowing declining enrollment would be something that I, as a board member, would have to deal with. Um 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. Those are those are real things to me that I knew that this was coming. um that this this is the elephant in the room, but that doesn't take away from me that we continue to perform better and serve our children better by design. And my want is to keep that going.

6:34:13Lalenia Quinlan Aweida Um, so I was really proud this week along with a lot of stress and talking to a lot of really bummed out folks, which um, that hurts my heart. But I do have that joy of really recognizing where we are as a school district. And I hope that even the people stressed in our community can see that all of the things we're doing extremely extremely well. Alex,

6:34:54Alex Medler can you guys hear me?

6:34:55Nicole Rajpal Yes.

6:34:56Alex Medler Okay. Um, uh, first off, let me apologize for not being there in person. I really am sad about that. Uh, but my family obligations, uh, taking care of my father's, uh, celebration of life and other stuff with his estate, uh, means I have to be away. um hope to be back uh next week or for the next uh meeting in person. Um and and also I'm uh I'm actually just I'm disappointed that we're not able to start dialoguing about it tonight. I was hoping to um I certainly have plenty of questions.

6:35:27Alex Medler I was hoping uh we could start getting into and I think we should plan for you know plenty of time for our dialogue later to be able to you know explore the things that um we need to discuss and things we want to follow up like everyone else I'm deeply moved by the volume and the articulate and the civility and the uh social capacity of everybody sharing their stories and advocating for our schools um and deeply tox ed by our brave and eloquent students and uh the appreciate and engaged community um here tonight. Like I've been impressed by the engagement of our community throughout this process.

6:36:11Alex Medler Um so that's it's it's strong to see that we have so many people uh sharing what they think um throughout all of this process and uh I think I look forward to having more discussion about you know several of the specifics. Um, in many respects I I think about, you know, I do think about it from the whole district perspective, all the kids we're trying to keep, all the kids we're trying to serve, but I really do feel the pain and emotional and logical and rational response that comes to the families dealing with their own schools. I myself went to a severely underenrolled elementary school. It didn't close until about four or five years after I went there.

6:36:49Alex Medler But when I go back to Eugene, Oregon, where I grew up, and I see uh that school, it still makes me sad. Um uh 53 years later, something like that. And um I felt a little better once it had a preschool in it, but it was it's it's deeply emotional to me uh to be around closing schools. And so I don't discount anybody's uh concerns about that, and I look forward to more discussion um about it. Um, also, um, in terms of just board reporting out, uh, like Lennenia, I was excited to see the results and affirmation of our wonderful teachers and staff and all the work they do and the focus that the district has on performance and trying to serve all our kids well.

6:37:33Alex Medler Um, so I think that is uh something to be celebrated and not lost in all this. But I realize it's hard to um hard to counteract uh all the different stuff that's going on for all our schools and all our great staff and teachers and families in the midst of this. I do think you know for me I will say that uh I you know pausing is not a free thing that this amount of engagement and involvement and activity uh is not something that's sustainable over two or three years if you want to keep being a high performing district.

6:38:08Alex Medler it takes so much work for everybody in the community and so I think it's on incumbent on us to make progress and explore all these questions over the next few weeks and um uh move from there. Anyway, uh thank you all and again I'm sorry I can't be there in person. I've been listening all the way through and regret that I uh couldn't get the visual on it as well.

6:38:33Nicole Rajpal I want to echo my colleagues here and from afar to and thank everybody for being here tonight to provide your feedback to us. We understand how beloved our school communities are and that if any of us were probably in your situations, we would want to be advocating to and do what we could to maintain the schools that our children attend and that our families have really become ingrained in. As elected officials, our job is to govern and do what is best for our entire school district. 26,000 students, 4,000 employees, and sometimes that means making hard decisions. I look forward to the staff to be able to represent the data um and answer some of the questions we heard tonight.

6:39:19Nicole Rajpal And I agree with Alex that more time isn't necessarily for the better. We saw last year really unusual open enrollment, choice enrollment decisions being made because people are trying to predict in advance what schools might be closed. I have significant concerns that now that we have announced schools that are considered for for closure because of low enrollment and low resident student populations. If we did not act, we would continue to see families make choices and some schools become so significantly underenrolled as a result that it would really hinder educational experiences next year. So more time does not necessarily mean better outcomes. Um and I with that look forward to answering the community's questions next week.

