Will we be a part of the proposed school complex at Quebec and McArthur Ranch Road?

The new elementary school site will be on a portion of the vacant land at Monarch and Castle Pines Parkway.

CPN residents all enjoy looking at the 23 acres of "open" land at this corner, but as many of you are aware, this land is zoned for commercial development, and many residents have feared that it would end up with some type of high-intensity, 24-hour retail development.

Over the past few years, the Master Association has been working with the owners of this land (an investor group that includes Village Homes) to look for more community-friendly uses for this site.

Now there is a new plan in the works for this site:

• the "buffer zone" immediately adjacent to homes (on the north and west sides of the site) will remain a buffer zone.
• the northeast corner of the site will be used for the school site (with the play fields between the school building and residential areas, to create an additional buffer). The exsisting commercial zoning allows a school, so work can begin on the school right away.
• about 10 to 12 acres on the west side of the parcel will be down-zoned for "manor-style" townhomes. Village Homes will be working with the Master Association as the specifics of this plan are developed.
• the remaining land at the corner of Monarch and the Parkway (about 7 acres) will remain zoned commercial. The owners of the land are seeking "community-friendly" tenants, such as a day care center or low-rise offices.

The next elementary school in Castle Pines North will not be built on the previously approved location on Hidden Pointe Boulevard.

Instead, it will be built on the property known as "CC-20" at the corner of Monarch Boulevard and Castle Pines Parkway.

At its October 16 meeting, the Douglas County School Board approved the change in site and said that architects and contracts have already been signed to build on the new location.

What happened?

There were a number of concerns regarding the Hidden Pointe site. Despite a professional study to the contrary, some regarded it as being too close to the power lines. Terrain and attendant cost issues led the School Board to look for alternatives.

Bill Reimer, the Douglas County Schools District VP of Operations, engaged in talks with a major partner of the CC-20 property, John Osborne of Village Homes, and negotiated a deal wherein the school will be built on the northeast corner of the property, with access off of Monarch Boulevard. Playgrounds and open fields will act as a buffer between the school and nearby homes.

The entire 23 acres of open land at Monarch and Castle Pines Parkway is currently zoned for commercial development. The new plan for this land is to use the northeast corner for the school site, and to re-zone another 10-12 acres on the west side of the property to accommodate manor-style townhomes. The remaining portion (approx. 7 acres) at the corner of Monarch and the Parkway would remain zoned commercial, with the owners seeking "community-friendly" commercial uses. Ideas being discussed include small office buildings and professional daycare sites.

Why not keep the lot undeveloped?

Most in our community enjoy looking at the natural open space that this property now provides. However, it has been zoned commercial for as long as our neighborhood has been in existence. The reality is that something commercial would be built there eventually. The fear has been that a large-scale commercial enterprise (such as an all-night supermarket) would be built in the middle of our neighborhood. With this latest development, that fear can be alleviated.

The previous school site at Hidden Pointe Boulevard will be used for single-family homes. School construction will begin soon, even before the property owners complete their re-zoning. With the current schedule, the new school should be open in the beginning of 2003. Buffalo Ridge Elementary will work with the district regarding the transition of students to the new school.

News flash! The new middle school and high school will open one year sooner than originally planned. There is a new middle/high school complex where Monarch connects to Quebec, at McArthur Ranch Road. While attendance areas are not finalized, CPN is likely to be included.

• The Middle School will open in 2003,
• The High School in 2004.
• CPN's second elementary school is scheduled to open in 2002.

The School District is working with CPN's Master Association and Schools Committee on issues related to site planning. Attendance areas will not be determined until Fall 2001.

To participate on the schools committee, send an email to schools@cpnhoa.org.

The new Elementary school will be located at the northeast corner of Monarch and Hidden Pointe Boulevard, next to CPN's new community park.

The school will open with about 250 students, and initially operate on a Traditional school-year calendar (as more homes are built in CPN, enrollment will eventually reach the point where a year-round calendar will be needed).

