🏊 Spruce Pool’s future fuels pushback over Boulder budget

Good Friday morning, Boulder. Today’s BRL Today is sponsored by Shining Mountain Waldorf School, whose gentle, not-scary Wonder Walk returns Oct. 24, perfect for toddlers through second graders.

Leading today: Boulder’s 2027 budget is on track for city council approval, but this budget season has exposed growing unease over the city’s spending decisions. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board took the unusual step this week of voting against recommending the department’s proposed budget, citing service cuts and uncertainty over Spruce Pool, which has funding for next year but not for 2028. The Open Space Board narrowly backed its budget, with dissenters questioning the use of open space tax revenue for administrative services. The votes come as Boulder faces a $6.3 million General Fund gap and a $400 million property tax measure has put city finances at the center of this fall’s election. Por Jaijongkit reports.

Also today: We’re publishing two more installments of our candidate questionnaire, on wildfire preparedness and homelessness, both issues readers asked us to put to candidates this summer. Most support some mandatory wildfire home hardening and want better communication from Xcel during power shutoffs. On homelessness, candidates differ over treatment, housing, encampments and enforcement. Read their full answers below.

And finally: Three parents have sued the BVSD Board of Education, alleging it made key decisions about school closures without the public notice and discussion required by Colorado law. They are asking a judge to overturn the board’s approval of the plan and halt its implementation while the lawsuit proceeds. 

Plus more, Below the Fold:

• BoulderCAST: October heat could approach 90 degrees.
• BVSD lawsuit: Parents challenge school closure process.
• ‘Genius grant’: NCAR climate scientist wins MacArthur Fellowship.
• Aging services: County ends volunteer companionship program.
• Mental health: County seeks volunteers to oversee tax funding.

Thanks, as always, for reading,

– The BRL team

Boulder parks board sends rare rebuke over service cuts, Spruce Pool’s uncertain future

The advisory board’s 5-2 vote against recommending the Parks and Recreation budget signals concern over cuts, but the city’s 2027 budget is still on track for approval. Continue reading…

What should Boulder do next to address homelessness? City council candidates weigh in.

BRL asked mayoral and city council candidates what Boulder should try next to address homelessness and how the city should pay for it. Candidates called for more mental health and addiction treatment, supportive housing and regional partnerships, while others emphasized staying the course and tracking results. Continue reading…

Should Boulder require homeowners to protect their properties from wildfire?  City council candidates weigh in.

BRL asked mayoral and city council candidates what Boulder should try next to prepare for wildfire risk, and if Boulder should push Xcel harder to prevent power shutoffs. Most candidates advocated for some mandatory home hardening and better communication with Xcel. Continue reading…

Early October to feel more like August

A warm and quiet stretch settles into Boulder today, kicking off what will be a long run of summer‑like weather as a strengthening Western ridge locks in through the first half of October. Expect full sunshine and highs in the lower 80s this afternoon. Clear skies will allow temperatures to fall into the lower 50s tonight.

Temperatures climb further on Saturday, reaching the mid‑80s under a mix of sun and passing high clouds. A weak backdoor front will arrive during the afternoon, but it will be dry and largely inconsequential aside from a bump in northerly winds.

From Sunday through next week, the ridge centers near the Four Corners, fully locking in a summer‑style pattern. Sunday cools slightly into the lower 80s behind the front, but Monday may surge toward 90 degrees, challenging Boulder’s all‑time October record high.

Any weather resembling true autumn remains at least about ten days away.

—BoulderCAST

BVSD parents sue over school closures, challenging how the plan took shape

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. Read more on BRL.

NCAR climate scientist wins prestigious MacArthur ‘genius grant’

NCAR climate scientist Marika Holland has been named a MacArthur Fellow, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors for creative achievement. The fellowship comes with $800,000, paid over five years with no restrictions on how it is spent.

Holland studies how sea ice and the polar regions interact with the global climate system, including how changes in sea ice can be modeled and predicted. Her work helps explain what rapid changes in the polar regions mean for the broader climate system.

Holland is the second NCAR scientist to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, following climate scientist Stephen Schneider in 1992.

Boulder County program connecting isolated older adults with volunteers is ending

Boulder County’s Area Agency on Aging will end its Volunteer Visitor Program in November, citing budget constraints and the planned retirement of the program’s coordinator.

The program pairs older adults who live alone or with a caregiver with trained volunteers for regular companionship. Volunteers spend time reading, walking, talking or visiting favorite places with participants, providing social connection for residents who may otherwise experience isolation.

“We sincerely thank the many community volunteers over the years who have been the heart of this program and made it possible,” staff wrote in the county’s “Aging Well in Boulder County” newsletter.

Boulder County seeking volunteers for health funding oversight boards

Boulder County is establishing two new volunteer bodies to help guide implementation of the county’s mental and behavioral health tax.

The Mental and Behavioral Health Tax Advisory Committee will bring together residents, people with lived experience and subject matter experts to provide input as the county awards funding and tracks outcomes. Voters approved the tax in November 2025, making $4.1 million available through a competitive funding process for treatment, recovery and prevention services.

Priority will be given to applicants who reflect the communities most affected by behavioral health needs, including people with lived experience, unhoused and formerly unhoused residents and members of non-English-speaking communities. Applicants must be Boulder County residents age 18 or older. Applications are due Oct. 16, with members expected to be seated Nov. 16.

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