Rightsizing

 

Community Meetings Schedule (PDF)

As we continue to make progress on our timeline and explore rightsizing options, it is now time to host the second round of community meetings. These meetings are important and will allow us to gather additional input on the potential recommendations that came about from our survey findings, while allowing us to consider new options as well. 

The second round of community meetings will be held at the following dates and times.  

October 13, 5:30-7 p.m. at Central High School: Bessemer Academy, Columbian, Minnequa, Heritage, Corwin
October 21, 5:30-7 p.m. at South: South Park, Highland Park, Beulah Heights, D60 Online, Dutch Clark Digital/Paragon, Goodnight, Sunset Park, Pueblo Academy of Arts
October 27, 5:30-7 p.m. at East: Risley, Bradford, Park View, Fountain, Baca, Haaff, Franklin, Belmont, Heaton
October 29, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. at St. Pius X Catholic Church:  Irving, Morton, Freed

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After four meetings of the Superintendent's Advisory Steering Committee, Pueblo School District 60 has closed its community survey, which drew nearly 1,400 responses. In keeping with our commitment to transparency, we’ve shared the full survey results in the document linked below.

The data in the survey will help inform our options for consideration as we move forward. No final decisions have been made, as additional opportunities for community input will continue to be an important part of this process.

Community Survey Data

Pueblo School District 60 is currently evaluating the possibility of rightsizing our district to better align with current enrollment and resources. Your feedback is essential to help us make informed, thoughtful decisions that will serve the best interests of our students, families, and community.

Additional Rightsizing Data

Why is rightsizing needed?

In District 60, rightsizing is the process of restructuring our district to make it more efficient in order to better serve our students. Rightsizing actions may take a variety of approaches, including redesigning grade configurations, co-locating two schools onto a single campus, merging schools, or potentially closing underutilized schools. On average, D60 schools are only being used at about 66% capacity, and enrollment in D60 has declined over time. While a few schools are at or above capacity, most are below. As our district serves a diverse student population, the unique needs of our students may not be met in the currently configured and aging schools, nor with the traditional instructional programs for which these buildings were designed and built.

Pueblo District 60 has limited funds to maintain these aging, underutilized buildings, which directly impacts the district’s ability to use available resources to prioritize increased pay and benefits in order to attract and retain the highest quality staff. 

With all this in mind, we are beginning a rightsizing process with our community with the goal of finalizing recommendations to present to the D60 Board of Education.

Your voice is critical as we begin discussing a rightsizing plan

Together, we are working to develop potential ideas for rightsizing through a deliberate, collaborative, thoughtful plan that makes sense for our community and ensures a bright and sustainable future for our students, the district, and for the broader Pueblo community.

That’s why we began the brainstorming process in March, nearly a year and a half before any implementation would take place, and only after a decision by the Board of Education.

To accommodate as many stakeholders as possible, we have offered a wide variety of engagement opportunities for all members of our community, including students, staff, families, businesses, and community partners. We need all voices in order to create a solid plan that will positively impact many generations well into the future.

Our schools that serve elementary and middle grades, along with those schools that offer  alternative learning options, have been organized into community groups based on input from school and district leaders and the schools’ proximity to each other.  Members of each grouped community were able to learn more about the unique strengths and challenges of each school within the group, and we worked together to brainstorm potential rightsizing solutions. During this initial brainstorming phase, multiple ideas were explored before they were reviewed by our steering committee,  fine-tuned, and sent back to the community for review and input.

With our timeline in mind, our final recommendations will be presented to the D60 school board. At that time, we will speak to our Board as one team, with one voice.

Our rightsizing plan will strengthen educational opportunities, enhance innovative programs, optimize budgetary resources, and reduce our reliance on aging facilities. This rightsizing process will provide our D60 community a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reimagine our schools, ensuring that we become that destination, high-performing district that inspires our community and that lays the foundation for a strong City of Pueblo long into our future.

Rightsizing options

• There are a number of available options:
• Redesign - different grade configuration(s) or programming in schools to allow for innovative instructional programming
• Co-location - two schools within one school building
• Merging - combining one or more schools and/or programs together and/or moving programs among schools to merge like programming
• Consolidation/Closure - closing one or more schools in a group by consolidating programming and students
• No action - for specific schools

With the exception of our high schools, which will not be part of the discussion, all elementary, K-8, and middle schools will be considered in the development of a rightsizing plan.

General Timeline

• Community and stakeholder input beginning in March and continuing through early Fall 2025
• Recommendations to the Board of Education in the fourth quarter of 2025
• Planning for rightsizing implementation to begin in the 2026-2027 school year. 

Completed Community Group Meetings, Round 1

March 3, 5:30-7 p.m. at Central High School. Group 1: Bessemer Academy, Columbian, Minnequa, Heritage, Corwin
March 4, 5:30-7 p.m. at East. Group 2: Haaff, Franklin, Belmont, Heaton
March 10, 5:30-7 p.m. at South. Group 3: South Park, Highland Park, Beulah Heights
March 12, 5:30-7 p.m. at South. Group 4: D60 Online, Dutch Clark Digital/Paragon, Goodnight, Sunset Park, Pueblo Academy of Arts
March 17, 5:30-7 p.m. at East. Group 5: Risley, Bradford, Park View, Fountain, Baca
March 18, 5:30-7 p.m. at Centennial. Group 6: Irving, Nettie S. Freed, Morton

Completed Advisory Steering Committee Meetings

April 29, 5:30-7 p.m. at the Administrative Services Center
June 3, 5:30-7 p.m. at the Administrative Services Center
August 5, 5:30-7 p.m. at the Administrative Services Center
September 30, 5:30-7 p.m.at the Administrative Services Center