Timnath parents fight closure plan for school at 95% full

Why it matters

Timnath families are asking why a school that is 95% full in a fast-growing town should close over a building score and disputed repair costs. The Oct. 27 vote will decide whether more than 400 students stay in their community or are bused elsewhere.

Parents pack Timnath listening session to oppose closures

About 300 people attended the Oct. 12 listening session at Timnath Middle-High School, where 37 speakers addressed Superintendent Brian Kingsley and all seven members of the Poudre Board of Education.

School board President Jessica Zamora stood at a podium on stage running a 3-minute timer for each speaker, with the full board and Kingsley seated at a table alongside her. Parents and staff said they were dismayed that historic Timnath Elementary wound up on a closure list meant to address declining enrollment in Poudre School District.

Parent Kristen Tatti told the board: "To me, this reads, 'Timnath children are being bused out of their community to keep a shrinking school open.'" Her concern set the tone for speakers who lined up at two microphones on the auditorium floor.

Timnath Elementary sits 95% full with stable enrollment

David Rumley, a Timnath parent and attorney, told the board the school ended up on the closure list because of its building condition score, not because enrollment is falling.

"This process was started to address declining enrollment," Rumley said. "Timnath (Elementary) is not declining. It is 95% full, its enrollment is projected to stay stable, and it serves one of the fastest-growing towns in Northern Colorado. It's on the list because of a building condition score."

The school serves more than 400 students in one of the fastest-growing communities in the state. Rumley has already agreed to represent several families in his efforts to remove Timnath Elementary from the recommendation.

Plan would close nine schools before 2027-28

The Comprehensive Planning Committee recommendation, made public Sept. 25, would close nine schools and consolidate two others before the 2027-28 school year.

The recommendation also calls for closing Beattie, Johnson and Putnam elementaries, all three mountain elementary schools, Livermore, Red Feather and Stove Prairie, and Blevins Middle School, along with consolidating Centennial High School and Poudre Community Academy. Irish Elementary is also on the closure list.

Eight people at the session spoke for protecting and expanding the dual-language immersion program at Irish Elementary. Concern has extended beyond Timnath, including the warning that the Poudre closure plan hits special needs students hardest.

The recommendation is scheduled to be formally presented to the Board of Education at its Oct. 13 meeting, with a vote scheduled for Oct. 27.

Families question $2 million gap in repair costs

Speakers questioned the financial figures used for Timnath Elementary, noting a $2 million difference between deferred maintenance costs in the executive summary and in the detailed analysis.

The detailed analysis came from the full 379-page report, while the executive summary gave a different figure for deferred maintenance, the cost of repairs that have been put off. That $2 million gap became a central question for parents asking how the committee judged the building.

Not every parent got to raise those questions. About 18 people were still waiting 80 minutes into the session when Zamora said there was only time to hear eight more speakers before they had to shut it down so staff could get the building ready for students and staff the next morning.