A series of meetings begins this week for the public to have its say on how - or if - Colorado Springs School District 11 should go about closing schools or changing how its buildings are used.

Faced with declining enrollment, the Pikes Peak area's largest school district is in the midst of creating a 10-year plan to address the viability of all buildings and programs. Consultants and committees have suggested D-11 may have to close up to 10 elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school during the next decade to maximize efficiency.

School buildings that could be recommended for closure include Longfellow, Buena Vista, Hunt, Pike, Whittier, Jefferson and Edison elementary schools and Irving and Galileo middle schools.

At the same time, administrators are suggesting realigning programs and making changes that could attract more students from other districts and stem the flow of students out of the district.

Among the ideas being considered: converting some elementary schools to preschool through second grade, third through fifth grades or kindergarten through eighth grade; adding magnet programs at more elementary schools to feed into middle and high schools; consolidating several small west-side elementaries into a preschool through fifth grade program at West Middle School and moving middle school students to Holmes; and moving all administrative functions to a high school building and selling the district headquarters building on El Paso Street.

The draft report is continually being revised as administrators meet with school staff and the public. A final report is expected to go to the school board Feb. 4. Action on the recommendations is expected in late February.
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Contact the Writer: 636-0251 or sue.mcmillin@gazette.com

PUBLIC MEETINGS
Meetings are from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
• Tuesday at Mitchell High School
• Thursday at Coronado High School
• Jan. 12 at Hillside Community Center
• Jan. 13 at Palmer High School
• Jan. 15 at Doherty High School
• Jan. 20 at Wasson High School

For the latest draft reports and other information on Colorado Springs School District 11's study on how it uses its buildings, go to
www.d11.org/utilization.