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Week of February 9, 2023
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
JeffcoTranscript.com
VOLUME 39 | ISSUE 29
Our in-depth look at the housing crisis
Jeffco Public Schools release data to be used for secondary school closures BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Governor stresses more housing is key to Colorado’s economic health BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
If lawmakers don’t act to make housing more affordable now, “we will soon face a spiraling point of no return.” That’s what Gov. Jared Polis said in January, during his annual State of the State Address. He noted myriad problems linked to rising housing costs. People, he said, “are being forced out of their neighborhoods with no hope of ever living close to where they work.” “That means more traffic, lost
time and money spent on long commutes, more air pollution, and greater economic and workforce challenges,” Polis said. Polis added that rising housing prices are “putting the dream of homeownership out of range for more and more Coloradans.” The governor’s assessment squares with the findings of Colorado Community Media in our four-week series exploring what many experts say is a housing crisis — one that affects practically everyone in the Denver area. Lower-income workers are seeing larger chunks of their paychecks
go to landlords. Young families can’t find starter homes they can afford. Retirees don’t see any attractive options for moving and downsizing, meaning their homes stay off the market, helping keep prices high. “Just look west,” Polis said in his address. “In California, decades of poor planning has led to interruptions of drinking water and electricity for entire towns and cities, average home prices over $1 million in major cities and 16lane freeways” with “bumper-to-
The Jefferson County Board of Education voted in November to close 16 elementary schools based generally on enrollment data and proximity to other schools — data that could be found on the FCB Dashboard. On Jan. 31, the District released similar data for secondary schools that will be used to decide possible closures in Phase II of Regional Opportunities for Thriving Schools. The District stated that criteria for secondary school closures — possibly including K-8s — have not been decided yet, but said in the past that it will differ from the criteria for elementary school closures. Data in the dashboard now includes building utilization and enrollment trends as well as financials, staffing information and more for all middle schools and high schools. Capacity: the number of students that can be served in a school building
According to the dashboard, all high schools were above 45% capacity except for Arvada at 40%. The next lowest capacities were Pomona and Wheat Ridge at 57%. For middle schools, more were closer to that bar with Moore at 46%, North Arvada at 47% and Deer Creek at 49%. Most others were above 70%, with a few at 60% and up.
SEE STRESSES, P16 SEE CLOSURES, P7
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 13 | CALENDAR: PAGE 14 | SPORTS: PAGE 26
ALAMEDA WINS CLASS 4A JEFFCO LEAGUE WRESTLING TOURNAMENT P26