Lafayette City Council pushes back on BVSD's plan

City of Lafayette · September 19, 2026

The letter the council sent.

Esta carta también está en español.

Dear President Rajpal and members of the Boulder Valley School District Board of Education,

Over the past several weeks, the Lafayette City Council has heard from residents whose children attend Douglass Elementary and who have expressed concerns about the potential closure of their school. A common theme in that feedback has been concern about the process used to evaluate potential school closures and whether all relevant information about Lafayette students and future enrollment has been fully considered given the City of Lafayette was left out of the process.

The City recognizes that decisions regarding school facilities and enrollment are within the District's authority and appreciates the difficult considerations involved in evaluating the future of its schools. We also recognize that the District is balancing many competing needs, perspectives, and constraints as it works through this process.

At the same time, many of Douglass's students live in Lafayette. Portions of the Douglass attendance zone fall within the City's boundaries, and additional Lafayette students attend Douglass through open enrollment.

Given the number of Lafayette students served by Douglass, the Council believes it may be helpful to further consider Lafayette's boundaries, planned growth, and potential future enrollment as part of the closure evaluation.

For that reason, and in response to the concerns we have heard from residents, the Council respectfully asks the Board to consider whether the Board has a sufficient record of engagement and information to include Douglass Elementary in the Resilient Schools Proposal September 22 vote.

We are not asking the District to reach a particular outcome, but rather to ensure that the evaluation process includes the information and perspectives relevant to the Lafayette students and families who would be directly affected.

Respectfully Submitted,

Saul Tapia VegaMayor
Tim BarnesMayor Pro Tem
Kyle BeaulieuCouncilor
David FridlandCouncilor
Crystal GallegosCouncilor
Adam GianolaCouncilor
Annmarie JensenCouncilor

What happened

Lafayette looked at the plan and found it wasn't built for Lafayette.

Watch the video ↓

Nobody from BVSD brought the plan to Lafayette's City Council. District families did, filling the chamber on September 15. The council took up a plan that wasn't on its agenda and, in fifteen minutes, found what families across the district have been saying: it counts Lafayette's children in its enrollment numbers, but no one asked Lafayette families, no one modeled Lafayette's boundaries, and no one asked the city about the homes it is planning.

Councilor after councilor named the same problem. Without a single objection, they agreed to write to BVSD and ask it to go back and do that work before it decides.

“This is entirely BVSD's decision, but just tremendous appreciation for all of the parents and family members who came out this evening. I'm agnostic on the substance because I want to learn more about it, but it does seem to me it's very clear there was a process foul here. So I would be interested in whether us sending a letter to BVSD is an option. I think these folks certainly deserve a response and some action from us.”
Councilor Kyle Beaulieu 1:33:19

“There was a list of criteria and a list of schools that met that criteria that were being considered for closure, and there was a process for the school district to meet with those schools and the parents and the families. Because Douglass didn't meet those criteria, they didn't do the kind of outreach that they were doing with other schools, or listen to the parents. They also did not gather data on the impact on Lafayette, because they weren't doing Lafayette schools. I think there are a lot of procedural problems in how they handled this.”
Councilor Annmarie Jensen 1:34:31

“Here we are hearing that Lafayette schools were actually impacted. It turns out we weren't briefed as the Lafayette City Council. So I don't think it would be out of place for us to ask BVSD to slow down. They're giving our residents short shrift.”
Councilor Adam Gianola 1:36:43

“I do think closing Douglass could potentially in the future also have implication for our Lafayette schools. Lafayette Elementary, I believe 39 open-enrolled out of Lafayette Elementary. If those students were to come back to Lafayette Elementary, it could have a pretty big impact on class sizes. I do think a conversation with the school board would be beneficial, especially with a plan for monitoring our Lafayette schools' class sizes in the future.”
Councilor Crystal Gallegos 1:38:36

“All we can do is advocate on behalf of the residents of the city of Lafayette. I hear process and procedural problems, and I think that would be the vein that I would like this letter to go.”
Mayor Saul Tapia Vega 1:41:08

“Because the district counted these students in assessing Douglass's enrollment while treating Lafayette as outside the scope of the study, Lafayette families had no structured engagement, Lafayette boundaries were not modeled, and the city was not consulted about planned growth that bears on future enrollment. We believe a boundary analysis that includes Lafayette may offer an alternative to closure. We would welcome the opportunity to connect district staff with the city's planning staff.”
The draft letter, read into the record by Councilor Jensen 1:43:49

“I did hear from one of the phone calls that I made that the reason that we weren't in that is because technically it doesn't fall within the city limits of Lafayette. I don't know that to be true, I just heard that. That's a choice. Again, procedural questions, process problems.”
Mayor Saul Tapia Vega 1:45:32

“Is there any councilor that would like to lead this? Councilor Jensen, I see your hand up. Fantastic. Is all of Council okay with moving forward with Councilor Jensen? Fantastic.”
Mayor Saul Tapia Vega 1:46:46

The full 15-minute discussion.

Full meeting on YouTube (from 1:31:55)

Why it matters

The families were right, and now a city says so.

It confirms what families have been saying for three weeks. Families across the district told BVSD on Sept 8 that the district abandoned the early-warning process its own advisory committee built and gave them 25 days. Lafayette's council reached the same conclusion from the other side of the table. The mayor was told Lafayette was skipped because of a technicality about city limits. Counting a community's children while leaving the community out of the study is the pattern, not an accident.

It exposes a hole in the “regional approach.” On Sept 15 the superintendent said the regional approach “was very much front and center” in the district's engagement. A city of 30,000 had no seat in it. If the plan missed Lafayette, ask what else it missed.

It asks for exactly what families are asking for. Not “never close a school.” The analysis first, the affected communities in the room, and the decision after. That is the difference between a complete plan and the current one.

Where it stands

Analysis first. Communities in the room. Then decide.

BVSD approved the plan 5–2 on September 22. Parents have taken the process to court.

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