The Littleton (Colo.) district will close two of its existing elementary schools and consolidate the two student bodies in a new building.
The Englewood Herald reports that the East and Moody elementary schools will be combined in a new facility on the Moody Elementary campus.
The plans calls for the new building to open on the Moody campus by fall 2023.
Littleton has been experiencing a years-long slide in enrollment numbers, which district officials say is driven by high housing prices placing Littleton out of reach of young families.
Both Moody and East elementaries have fallen below 300 students in recent years.
Littleton’s median single-family home price in February sat just under $600,000, according to the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, a nearly 300% increase from the price in 1999. The median townhouse/condo price sat at $321,000 in February, up $100,000 in the past five years.
At community meetings in March, parents told district officials they were concerned that East families who live within walking distance of the school would find it harder to participate in extracurricular activities or pick up sick children from school.
Board members say they hope to commit transportation funding to the East community, possibly by running a bus route directly from the East campus to Moody.
Board members also say they would like to see East converted into a community center that could host events, clubs, conferences or other uses.
The new school could cost between $35 million and $55 million, and would be built with a capacity of up to 650 students, but would likely open with 500 to 550 students.
