Jeffco Board of Education to decide on use of shuttered school buildings

By Rylee Dunn

Sixteen elementary schools will be closing after this school year due to a vote by the Jefferson County Board of Education in November. With their closing, the future use of the school buildings is called into question.

Included in that November vote was a resolution from the Board to create a community-involved process for giving recommendations on decisions involving the use of these buildings, according to Chief of Strategy and Communications for the District Lisa Relou. Part of that process is creating an advisory committee that includes District staff as well as additional specific ad hoc members based on the location of the building being considered, Relou said in a Board study session earlier this month.

According to Relou, there will be a "step-by-step process including value assessment, engagement with local municipalities and special districts, proposal collection, legal review and community engagement, all in an effort to make the best determination possible as to the future of the property."

The Board is the only body capable of declaring a building to be surplus, and therefore able to be sold by the District. Usage proposals from outside organizations are expected, and the committee — which will be decided upon by Feb. 1 — will draft a rubric to guide decision-making on these proposals by Feb. 21.

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This story is from Colorado Community Media. CBS News Colorado is a newsgathering partner with CCM, a network of two dozen newspapers and online publications serving eight metro-area counties on the Front Range.