6:40:17Nicole Rajpal Like Deann, I was able to attend the annual SAC deck training. It was good to see everybody come together um to talk about what the work of the SAC is to kind of work with their school communities, talk about data and their unifi their unified improvement plans and budgets. Um so that was really great to see as the district's representative to the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority. I also had a bureau meeting last week right before that DAC meeting um talking about the that plan and how that the city of Boulder is intending to move forward with urban renewal. Uh so stay tuned to more information on that. I will note that some folks tonight commented on the comprehensive plan BBCP.

6:41:09Nicole Rajpal We weren't asked to participate in that. We were asked to participate in Bureau um and because it's a taxing district and there are some implications for us but BVSD like all school districts across the state has autonomy from local governments. Um we and and so it it is not while we meet quarterly to talk about joint issues it is not entirely uncommon for us to be left out of things like the BBCP because um we have some autonomy and they are not required to consult with us on that. Um, and I think other than emails, that's what I've been doing between now and then. Our next agenda item this evening is action items consent grouping. 6.1 Personnel item 6.2 approval of minutes August 18th, 2026.

6:41:54Nicole Rajpal 6.3 approval of minutes August 25th, 2026. 6.4 acceptance of donation Coal Creek Elementary. 6.5 Acceptance of donation Creekide or sorry, Crestview Elementary. 6.6 Acceptance of donation Meadowark School. 6.7 acceptance of donations Southern Hills Middle School. Are there any items board members would like to remove from consent grouping? Seeing as there are none, I need a motion to approve the items in the consent. Moved by Jason, seconded by Jorge. Any thing board any items board members would like to discuss a consent grouping? Seeing as there are none, Laura, can you please call the role?

6:42:36Roll call Bucher, yes. Chavez, yes. Medler, yes. Quinlan Aweida, yes. Rajpal, yes. Tamu add a yes. Unger, yes. Motion passes.

Consent grouping (items 6.1-6.7) roll-call vote

Action item: Summit charter school contract renewal

6:42:51Nicole Rajpal We will now move on to action items. We have one action item this evening, board members, which is the renewal of summit charter school contract. Is there a motion to approve? Moved by Anna, seconded by Jorge. Board members, any discussion on the renewal of Summit's charter school contract?

6:43:11Alex Medler Uh, yeah. Or should we talk about it after a resolution or is it now the time?

6:43:17Nicole Rajpal Now is the time because we have a motion in a second on that resolution.

6:43:22Alex Medler Okay. Sorry. All right. Uh, anyway, um, if I may, um, glad to see it. Uh, as I said before, I think it's problematic that it's taken this long um to get it done. So, I'm hoping that we can get our charter contracts before us uh longer in advance of their expiration in the future. So, I'd love to think through our process and our timeline to figure out how to do that. I also will say that I'm glad that eventually that admissions there will not include legacy admissions uh um in Boulder public schools at any of our schools and they'll be in compliance with our programming. Um I still think it actually puts them in jeopardy of not receiving federal funding from the charter school program.

6:44:04Alex Medler So uh I'd encourage them to look at that and maybe end their policy sooner just because we've written a contract that allows them to extend it that long. it may be worth that school's financial interest to um to come into alignment with Boulder Valley's enrollment processes sooner than they've asked to. Otherwise, I believe they are at jeopardy of losing money from uh their federal grant for facilities funding. So, with that, I certainly will vote for it and um I'm glad we've got it across the threshold.

6:44:37Nicole Rajpal I just want to say thank you um to the members of the semi- charter school community. It wasn't that long ago that they were filling our boardroom with concerns about this application and I appreciate the trust they had in the process. I continued to say, I know this is hard and we will we will get there. So, thank you for your partnership and your trust um to get this contract over the line. I know it wasn't what maybe everybody's number one best hopes were, but we did work together in a way that was collaborative, and I am grateful for that. Any other comments on this charter application board members? Seeing as there are none, Lori, can you please call the vote on the motion?

6:45:21Roll call Bucher, yes. Chavez, yes. Medler, yes. Quinn Lawa, yes. Rajpole, yes. Teamading, yes. Unger, yes. Motion passes.

