Leaders at Thornton-based Adams 12 Five Star Schools plan to close as many as seven schools next year, making the district the latest in metro Denver to shutter buildings as public school enrollment falls statewide.
District staff will present their consolidation plan to the Board of Education on Sept. 3, recommending which schools to close. The board is scheduled to vote on the proposal in October. If the board approves the plan, Adams 12 will close schools in August 2027, according to the district’s website.
“We’re just seeing many of the schools are much less occupied than before,” Superintendent Chris Gdowski said Wednesday. “…We know that there will be a lot of loss and grief and anger at the schools that are considered for closure.”
Adams 12 leaders are considering closing between five and seven schools, but the district noted on its website that the final number could change.
More than 29,000 students attended Adams 12’s 56 schools, which are located in Broomfield, Northglenn, Federal Heights, Thornton and Westminster.
K-12 enrollment is falling statewide as fewer Coloradans have children and high housing costs shift where families live. Districts have also reported enrollment declines as fewer immigrant students attend their schools amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.
Adams 12 also has schools in neighborhoods where families are aging in place, meaning homes aren’t turning over and bringing children into the area, Gdowski said.
When schools have fewer students, they get less per-pupil funding from the state. Districts across metro Denver are facing financial pressures as enrollment falls and the state budget tightens.
In 2025, Adams 12 made significant budget cuts by slashing at least 150 jobs in an effort to reduce spending by $27.5 million.
Overall, the district has 6,000 fewer students than it did in 2018 and expects enrollment to continue to fall for the next 10 years.
“If our projections are right, this won’t be the only school closures we do,” Gdowski said, adding that a second round of closures won’t happen for three to five years.
Low enrollment is mostly affecting Adams 12’s elementary and middle schools.
The district’s elementary schools have capacity to serve more than 15,000 students, but there are only about 10,500 pupils in those buildings. Likewise, Adams 12 has space for more than 8,700 middle schoolers, but only about 5,200 actual pupils, according to the district.
This means there are fewer resources for students — such as electives, sports and other after-school programs — because schools don’t have money to fund the programs, Gdowski said.
“At some of our middle schools now, folks are having to chop off electives,” he said.
The district isn’t alone in closing schools. Denver Public Schools shuttered seven campuses last year and Jeffco Public Schools has closed 21 schools in recent years.
The Douglas County School District also closed three elementary schools in July.
The Boulder Valley School District is considering shutting down schools because of low enrollment as well.
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