Parents sue BVSD over school closure plan
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Parents and students at a BVSD board meeting on school closures on Tuesday. Photo: Mitchell Byars/Axios Boulder
Parents from three Boulder elementary schools slated for closure are suing the Boulder Valley School District, alleging it violated Colorado's Open Meetings Law while developing its consolidation plan.
Why it matters: The lawsuit is the latest effort by parents to block — or at least delay — a plan set to reshape 16 BVSD schools beginning in the 2027–28 school year.
Driving the news: Parents from Douglass, Flatirons and Mesa elementaries filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Boulder District Court.
- They also filed an emergency motion asking a judge to temporarily bar BVSD from taking difficult-to-reverse steps while the lawsuit plays out, including final student reassignments, staff transfers and program relocations.
- The parents are not seeking to halt school tours, information sessions or Choice Enrollment. BVSD could still process applications, hold its lottery and make contingent placement offers.
BVSD officials told Axios the district was preparing a statement Thursday morning.
What they're saying: The lawsuit alleges BVSD abandoned its established Long Range Advisory Committee process for identifying and engaging schools at risk of closure without publicly discussing or approving those changes.
- The parents argue the board's October 2025 meeting contained no clear discussion or vote abandoning the LRAC process, even though BVSD later identified the meeting as the time it shifted to a regional approach.
- They argue that raises questions about whether policy discussions or decisions happened outside properly noticed public meetings.
- The complaint acknowledges the parents don't yet have access to board members' communications.
Catch up quick: The BVSD board voted 5–2 last week to approve the Resilient Schools plan, a sweeping response to declining enrollment.
- BVSD estimates the changes will save $3.5 million to $4 million annually.
Reality check: The lawsuit doesn't ask a judge to decide whether BVSD should close schools.
- Instead, the parents want the court to invalidate the Sept. 22 vote and require the district to follow a properly noticed public process.
- Even if they succeed, that wouldn't necessarily kill the Resilient Schools plan: The complaint acknowledges the board could follow a new public process and ultimately adopt the same plan.
What's next: The parents are seeking an expedited hearing, as BVSD's Choice Enrollment window for 2027–28 opens Nov. 1.
The bottom line: Regardless of the lawsuit's outcome, the closures will remain an issue heading into the November 2027 school board election.
- Four of the seven seats — held by Alex Medler, Jason Unger, Lalenia Quinlan Aweida and Jorge Chávez — have expiring terms, and all four voted for the closures.