Following the announcement of school closures, District 51 (D51) in Mesa County, Colorado, provided an update on the impact on staff. As of March 28th, 100 resignations and retirements occurred district-wide. The district posted numerous licensed and support staff positions. Of the staff from the three closing schools, 41 accepted new positions within D51, 21 are actively seeking positions, and 12 have not applied internally. Support staff saw similar numbers in reassignments and ongoing searches.
The district entered phase two, focusing on planning and implementing the closures. This involves numerous meetings to coordinate logistics, support staff, and plan for the physical relocation of resources. This phase also included welcoming activities for incoming staff to the schools receiving students from the closed schools.
The district is supplying materials such as packing boxes, dumpsters, and other equipment to aid in the move. Large-scale furniture and curriculum relocation will begin on May 23rd. The district is actively supporting schools with inventory and transfer of essential materials and facilitating a parent survey via the Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) to gather feedback.
Mesa County Valley School District 51 administrators provided an update on closing schools and the next move for affected staff.
The D51 Board of Education held its work session Tuesday evening at R-5 High School, where it received academic, operational and human resources updates on the impact of impending closures at Scenic, Clifton and Nisley elementary schools.
As of March 28, the district has seen 100 resignations and retirements. The district has posted 81 licensed elementary school, 23 middle school, 12 high school and five alternative positions. Licensed openings included 21 elementary school, 16 middle school, nine high school and four alternative positions.
From the three closing schools, the district has seen five resignations and retirements. Forty-one staff from closing schools have accepted another position in the district, 21 staffers from closing schools are still actively seeking a new position, and a dozen staffers from closing schools have not applied within the district.
The district has also tallied support staff numbers from closing schools, including three retirements and resignations, 27 accepted positions and 12 staff still seeking positions. Custodians and nutritional services employees will be reassigned within their departments.
The district is currently in the second phase of its closure plan, labeled “Planning and Implementation.” During this phase, which lasts through April, welcoming and culture-building activities have continued, positions have been posted and hired, and the district is taking initial steps toward moving and organizing physical spaces.
D51 supports for closing and receiving schools includes:
Meeting with closing or receiving schools, initially alternating between closing and receiving with district personnel each week but now holding meetings together;
Weekly senior leadership meetings to discuss closure updates and logistics;
Weekly meetings with teaching and learning and student services leadership to align supports (ILT, Instructor-Led Training);
Weekly meetings with operations and teaching and learning staff for logistics planning;
Weekly meetings with site directors and principals.
The district has scheduled for the delivery of 11,760 packing boxes to both closing and receiving schools by the end of April 4 to support staff with moving materials. Additionally, 11 dumpsters have been arranged at all sites, along with carts and plastic totes.
The district’s instructional and operational teams are holding weekly planning sessions to align timelines, storage needs and transition support.
Large furniture and curriculum moves will begin May 23, three days after the final staff workday and one day after the final packing day for staff.
The district is supporting schools with inventory and transferring curriculum, Title I-funded items and all other classroom materials.
The district has tasked the Colorado Education Initiative (CEI) with administering a parent survey to gather parent perspective on what they want to see during this transition process.
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