The Douglas County School District Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved the closure of three Highlands Ranch elementary schools in efforts to consolidate growth and decline within the school district.

DCSD officials hope pairing six schools into three will balance out growth and decline within the Highlands Ranch Metro District. By the 2026-2027 school year, DCSD will close three schools, pairing students and faculty there into three existing elementary schools within Highlands Ranch.

On Tuesday, the DCSD school board officials approved the three closures and recommendations

• Saddle Ranch Elementary to consolidate into Eldorado Elementary
• Heritage Elementary to consolidate into Summit View Elementary
• Acres Green Elementary to consolidate into Fox Creek Elementary

In 2012, DCSD enrollment reached 11,000 students. By 2026, that number is expected to drop to 6,000 students among 16 district elementary schools.

“We have more buildings than we need,” Superintendent Erin Kane told The Denver Gazette when announcing recommendations in late March. “It’s really important to preserve opportunities for students and for us to make some consolidations.”

In addition to the school closures and consolidation, Highlands Ranch sixth graders will move from elementary schools feeding into Cresthill, Mountain Ridge and Ranch View middle schools, according to the release, making them sixth-to-eighth grade.

Several Highlands Ranch parents attended Tuesday’s DCSD board meeting, hoping a lasting effort would sway the decision of board members.

Ryan Leahy, a Heritage Elementary parent, argued that consolidating Highlands Ranch schools will result in long-term complications.

“Highlands Ranch isn’t a declining community, it’s a maturing one,” Leahy said. “The ripple effect of this will go on beyond any temporary savings.”

For Heritage Elementary parent Cali Wolf, she said “it’s much harder for me at this point than my kindergartner. I think it’s hard for them to see into the future.”

“My kindergartner isn’t exactly understanding that the school behind our home is no longer going to be our school, and my younger daughter, who’s three, is never going to have the opportunity to walk to school with us in the morning,” Wolf said.

Other parents blamed DCSD for lack of transparency throughout the consolidation process.

“The trust is very, very low with the board and with Erin Kane and her cabinet,” Katie Bibler, a Heritage Elementary parent, said.

“I do understand the financial reasons for consolidations, but the transparency that we’re being told is happening is not happening,” she said.

One parent told DCSD board members he paid over $1,200 on a Colorado Open Records Request, but said he received “inadequate responses” regarding DCSD consolidation plans.

In response, DCSD officials insisted they will maintain open communication with the Highlands Ranch school community.

“We are grateful for the parents passion for their school, for their children’s education,” Kane said at Tuesday’s meeting. “This transition will be a collaborative effort including student voice and parents.”

“I feel like staff and superintendent have gone above and beyond what policy states,” DCSD Board member Kaylee Winegar said Tuesday on board transparency.

Other concerns parents laid out included transitioning resources between schools, transportation and maintaining existing staff.

The staffing plan includes keeping all staff and offering open positions to existing staff members, which Kane said “will all have a job.”

“I completely understand every parent that has come forward,” DCSD Board member Valerie Thompson said. “I feel like every parent that has spoken up has had a complete reason. I have more confidence in this process because residents are so engaged.”

“None of the seven of us want to be in this position, it’s extremely difficult,” DCSD Board President Christy Williams said. “We are taking six amazing schools and are turning it into three fabulous schools. What makes those schools amazing are the people inside of it.”