For the 2001 school year (beginning this July), Buffalo Ridge will

• have 3 trailers,
• will have an extra "B" track,
• will cancel the Pre-School program due to lack of space.
• The "before and after school" childcare program is losing money and will likely be eliminated for next year.
• They have already cancelled the "intersession" program due to lack of consistent enrollment.

If you have questions or concerns about the elimination of programs at the school, contact the school at:

7075 N. Shoreham Drive
Castle Pines North

Phone: 303-814-4840
Fax: 303-814-4841

Principal: Cheryl Dunkle

The School Bonds that were approved in the November 2000 election included funding for:

A new high school/ middle school complex located where Monarch meets Quebec, at McArthur Ranch Road. The middle school would open in 2003, the high school in 2005. The attendance area will not be set until later but is likely to include CPN.

Two new elementary schools in the general Castle Rock area, which includes the rapidly growing areas of CPN, Meadows, and Founders. All of these areas will need a new elementary school ... The School Board will choose one site to be funded now (for opening in 2002), and one which would open in 2003 or 2004. The other sites would need to wait until other funds are available.

The school district's staff and Long Range Planning Committee have analyzed enrollment trends and projections and have RECOMMENDED that CPN's second elementary school be built first!

• The school would open in 2002.
• Attendance-area boundaries have NOT been set.
• Initially, the new school would have a "traditional" school-year calendar.

This is a RECOMMENDATION only! The School Board has the final say. They will vote on this on March 20. We ask CPN residents to contact the Board in support of our new school!

The plans for CPN have always included a site for a second elementary school. The developers have dedicated the site, and community members have been actively working with the school district to assure that the school is built when the growth in the area warrants it. We have now reached the point where the second school is needed.

We know that most CPN parents have concerns about "splitting up" the Buffalo Ridge attendance area. Those of us who have been working to get this school approved know this issue first-hand. But the reality is that enrollment at Buffalo Ridge is growing so fast that some sort of "split" is going to be required. Our choices are 1) building the second elementary school in CPN, or 2) large class sizes, and busing some CPN kids to school in another neighborhood.

As CPN parents already know, Buffalo Ridge Elementary is bursting at the seams. Buffalo Ridge has one trailer this year, and will have three next year. The preschool program has been abolished for next year due to lack of space. There are currently about 745 students, and enrollment for next year will push the school well over 800. The school district estimates that Buffalo Ridge would exceed 1,000 students by 2004. We believe that projection is low, since the number of homes in CPN will double (we have over 1,600 homes now, and within the next few years will have over 3,200).

One common question: why not just change attendance areas to shift the students that are not from "Castle Pines North"? The numbers don't support this solution. It would give a brief respite to the overcrowding, but students from new CPN homes would quickly overwhelm Buffalo Ridge again. We would have missed the window of opportunity to get the new school funded, and would face the unpleasant prospect of busing CPN students to other schools.

The District's COO (Bill Reimer) and the School Board member for the CPN District (Jim McCormick) attended the meeting. Both assured all in attendance that the School Board is very likely to approve the new CPN elementary school - that the School Board has historically respected the recommendation of the Long Range Planning Committee which has a good recommendation for "doing their homework" before making a recommendation.

Reimer emphasized that boundaries for the new school HAVE NOT BEEN MADE OR EVEN DISCUSSED. Any rumors that you may be hearing about boundary decisions are just that ... rumors and speculation. The Long Range Planning Committee will deal with that in Fall 2001. They have a public participation process. We'll also have some community efforts to look at current and future enrollment expectations for each of our neighborhoods to see what makes sense for us, so we can make recommendations to the LRPC. If you'd like to participate, send an email to schools@cpnhoa.org, or call (303) 265-9306.

(Excerpted from the Buffalo Ridge Site Council meeting, Tuesday March 13, at 4:00 p.m. at the school meeting notes)

Once again, progress has required significant efforts by CPN residents.

CPN residents gave overwhelming support to the school bonds in the November election, with a much higher approval percentage than other areas of the county.

