DPS enrollment fell faster than expected this fall. Here's where the city fits in

Denver Public Schools enrolled about 1,800 fewer students this fall than last year, according to preliminary numbers, a sharper drop than the roughly 1,500 the district projected, Denver7 reported. The school board is reviewing the policies that govern closing schools and drawing enrollment boundaries.

Why it matters: fewer students means less per-student funding and more half-empty buildings, the pressure that led DPS to close seven schools and restructure others in 2024. Families in the hardest-hit parts of the city are the ones most likely to face changes.

What the district has said

The losses are steepest in southwest and northwest Denver, with declines reaching into the far northeast, Andrew Huber, DPS's executive director of enrollment and campus planning, told Denver7. He said the district is down about 3,000 students since the 2024 closures and expects to lose thousands more from falling birth rates alone. "At a certain point, the math doesn't work and you just have too many schools for the number of kids," he said.

Huber pointed to lower birth rates, fewer newly arrived immigrant students and families possibly leaving Colorado because of the cost of living, according to the report.

A four-year moratorium pauses school closures through 2029. The board is combining two policies, known as Executive Limitations 18 and 19, that cover closures and boundaries. Until that work is done, the district said in a statement, "we are not able to speculate on whether or not additional schools may be closed." No new closures have been announced.

Today's tax question

Voters decide Ballot Issue 4A today, a property tax increase of about $44 million a year for DPS, mostly for employee raises, according to Chalkbeat Colorado's voter guide. The school board placed it on the ballot; the City Council had no role. Our earlier story has more on 4A.

What our records add: the city's part

DPS is a separate government with its own elected board, and the City Council has no say over which schools open or close. But the city and the district are tied together in several ways the Council does vote on:

• The school tax levy. Each December, the Council adopts a resolution levying property taxes for School District No. 1, the district's legal name. The most recent one, for 2025 taxes, passed Dec. 22, 2025, 25-2031. If 4A passes, the new tax would be part of what is levied on the district's behalf.
• Youth jobs. In June, the Council approved an intergovernmental agreement with the district to run the Denver Youth Employment Program for 2026, 26-0678.
• Climate money. On Wednesday, Nov. 4, a Council committee takes up $3.7 million more from the city's Climate Protection Fund for DPS sustainability and job training programs, 26-1410.
• Food in schools. The Council approved agreements with DPS last winter under the Healthy Food for Denver's Kids initiative, including chef education across 166 schools, 25-1030.

Reuse of closed schools. When a school building closes, what happens to it next can come back to the city through zoning. In a September committee hearing on a Jefferson Park rezoning, a city planner cited neighborhood plan guidance on keeping vacated institutional buildings, such as closed schools, in community use (video).

What's next

• Today, Nov. 3: Voters decide Ballot Issue 4A. Unofficial results begin posting after 7 p.m. on the state's election night reporting site.
• Wednesday, Nov. 4, 1 p.m.: The Council's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee considers the DPS climate agreement (agenda).
• Coming months: The DPS board's review of its closure and boundary policies. Board meetings are posted on the district's website.