growing colorado district announces plans to build one new elementary school and expand another

Work could launch early next year on both the construction of a new elementary school and the expansion of an existing elementary school belonging to the Poudre School District in northern Colorado.

Both of the projects will be paid for out of a $375 million bond that was narrowly approved by voters nearly two years ago.

PSD officials say both the new school and the school expansion project are in response to continued enrollment growth, a growth that in recent years has been seeing 500 new students moving into the district annually.

Plans call for the new school, which will be built to accommodate around 600 students, to go up  near the intersection of Larimer County Road 30 and Larimer County Road 5 on the southeast side of Fort Collins.

The second project will see the construction of two additional classrooms, as well as the expansion of an existing cafeteria and classroom, at the Zach Elementary School at 3715 Kechter Road.

Planning for both projects has been delayed by a well-publicized suit filed by community activist Eric Sutherland, who has charged that the PSD failed to provide full disclosure regarding the funding of the 2016 bond and how it would be spent.
Although the district has prevailed in each of the court hearings pertaining to Sutherland’s suit, it has been determined that no work on any of the bond-funded projects will be launched until the matter is finally settled.

That would mean a ruling from the Colorado Supreme Court, which could come later this year.

One of the fastest-growing districts in Colorado, the Poudre School District, which includes Fort Collins, currently has just over 30 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, and nearly a dozen high schools.

By Garry Boulard

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