Denver Public Schools to close STEAM academy due to low enrollment

Denver Public Schools voted this week to close a STEAM school struggling with enrollment.

Last month, DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero recommended closing the Robert F. Smith STEAM Academy after enrollment dropped to only 24 students this year. The school has only been open for five years.

The district has struggled with enrollment in recent years. CBS Colorado previously reported that district enrollment is down 1,700 students from last year.

District officials said factors such as declining birth rates and families moving out of the city have contributed to the decline, and it's facing a $28 million structural deficit over the next five years.

"We have a balanced budget now, and we're not predicting that we'll have an unbalanced budget in three years," said Chuck Carpenter, the district's CFO. "We're saying we need to make adjustments over the next three, four years, so that our budgets are balanced."