Timberline Elementary will switch to traditional calendar schedule – The Aurora Sentinel
AURORA | The Cherry Creek Schools District Board of Education unanimously approved a major calendar change for a local elementary school during its regularly scheduled meeting Dec. 12.
The board passed an item in its consent agenda to change Timberline Elementary School from a year-round, four-track schedule to a traditional calendar starting next year. Timberline, located at 5500 S. Killarney St. in Centennial, is one of seven elementary schools in the district that follow the year-round schedule. Cherry Creek currently operates 42 elementary schools, including its chartered schools.
According to district spokeswoman Tustin Amole, the scheduling change reflects a slowdown in population growth in the district, a side effect of a slowed state and national economy. Timberline Elementary opened in 1986 and now enrolls more than 600 students.
“When we opened these schools … we were growing at an average rate of about 1,000 students a year,” Amole said. “We are still a growing school district, but not by the numbers we were seeing.”
The four-track system sees different groups, or tracks, of students attending classes every month of the year. Students on different tracks have different schedules and different vacation periods.
“We build those schools with a capacity of 800 kids,” Amole said. “Our traditional calendar schools average about 600, 650 (students). Timberline’s population has stabilized. It’s been the situation all over the metro area. The economic changes meant that fewer people were moving.”
The board also approved new mill levy rates for the coming year as part of a review process mandated by state law. Because of decreases in taxable assessed property values in the district from last year, the property tax for an average home in the district will rise from about $1,269 to $1,312, according to Cherry Creek Chief Financial Officer Guy Bellville.
Specifically, the overall taxable assessed value in the Cherry Creek Schools District dropped from $4.735 billion in 2009 to $4.720 billion in 2010. The dip comes despite a modest gain in the value of taxable assessed residential property in the district; the combined decreases in the value of commercial, industrial, vacant land and other properties are responsible for the overall decrease.
The district has drawn from the successful passage of a bond issue and a mill levy override in 2008 to help stem the impact of millions of dollars worth of budget cuts from the state level. Monday’s meeting was held at Homestead Elementary School in Centennial, a school that benefited from the measures in the form of infrastructure improvements. Officials moved forward with new construction across the district this year thanks to measures approved by voters in 2008, despite more than $17 million in cuts from the state.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2011 at Cottonwood Creek Elementary School, 11200 E. Orchard Ave. in Englewood.
AURORA | The Cherry Creek Schools District Board of Education unanimously approved a major calendar change for a local elementary school during its regularly scheduled meeting Dec. 12.
The board approved an item in its consent agenda that will change Timberline Elementary School from a year-round, four-track schedule to a traditional calendar starting next year. Timberline, located at 5500 S. Killarney St. in Centennial, is one of seven elementary schools in the district that follow the year-round schedule. Cherry Creek currently operates 42 elementary schools, including its chartered schools.
According to district spokeswoman Tustin Amole, the scheduling change reflects a slowdown in population growth in the district, an effect of a slowed state and national economy. Timberline Elementary opened in 1986 and currently enrolls more than 600 students.
“When we opened these schools … we were growing at an average rate of about 1,000 students a year,” Amole said. “We are still a growing school district, but not by the numbers we were seeing.”
The four-track system sees different groups, or tracks, of students attending classes every month of the year. Students on different tracks have different schedules and different vacation periods.
“We build those schools with a capacity of 800 kids,” Amole said. “Our traditional calendar schools average about 600, 650 (students). Timberline’s population has stabilized. It’s been the situation all over the metro area. The economic changes meant that fewer people were moving.”
The board also approved new mill levy rates for the coming year as part of a review process mandated by state law. Because of increases in specific parts of the district’s mill levy for the coming year, the property tax for an average home in the district will rise from about $1,269 to $1,312, according to Cherry Creek Chief Financial Officer Guy Bellville.
The district has drawn from the successful passage of a bond issue and a mill levy override in 2008 to help stem the impact of millions of dollars worth of budget cuts from the state level. Monday’s meeting was held at Homestead Elementary School in Centennial, a school that benefited from the measures in the form of infrastructure improvements. Officials moved forward with new construction across the district this year thanks to measures approved by voters in 2008, despite more than $17 million in cuts from the state.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2011 at Cottonwood Creek Elementary School, 11200 E. Orchard Ave. in Englewood.