Study item: Resilient Schools draft resolution 26-27; future agenda items; adjournment

6:45:37Nicole Rajpal Board members, we will now move on to study items. We have one item to study this evening which is a resilient schools proposal and draft resolution number 26-27. Are there any questions or comments specific to this draft resolution? Lalenia.

6:45:59Lalenia Quinlan Aweida Uh, I wanted to I had a lot of questions on um choice enrollment and this addresses them very very clearly. So I wanted to thank staff for making that very very clear. uh if the proposal does go through, I am so happy to see it right here front and center that lottery. um when applications would be due and then also identifying those preschool locations because I heard that numerous times tonight that that's very stressful for people. And so all of those things um being in a potential resolution that could pass were really important to the community I spoke with. So thank you to staff for making this part very very very clear.

6:47:04Nicole Rajpal One item board members to entertain for inclusion based on some of the feedback we heard this evening uh in the la and in the last week or so for your consideration in that for be it further resolved section sort of where Elania was just talking about the choice enrollment and the preschool locations there's also a bold that talks about transport portation, which I appreciate. And um I I would like to entertain including a bullet speaking to school age care, something along the lines of ensuring that school age care will be provided at each of the receiving schools and that available slots are reflective are reflective of the expanding populations of students at those schools.

6:47:48Nicole Rajpal I know school age care is also a lottery system and then there are some preferences for folks that uh would be returning and I think some clarification on whether if you're currently enrolled in a school that may potentially be closed or consolidated does that still qualify you for returning to the school that you're there like potentially ending up in after that. So a bullet to acknowledge our commitment to in helping families access school age care I think could be a really big benefit there for families that work school age care is not an option. I know the trade-off is some of our lifelong learning programming which is to me feels like a nice to have where school age care is a necessity for working parents.

6:48:34Nicole Rajpal So I would like to entertain an inclusion of a bullet along those lines and I would leave it up to our legal team to words smmith that in a way that is appropriate. And then, you know, another thought for entertainment board members is that we over the past couple years have spent a lot of time about talk discussing access to choice schools and where they are located and and um making sure trying to spread them out throughout the district. So, also entertaining a a whereas bullet somewhere else above that speaks to that. um potentially.

6:49:11Nicole Rajpal Whereas the board board affirms the community's desire to maintain a variety of educational models through BVSD focus schools and its desire to better locate these existing programs throughout the district to increase access for BVSD students. Just that the focus schools were not part of the resolution. Um and it might be something we given the amount of time we've discussed those to add um to the whereases Otherwise, I want to thank staff for the work on this.

6:49:52Alex Medler I I have a couple comments as well. Um uh I like um Nicole's last suggestion or I like everything people have mentioned thus far. Um, I would add that I am interested in seeing an additional I've said before that I think people returning from their choice school to their neighborhood school should be able to do so and I feel particularly strongly about that as we move focus schools um uh including um if we were to move High Peaks to Douglas that's a long ways and if people have enrolled in that school rather than their neighborhood school uh it's quite a burden to not let them to return to their neighborhood school um like just like anybody else who might have moved into their neighborhood while the other one is gone.

6:50:37Alex Medler So, I would like to see that somehow figured out a way to include um there. Um I'm also interested in as I am with all our choice schools trying to expand access for students with disabilities to them. And uh I think uh with high peaks relatively low rates of IEP enrollment um if they are going to end up in the Douglas campus I think it's uh incumbent on us for everybody in the district for all our choice schools to figure out how we pursue parity in enrollment of students with disabilities and support and encourage uh changes that might be necessary to make them more attractive to students with disabilities.

6:51:18Alex Medler And uh I would even consider um whether we'd actually want to locate an ILC there and also um make that as part of the availability that is there um where wherever they end up. Uh, and I think that would continue to do what I hope is to make sure that families of students with disabilities enjoy equal access to the amount of choice that we have like everybody else and that we are not making too many of our decisions that are precluding them from exercising the choice that everybody else does. So, I' I'd like to figure out a way to do um uh both of those things.

6:51:57Alex Medler And I think uh that would well anyway I think we'd be able to think about some of the concerns that people have about where they're going to end up in the same way we think about which other choice options are available.

6:52:25Nicole Rajpal Looks like there is no further discussion on that study item. Our last item on tonight's agenda, board members, is future agenda items. If there are any items you would like to add for consideration at our next board prioritization, now is the time. Okay, seeing as there are new items to be added, this evening's meeting is adjourned.