The question of whether or not to close an elementary school in the Littleton Public Schools district has stirred emotions in many, particularly parents.

At public forums hosted by the school board, parents came out en masse, many wearing homemade shirts and baseball caps touting their school of choice.

An online petition has started in support of Ames Elementary School — near Dry Creek Road and Colorado Boulevard — with more than 275 signatures.

And many parents have joined the LPS District Parent Coalition. A flier distributed at one of the public forums describes the group as LPS parents and community members committed to advocating for students and parents and improving bi-directional communication between the community and the district. However, they do not favor the closing of one school over another.

The discussion to close a school first began in November 2007, when the school board commissioned a Facility Use Task Force to study the issue of declining enrollment and how school buildings are being used.

The task force — a 19-person committee made up of parents, community members, teachers, classified staff and principals, district liaisons and an outside consultant — has met 19 times since February to study the issue. Final recommendations were presented to the school board Oct. 23. On Nov. 6 the discussion was narrowed to two options: close Ames Elementary or close Whitman Elementary.

Throughout the process, school board members and LPS staff have stressed their intent on making a decision that will have the least negative impact on parents, students and teachers. Looking at the faces of board members during their many public forums, it is certainly not a decision any of them seem excited to make.

However, with enrollment falling from 15,657 in 1997 to 12,764 by August 2007, and data showing these trends continuing, it has arguably become an unavoidable decision.

Enrollment data is the main reason Ames and Whitman have been singled out.

“The board really stressed that this decisions is based on data, which shows that [the current] pattern of enrollment is likely to continue at Ames and Whitman,” said Diane Leiker, director of communications for LPS.

“Both have the lowest enrollment, and their numbers indicate for the coming years that those trends are going to continue.”

One factor to consider within that data is school choice. Like many districts across the state, LPS allows students living outside of the district to attend an LPS school — a number that totals about 2,000.

Students residing within the district that want to attend a school outside of their neighborhood are also given the option, accounting for 1,272 elementary-aged students as of Dec. 4, 2007.

When making this decision, several parents have chosen Ames and Whitman, including Corrine Evege. When it came time to send her son Anthony to kindergarten she and her husband did their homework.

“In addition to ‘turning down’ Lenski, we looked at two Cherry Creek Schools, as well as several private schools in the area, including passing up admission to The Rick’s Center at DU for a total of 15 schools we considered before enrolling at Ames,” Evege said. “This is how strongly we feel about the unique and positive environment {Principal] Nancy Klinedinst and her team at Ames are creating. This truly is an amazing school we hope to keep Anthony at through fifth grade.”

Christine Oury also looked at multiple schools for her kindergartner and fourth-grader. In the end, she stuck with Ames, the school across the street from her home.

One of Oury’s main concerns is that the alternative to Ames will be an overcrowded school.

“An overcrowded neighborhood school, is that really going to help Littleton Public Schools? Adding hundreds of kids to a school is going to have an impact, no doubt about it, and the quality of my kids’ education will go down,” she said.

Oury is also concerned about how the closing of a school like Ames would affect the surrounding neighborhood.

“The problem is, I am sure that the community and people who don’t necessarily have kids at the school, they don’t know this is going on, and it will affect everyone,” she said. “Property values is a big thing, but it’s more than that.”

Leiker said the district is taking such issues into account, as well as the impact of school choice — several parents have said at public forums that if their school is closed they will send their kids outside of the district.

But many parents don’t feel like they are being heard.

While a decision is scheduled for Nov. 13, Oury and others at Ames are taking matters into their own hands.

“We’re putting together our own task force,” Oury said. “We’re going to do some grassroots canvassing. It’s amazing just this morning the mobilization and everything the parents have done.”

How to respond?

Laurie Elliott, director of clinical services at Arapahoe/Douglas Mental Health Network, said the response to this issue will determine much of the impact on students.

“Whether or not a change in our life is good, it will add stress to our life,” Elliott said. “Most of the time we think of stress as something negative. It doesn’t have to be negative, because it can be a motivator.”

Elliott said parents should be careful what they say to their children about the issue.

“We don’t want to talk about how doom and gloom it’s going to be in front of our kids,” she said. “At the same time, we don’t want to minimize that it truly is a stress for them.”

Initially, Elliott said to expect some sadness about the change. They might even get “sick” the first day of school, or act out the week before the new school year starts.

Some of this discomfort can be reduced by taking kids to the new school to meet teachers and see the new surroundings. For some, multiple trips may be needed to make students feel comfortable.

After the switch is made Elliott said to regularly ask kids how they are doing, to get them talking.

“Give them opportunities to voice what they’re thinking about,” she said. “If they’re totally upset about it let’s listen to them, if they think it’s great let’s encourage them.”

The district is already preparing to help with the shift, with a transition team researching the best ways to help students, parents and teachers through the process.

While personnel decisions aren’t made until the budgeting season in January and February, the district has already said they will try to keep as many teachers with their current student populations as possible, and look for other positions in the district when this can’t be accomplished.

“It’s probably the most important decision a board can make,” Leiker said.

It will be made at 6:30 p.m. during the Nov. 13 board meeting in the LPS administration building, 5776 S. Crocker St.