In 2022, the Woodland Park School District completed a facilities study that illustrated the decades-long decline in student enrollment – a trend that WPSD has in common with most public school districts, especially in Colorado. WPSD peaked at 3,360 students in 2001. A recent district document projected a funded pupil count of just 1,786 students for the 2025/26 school year.

In 1986, WPSD had 1,950 students enrolled. At that time, the district possessed three of the current school buildings: Woodland Park High/Jr High, Columbine and Gateway. Today, the district has fewer students than it did in 1986, yet it now operates five school buildings with nearly twice the capacity. Building utilization, determined by CDE enrollment data and capacity by school identified in the 2022 study, is as follows: Columbine Elementary School 44.4%, Summit ES 52.6%, Woodland Park JH/HS 44.9% and the former Middle School building which Merit Academy occupies: 61.2%. Gateway still sits with limited usage, closed officially as a full-time school by the prior board.

Each school’s enrollment has decreased year over year, with the Junior/Senior High building losing 10% of its students. Merit Academy, meanwhile, has grown by nearly enough students to offset the losses in the traditional schools: 21% year over year.

As enrollment declines, the district loses per-pupil revenue while fixed facility costs remain. Compounded by a short-sighted decision by City Council to repeal a supplemental sales tax that provided a critical lifeline, they are now in dire financial straits. The district started the school year with just under $7 million in cash reserves. As of the end of this school year, they are down to slightly over $3 million. At the current pace, the district will be bankrupt by the end of next school year (likely sooner).

The prior school board made several difficult decisions in an attempt to optimally utilize facilities: they eliminated Gateway ES, moved the charter school into the middle school and consolidated the Jr./Sr. High. Politically, they paid for these decisions with their seats on the board. Most of the current board members were the most vocal critics of these decisions and ironically now face more urgent, difficult decisions themselves.

The current board has discussed replacing the repealed sales tax with something new. It is my position that the taxpayers should not consent to any additional funding without the current board demonstrating they can right-size the district. Another elementary school should be closed, and both that facility and Gateway should be sold. The last board considered selling the former middle school building to its current tenant, Merit Academy to raise cash and shift the maintenance burden. None of these ideas are politically palatable, but the alternatives are so much worse: A potential CDE takeover of WPSD, consolidation of the district with another neighboring district or the forced closure by the Department of Education after district bankruptcy.

The current board has shown no appetite for making the necessary decisions. Will that change, or is the district destined for demise?