BSVDWatch.org

Disregarding the wishes of many Louisville community members, the BVSD committee in charge of overseeing the rebuilding of the Louisville Middle School has decided to not keep any portion of the 1930's building.

Click here for the Feb. 12th Daily Camera article.

Click here for the Feb. 12th Denver Post article. 

BVSDWatch.org is disappointed that this issue did not have more time and community input. There is obviously a disconnect between BVSD and their constituents east of Boulder. The Louisville Middle School is a community landmark of emotional and historical significance that cannot be brushed off with a wave of the hand. If money is the main issue (as talked about in the Camera article), we would like to see more effort by BVSD to talk with the leaders in Louisville to see if and how that could be overcome. We also recommend anyone interested in keeping the issue alive to contact Chris King and the Louisville city council members and express their disappointment.

Chris King, 303.447.5100, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Louisville website for council contact info. 

Don't forget there is also a Louisville website where you can go for updated info on the issue. 

Video: 

"Rob Smoke interviews John Gless about the current debate over the future of the Washington School in Boulder, Colorado. January 30th, 2008"

Letter in today's Daily Camera about BVSD's response to north Boulder school closures:

http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/feb/02/no-headline---02elet/

BVSDWatch has been concerned about the use of Zero Tolerance discipline in BVSD,
which is defined as the use of harsh school and legal consequences for a wide
range of student misbehavior. We began a dialogue with BVSD with the Commentary
by BVSDWatch member Louise Benson (click on the Commentary tab above). Dr. Benson has
raised the issue in BVSDWatch's bimonthly meetings with new Superintendent Dr. Chris King,
and in recent email conversations.

(Click the "Read More..." button to the right to continue the article.)

There is now as website that will have updates, documents, and meeting times for the citizens efforts in Louisville to preserve Louisville Middle School on Main Street.

Click here to visit the site.

Also, from today's Daily Camera (Jan. 29th-Local Briefs):

"Members of the Louisville Historic Preservation Commission and the Louisville Historical Commission have been invited to attend a meeting of the Louisville Middle School Design Advisory Team to discuss the school's redevelopment and concerns regarding the destruction of the historic facade.

The public meeting begins at 7 p.m. today in the library of Louisville Middle School, 1341 Main St."

On Thursday, January 31 at 7:00 p.m., there will be a meeting of concerned citizens at Buddy Day's house at 701 Grant Street (the old church on the northwest corner of Grant and Pine).

Finally, through the bulldog efforts of S.O.S. Boulder Valley and numerous citizens still asking BVSD the reasoning behind the closures of Mapleton and Washington schools, Jean Paxton has asked for, and since received, a response from BVSD about the closures. Jean sent a "Request for Information" form to Chris King December 10th , 2007, and received a reply January 3rd, 2008, the respondents being Glen Segrue and Bill Sutter.

Click on this link to download and read the reply from BVSD. We also have a document that S.O.S. Boulder Valley sent out at the time of the closings, refuting much of the public reasoning BVSD had for the closures. Click here to read their statement on why BVSD should have kept the schools open.  BVSDWatch.org supports the efforts of S.O.S. and we hope this is first of many questions BVSD board members will be asking about the closures. We feel the reply from BVSD this month has some important holes and non-truths in it and we recommend you read for yourself.

Some comments from BVSDWatch.org members after reading the BVSD report:

     • Closure decisions were based solely on the BVSD staff assumption that enrollment was declining. Enrollment has actually increased.

     • This report says that the closure decision was not made on projections of enrollment for any single neighborhood but instead on the determination that Mapleton and Washington did not have the "benefit" of full-time principals and other specialists. This is re-writing history. This issue was never raised by staff. Any parent with kids at Mapleton or Washington will tell you that part-time specialists worked well and were never so problematic that the schools should be closed.

      • We find it interesting that BVSD staff still states that Foothills, Flatirons and Whittier can take the overflow from the closures of Washington and Mapleton. Whittier has a lengthy waiting list and has had one for years. Foothills has had and still does have portables, and there was a very  well attended meeting at Flatirons last week to address the large class sizes.

If you have questions about the report please contact your BVSD representative from the link to the left.