ADAMS COUNTY, Colo.  Adams 12 Five Star Schools which serves all or parts of Broomfield, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Thornton, and Westminster could soon see changes as enrollment continues to drop.Enrollment at the district has dropped by more than 6,000 students over the last decade. This school year, the district saw a decline of more than 1,300 students, the second-largest since 2020.Its a trend all too familiar across the state. Denver7 spoke with Boulder Valley School District officials, who said they started seeing a decline in 2017.Over the last 10 years, we've had about 3,600 fewer students than we had previously. As we project forward for the next five years, we're seeing about a 1,700-student decrease as well, said Randy Barber, the district's chief communications officer.BVSD is exploring possible school consolidations or closures and will hold several community meetings where families can provide feedback.Denver Public Schools has also seen a decline over the years, according to Denver Public Schools Executive Director of Enrollment and Campus Planning Andrew Huber. We saw about a 1,200-student decline from October, said Huber.For Adams 12, they are also no strangers to student decline.Its because of declining birth rates and because housing in places like Colorado has become really expensive, said Chris Gdowski, Adams 12 Five Star Schools superintendent. Gdowski says only about 70% of their elementary schools and 60% of their middle schools are currently being used.We have a lot of underutilized space, and we're going to address that, said Gdowski.Last year, the district cut 150 jobs due to declining enrollment. Its also driving nearly $9 million in budget cuts, which could mean fewer teachers, fewer programs, and changes in class sizes.That's going to continue for us and for everyone in the region if this declining enrollment trend continues, said Gdowski.District leaders emphasize that no final decisions on school consolidations or closures have been made.We're doing a lot of evaluation about possibilities. We're still actively in that process, said Gdowski.An Adams 12 parent wanted to know what an ideal state funding solution would look like and what barriers there are to attracting more families to the district.Denver7 took those questions straight to the superintendent.In terms of declining enrollment, so much of it is caused by demographic changes. There are lots of young people who are choosing not to have children, have fewer children, or are delaying children. That's something that I think goes beyond state policy.Gdowski also added that, on the fiscal side, K-12 in Colorado has been starved for resources for a long time.We're $3.5 billion to $4 billion underfunded a year, said Gdowski.Gdowski said adding more services and supports for public schools could attract more families to public schools.If our legislature can muster the right strategy moving forward, and it's probably going to require us as voters to say yes to some things or invest more in our schools, Gdowski said.Denver7 asked Gdowski what he would tell parents who are concerned that their child's school could be closed or consolidated.I understand the worry, but we're really committed that when kids go to their next school, we're going to have all the resources there and a really welcoming staff and to build a community that makes it an outstanding place and the next best place for their kids to travel on their educational journey, said Gdowski.District leaders say they will continue gathering feedback from families before presenting a final plan this fall.The other thing we're going to do at the end of the month is have a webinar with our community and just share more about what we're thinking, why we're looking at this, and get their feedback about things they want to make sure that we take into account in this process, said Gdowski.Implementation of any potential changes could start as soon as the 2027-2028 school year. ...read more read less