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Shrinking enrollment and an expected state funding cut could mean closing June Creek Elementary School. Those students would be sent to schools in Avon or Edwards.
Eagle County School District
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Under the proposal, the June Creek Elementary School building would be converted into an early childhood education facility.
Eagle County School District
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Elementary school student enrollment has fallen 30% in schools in the east end of Eagle County.
Eagle County School District
A 30% drop in elementary school student enrollment in the eastern half of Eagle County, plus a projected 10% state funding cut could mean that an up-valley elementary school would be closed.
A school district proposal calls for June Creek Elementary School to be closed and converted to an early childhood education center. Students would attend classes at either Edwards Elementary School or Avon Elementary School.
The school board will host an online meeting at 5:30 p.m. today to talk about the proposal and give members of the public a chance to tell the board what they think.
30% enrollment drop since 2013
June Creek Elementary School opened in 2009, one of the projects Eagle County voters approved in 2006. Enrollment was 285 for the 2010-11 school year and peaked at 322 in 2012-13.
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Since 2013, elementary enrollment plunged 30% in Eagle County’s eastern end schools. June Creek’s enrollment is projected to be 178 for the upcoming school year. Those projections were made prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school district said.
Enrollment has dropped at all five east end elementary schools — Red Sandstone Elementary School in Vail, Homestake Peak School in EagleVail, Avon Elementary School in Avon, Edwards Elementary School in Edwards and June Creek Elementary School in Edwards.
That downward trend is projected to continue, according to school district data from two private-sector demographers that specialize in school enrollment projections.
The June Creek building is the most cost-effective to convert to an early childhood facility, the school district said.
‘Forward focus’
School district officials call the plan “East End Enrollment Forward Focus.”
The plan calls for one elementary school in each east end community: Vail, EagleVail, Avon and Edwards.
In making the proposal the school district said it’s difficult to provide diverse programming and hire full-time specialists for small schools.
School district officials say they empathize about the emotional impact this could have on the June Creek community, as well as employment concerns among staff members. The plan is to place tenured employees in other jobs around the district, and place others “as much as possible.”
After Wednesday’s public hearing, the school board will review the proposal during its April 29 meeting. The school district expects to move material in May and June.