Parents of children at three Boulder Valley School District elementary schools slated to close sued the school board this week, alleging it made key decisions about the closure process without the public notice and discussion required by Colorado’s Open Meetings Law.
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 30 in Boulder County District Court, was brought by Evan Harvie, a parent at Douglass Elementary; Katharine Rosenthal, a parent at Flatirons Elementary; and Theresa Schultz, a parent at Mesa Elementary.
The lawsuit challenges the board’s Sept. 22 approval of the Resilient Schools plan, which closes Douglass, Flatirons, Mesa and Birch elementary schools, relocates two focus schools and changes the grades served at two others, affecting more than a thousand students. The changes are scheduled to take effect in fall 2027.
The parents argue that the board abandoned a process designed to warn school communities about possible closures and involve them in developing solutions, without publicly discussing or approving the change.
District leaders have said the restructuring is necessary to use resources more efficiently as enrollment declines. They say savings from the closures will support smaller elementary school classes.
The board approved the plan 5-2, four weeks after district leaders announced it. Hundreds of parents, students and community members rallied outside the district’s offices before the vote. More than 5,000 people signed a petition asking the board to pause and address questions about enrollment projections, staffing and alternatives.
At the center of the challenge is the district’s Long Range Advisory Committee, which the board established in 2022 to address long-term facility needs, including declining enrollment. The committee developed a process to identify schools with low enrollment and involve their communities in finding solutions before major decisions were made.
The parents allege that the board abandoned that approach on Oct. 21, 2025, without publicly announcing, discussing or voting on the change. They say the committee continued meeting publicly under the original process while district administrators developed a different school closure plan outside public view.
“No public discussion or vote to change the early warning or collaborative processes was ever voted on,” the complaint states.
Colorado’s Open Meetings Law states that “the formation of public policy is public business and may not be conducted in secret.”
In an FAQ cited in the complaint, BVSD said the Oct. 21, 2025, work session made clear that too many schools were approaching the threshold for individual community engagement processes at the same time, prompting a regional approach. The district also said the Long Range Advisory Committee’s framework allowed for that approach when appropriate.
Boulder Reporting Lab previously reported that the board directed administrators to move more quickly on declining enrollment in October 2025. Emails obtained by Boulder Reporting Lab show that the following week, a district planner sought an old agreement governing the sale of school property. By November, officials were discussing a facilities analysis to evaluate possible closures and consolidations.
The parents also allege that the district offered a single proposal instead of promised options, without a publicly noticed meeting to discuss or approve eliminating the “options” phase. The district presented the proposal publicly on Aug. 25, and the board heard public comment before its Sept. 22 vote.
The parents are asking the court to overturn the board’s approval. In a separate emergency motion, they also seek to temporarily stop student reassignments under the plan and other steps that would be difficult to reverse while the lawsuit proceeds.
“The District is working with legal counsel to respond to the complaint,” BVSD said in a statement. “We generally do not comment on pending litigation.”
Under the approved plan, Mesa students will move to Bear Creek and Birch students to Kohl. Douglass’ attendance area will be divided among Coal Creek, Eisenhower and Heatherwood, while Flatirons’ will be split between Whittier and Foothill.
High Peaks will move to the Douglass campus, and Community Montessori will move into High Peaks’ space at Aurora 7. Eldorado PK-8 will become an elementary school, and Monarch PK-8 will become a middle school.
Open enrollment for the 2027–28 school year is scheduled to begin Nov. 1.
The fact is, the plan the schoolboard passed will move 1800 BVSD students and save an estimated 1% of the annual budget after 5 years.
It is unjustifiably disruptive while doing almost nothing to address valid longterm budget concerns.