Bradford, Bessemer Academy, and Beulah Heights elementary schools to be closed
By LA CUCARACHA
Pueblo School District 60 Board announced the closure of three Pueblo city schools by a three to two vote for the Right-Serving Plan.
Pueblo D60 board meeting on January 27th, 2026, was the culmination of multiple community meetings, surveys, robocalls, and media outreach.
The board meeting allowed members of the community to make public comments. Comments from Pamela Masciotra, Dean of Students at Bradford Elementary School, spoke against the Right-Serving Plan. Masciotra spoke on behalf of Bradford staff stating, “Bradford is not just a building, it’s a place of belonging for generations of students and families.”
Mike Maes, president of Pueblo Education Association had serious concerns on behalf of the people who make district decisions.
“First, we need honesty about cost savings”, Maes said, “The projected savings must be realistic and publicly transparent. Staffing cannot become the hidden cost of consolidation. Puebloans have been assured multiple times by the administration that there will not be significant staff cuts. We are afraid of decisions made without those on the frontlines at the table.”
According to the D60 website, the district’s goal is to become a destination district with quality learning while addressing underutilized school buildings. The plan is to see that every child has access to learning opportunities, support systems, and school communities, with a focus on student success and neighborhood connections.
The plan includes several school mergers across the city of Pueblo. On Pueblo’s East Side, Bradford will merge into Park View School. In Pueblo’s Bessemer neighborhood, Bessemer Academy will merge into Columbian Elementary. On Pueblo’s South Side, Beulah Heights will merge into Highland Park.
Lastly, on Pueblo’s West Side, Hyde Park (former Cesar Chavez Academy), will be re-opened and converted into a pre-collegiate middle school and housing an online middle school and a neighborhood community center.
Because the buildings will be utilized for the Right-Serving process, the term “closure” is not being used. Before the vote to adopt the plan each board member commented on the adoption.
Board member Dennis Maes stated, “The best predictor of the future is to revisit the past when a need arose to close Freed and Roncalli. The combined efforts by all involved provided for a safe, seamless and welcoming environment. I intend to vote yes on the plan”.
According to Board minutes, Board Member Derion Ibarra stated his decision looked to ‘put students first’ — a bulleted piece on the Board of Education norms. “What I do know is that some of our schools are some of the most important and consistent forms that are in our students’ lives. I see this massive plan and a lot of unforeseen variables that you cannot control. I see very high utilization rates that worries me, just a tad. I feel like with a plan this big can be better feasible through phases,” Ibarra said.
Board Vice-President Thomas Farrell stated, “This recommendation is not simply about consolidation. It reflects an aspiration to become a destination district with anchor community schools and resource hubs, expand full day preschool, stronger stream opportunities, growing our already high-quality online learning, a new pre-collegiate middle school option and strengthen exceptional student services. I want to be transparent that I intend to vote yes.”
Board member Susan L. Pannunzio stated her decision was through the lens of a school teacher who went through a school closure. “There were so many pieces, and it was presented to us as one option, that we needed to take the whole thing or nothing. I’ve been taught that we always want to cut funding as far away from the classroom as we can,” she said.
“It’s tough when we’re talking about closing schools and then we’re going to open another school. That’s very difficult for me to wrap my head around,” said Pannunzio
Board president William Thiebaut Jr. stated in his comments: “There is clear evidence of declining enrollment and continued increasing financial pressure. We know over the last twelve years, our district has lost 4,647 students with the greatest losses being in our traditional elementary grades. I have paid particular attention to the disproportionate impact on students who face lower socioeconomic status, lower income students’ disruption of social stability difficulty adjusting,” said Thiebaut.
He continued, “But you know, our community’s demographics clearly show that Pueblo has a poverty rate among the highest in Colorado. Three quarters of our enrollment are minority students. Seventy-eight to eighty percent of our students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Redirecting any students to different schools runs head on with these facts. Doing nothing and keeping the status quo is not an option for me, nor is phasing in all or portions of the plan.
At the conclusion of board member comments, the vote was taken. The resolution passed by a three to two vote in favor of the Right-Serving plan.