PUEBLO — Pueblo School District 60 says it does not have enough money to maintain its aging and underutilized buildings, and therefore, needs to make budget cuts to support students and staff.
D60 Superintendent Dr. Barbara Kimzey said the district is looking at redesigning grade configurations, co-locating two schools onto a single campus, merging schools, or closing underused schools to become more cost-efficient. Right now, D60 said schools are being used at about 66% capacity on average. According to D60 data, Bessemer Elementary School, Highland Park Elementary School, South High School, and Bradford Elementary School have the lowest building utilization.
One of the reasons behind the budget cuts is years of declining enrollment. Data from D60 shows Pre-K through 12th grade enrollment has dropped by more than 12% since the pandemic.
"Here in Pueblo, we have noticed a decline in birth rate that always affects how many kids go to school," said Superintendent Kimzey. "And to be honest, we have, we have some families that have chosen to educate their students elsewhere. Our goal is to earn that trust back and become that destination district with really innovative and powerful programs for kids."
Superintendent Kimzey said declining enrollment means less funding. She also said Governor Jared Polis' push to change the state's school funding formula is worrisome for the district's future budget. According to Scripps News Denver, the state's current school funding formula uses a four-year enrollment average instead of single-year enrollment.
"The governor is proposing doing away with enrollment averaging that will really negatively impact School District 60 and many districts across the state. Anybody that's got declining enrollment, that's going to be a negative impact on their available funds," said Superintendent Kimzey. "And so we are trying to do the best we can to plan for that and make whatever adjustments are necessary so that we remain fiscally responsible and strong for the Pueblo Community."
Superintendent Kimzey said the restructuring will not affect the district's four high school buildings. However, some parents of younger students are worried about how the process could affect their children.
Monica Rubio's children are in first grade and fifth grade at the Franklin School of Innovation. Rubio said she's worried about how a potential school merge or closure could affect her first-grade son, who has autism.
"If he were to get merged into a bigger classroom, that's going to be harder for my son to function and get the education that he needs. I don't know how my son's going to be able to function like that," said Rubio.
D60 said it plans to finalize restructuring recommendations to present to the school board in October. Any changes decided on would take effect during the 2026-2027 school year.
The school district is hosting several community town halls for parents, staff, and community members to learn about the process and provide input. Below is the schedule for the group sessions:
- March 3, 5:30-7 p.m. at Central High School. Group 1: Bessemer Academy, Columbian, Minnequa, Heritage, Corwin
- March 4, 5:30-7 p.m. at East. Group 2: Haaff, Franklin, Belmont, Heaton
- March 10, 5:30-7 p.m. at South. Group 3: South Park, Highland Park, Beulah Heights
- March 12, 5:30-7 p.m. at South. Group 4: D60 Online, Dutch Clark Digital/Paragon, Goodnight, Sunset Park, Pueblo Academy of Arts
- March 17, 5:30-7 p.m. at East. Group 5: Risley, Bradford, Park View, Fountain, Baca
- March 18, 5:30-7 p.m. at Centennial. Group 6: Irving, Nettie S. Freed, Morton
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