The awe-inspiring turnout at our Colorado Caucuses this year brought home a powerful realization of the importance of citizen participation in an open government process. Unfortunately, the BVSD has not recognized the importance of such a public process in its decision making regarding historic significance and environmentally sensitive school decisions.

In Fall 2006, the citizens of the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) approved a Bond Issue for $296.8 million to be used for purposes described in the District's Educational Facilities Master Plan. Citizens within BVSD clearly support improving our educational facilities, and our schools and teachers in general, and we are happy to see significant facility improvements marching forward. However, many aspects of the process and decisions about individual schools have led to significant citizen concern. These concerns include:

1. Design Advisory Teams (DATs) have been populated by staff and BVSD-appointed community members for each school to provide advice on construction and improvement decisions. However, the DATs have been dominated by District staff. Furthermore, no communication has been allowed among individual DATs to discuss common issues and solutions and to have a common information source. Basically many in the community feel strongly that the DATs have not been provided complete or unbiased information. The little communication that has occurred with the communities has been too little and too late. Many believe citizen input is being ignored.

2. Historic Preservation — Despite significant citizen protest, the DAT for Louisville Middle School (LMS) and BVSD recently decided to completely demolish the historically significant 1939 building because of Òdesign compromisesÓ and projected cost overruns. Suggestions that the process be delayed so that additional funds might be raised by a Louisville ballot initiative or through State and Federal historic funding programs were not accepted. A Louisville resident and architect whose expertise is historic renovations questioned the costs associated with preservation of LMS and this testimony was dismissed without discussion.

   A similar process played out with regard to Casey Middle School in Boulder, and resulted in a divided DAT voting for preservation of only the west and south facades of the 1924 historic building. However, many are unhappy with this partial solution, and recent information indicates that the proposed Òtwo-wallÓ preservation will not qualify for LEED ratings.

3. Energy and Environmental Improvements — Despite language in the bond issue that includes- ÒImplementing cost-effective, environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient design and construction strategies;Ó such strategies have been eliminated from many school plans. This has led to formation of a very concerned citizens group to advocate for greening of 8 schools throughout the district where energy efficiency programs are threatened with elimination.

4. Washington School — Closing of Washington Elementary and proposed construction of a large mixed use/cohousing/commercial development has a whole set of different issues but is part of the same problem. Residents do not want to lose their common space and schools are an integral part of the commons. The impressive achievement of the Washington School group in gathering over 7000 valid signatures in a month to stop the development speaks, at least in significant portion, to citizen unhappiness about the loss of our schools.

We ask that the BVSD board reconsider the proposed actions on Louisville Middle School and provide citizens and elected officials there the time necessary to work out a compromise that, at least, saves some of the historic building. We also support another look at the Casey Middle School situation that would be aimed at preserving more of the 1924 structure to achieve LEED standards. We further ask that they press forward with energy efficiency and environmentally responsible school renovations, and to take another look at a flawed public process so it is not repeated in the future.

PLAN-Boulder County urges the School Board and District to uphold its commitment to the Bond issue language.

PLAN-Boulder County believes many inter-twined planning, land use, urban design, environmental, and transit issues need to be integrated whenever important decisions about school facilities are made. We would be glad to help by organizing an independent community advisory group. We believe that this would create an important pathway for effective communication and would gain support among citizens for future school funding decisions.

Pat Shanks, Chair
PLAN-Boulder County
The People's League for Action Now