A gaggle of fogeys this week sued Denver Public Faculties to cease the closure of seven colleges on the finish of this educational yr, saying their youngsters might be harmed if the district strikes ahead with its plan.
The group, Mamas de DPS LLC, describes itself as district watchdog that may be a public curiosity restricted legal responsibility firm centered on high quality, equality and accessibility of public schooling.The names of particular members should not recognized within the lawsuit.
“As Denver public faculty mother and father, they and their youngsters face private, direct and imminent hurt if DPS is permitted to maneuver ahead with its 2024 faculty closure agenda,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday night time in Denver District Court docket, is asking a decide to cease the closures and order a marketing consultant employed by DPS in the course of the closure course of to pay damages to the plaintiffs “that can deter his future misconduct.”
It names the district, Superintendent Alex Marrero, the Board of Schooling and its seven members, and an schooling marketing consultant as defendants.
The lawsuit additionally alleges Marrero and the district wrongfully redirected billions of {dollars} to constitution colleges which are run by personal firms.
DPS spokesman Scott Pribble mentioned the district usually doesn’t touch upon litigation.
The district’s Board of Schooling voted in November to shut seven colleges and scale back the variety of grades at three others on the finish of the 2024-2025 educational yr. The transfer was advisable by Marrero as a result of the district has reported declining enrollment for years and has misplaced funding primarily based on enrollment numbers.
Greater than 88,000 college students had been enrolled in DPS colleges final educational yr, a 4% drop over the district’s enrollment peak 5 years in the past. DPS studies it has misplaced tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} yearly in per-pupil funding from the state as enrollment has fallen.
Marrero labored with Ben Klaban, an schooling marketing consultant, to find out which colleges ought to be closed or restructured, based on the lawsuit. Efforts to achieve Klaban on Friday morning had been unsuccessful.
The varsity board voted unanimously to shut 5 elementary colleges — Castro, Columbian, Palmer, Schmitt and the Worldwide Academy of Denver at Harrington — in addition to West Center College and the Denver College of Innovation and Sustainable Design, a highschool.
DCIS Baker 6-12, Dora Moore ECE-8 College and Kunsmiller Artistic Arts Academy may have fewer grades and fewer youngsters enrolled.
Marrero additionally proposed closing 10 colleges in 2022 due to declining enrollment, however the board resisted underneath intense strain from mother and father to maintain colleges open, and finally voted to shut three. This time, board members mentioned they’d no alternative due to the district’s monetary place.
It is a creating story and might be up to date.
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