The next challenge was getting funding for the elementary school. There were several other areas that also need a new school, and not enough bond funds to go around. I was able to pull together real numbers of current and future homes, we were able to calculate the ratio of the number of BRE students by neighborhood (current and future), and several members of our "Schools Action Committee" were able to produce actual counts of kids in each neighborhood to help predict future enrollment. These numbers led the District to revise their attendance projections for our area, and our need for immediate construction became very clear. We also had very effective lobbying from Laura Kennedy, an active resident of Charter Oaks and the President of the Buffalo Ridge PTO.

CPN residents will need to continue to work through the next stages ... making sure the School Board gives approval to this plan, and working with the District on the transition issues. If you'd like to join the CPN Schools Action Committee, send an email to schools@cpnhoa.org, or call (303) 265-9306.

We now need CPN residents to contact the School Board to support the recommendations. We've put a lot of effort into getting this far, and want to make sure we make it all the way through to approval of the funds.

How can you help?

Attend the School Board meeting to show your support. Tuesday, March 20, 7:00 p.m., Douglas County School Board, School District building, 620 N. Wilcox Street.

Send letters to the School Board prior to the March 20 meeting:

Letters should be addressed to: Ken Buckius, President Douglas County School Board 620 N. Wilcox Street Castle Rock, CO. 80104 (Send a cc to: Bill Reimer, Chief Operating Officer Douglas County School District same address).

Here are some ideas for topics to cover in your letters or comments to the School Board. Use your own language (we don't want people to send form letters that will get ignored) and add other items that you think are important:

Encouragement to approve the recommendation of the Long Range Planning Committee for elementary school #35 to be built in CPN at the Hidden Pointe site. New elementary school is needed in CPN to maintain the District's high education standards in a rapidly-growing area.

Desire for both elementary schools serving CPN (Buffalo Ridge and the new #35 school) to feed into the same middle/high schools.

CPN community has worked hard to obtain these schools, by working with developers to get the elementary school site dedicated to the District, and through a strong turnout at the polls to support the school bonds.

Community will work with the District to assure the smoothest transition.

Appreciation to the volunteers on the District's Long Range Planning Committee for their time and work on this issue.

School District plans call for another elementary school to be built in the CPN area, at Monarch Blvd and Hidden Pointe Drive. Construction dates have not been set.

The CPN Master Association has been working with the School District to plan out future park and recreation facilities for the community adjacent to the new school site. Tell me more about our parks and open spaces

Another Elementary School is being requested closer to Castle Pines Village. Contrary to the expectations from the early days of this development, the demographics of the Village include a large number of families with young children. Residents of the Village would very much like to see a school that is closer to home and this could help alleviate future overcrowding at Buffalo Ridge.

As a condition of approval of opening a new section of Castle Pines Village for development (CPV filings 27 and 28), the County is requiring that the developer dedicate a site for a new elementary school.

A specific location has not been determined. A public school cannot be located within the boundaries of Castle Pines Village because it is a private, gated community. The developer is therefore negotiating with adjacent property owners for a site suitable for a school.

The School District would still need to include this school in its long-term plans and budgets.

The School District has selected a site for a new Middle School and High School complex near Quebec and McArthur Ranch Road. CPN residents would have access to this location via the new Monarch Blvd. Attendance areas for this school are not set but it is possible that CPN could be included. No construction dates are set.

A new Elementary School will open in The Meadows, near Butterfield park. This school will serve The Meadows and will not affect the Buffalo Ridge attendance area.

The new Montessori School opened in our community at 7075 N. Shoreham Drive. This is not a new school but rather a new location for an existing charter school. Douglas County Montessori Charter School had operated on two campuses but consolidates into this single facility in Castle Pines North. Its core philosophy is Montessori.

This school accepts children from preschool (age 3) through 6th grade. Students are selected by lottery. For more information, contact Donna Mitchel at 303-471-1800.

Phone (Littleton): 303-471-1800 or phone (Castle Rock): 303-663-2707

Director: Susan Wilkerson