Westminster Window

The former Moore Middle School at 8455 W. 88th Ave. In May 2025, a Westminster resident wrote to the city's planning office about the closed elementary school a block or two from home. "Is it a possibility that the city of Westminster can buy it as they've done with several other schools in the area and converted it into a park?" The city didn't buy that school. But on Tuesday, it announced it wants to buy the school a third of a mile away.

The main entrance of Westminster High School. (Image from Google Street View, edited for clarity.) Westminster Public Schools would like to collect an additional $2 million a year in property taxes. The owner of a typical district home would pay about $52 a year. The school board decides Aug. 26 whether to ask voters to approve the measure in November. The draft ballot language opens with five words in capital letters: “WITHOUT IMPOSING A NEW TAX”. The measure wouldn't create a new tax.

The greenhouse on the Westminster High campus will remain open in spite of cuts to the school’s horticulture pathway. Westminster Public Schools will eliminate three International Baccalaureate courses at Westminster High School next year, along with a horticulture pathway that serves about 21 students and the school's animal science program.

Westminster Academy for International Studies in Westminster, Colo. The Westminster Public Schools Board of Education voted 4-0 Tuesday to formally adopt its school consolidation plan, converting more than a year of community deliberation into binding policy. The vote makes official a phased restructuring that will close two campuses, move programs to new buildings and eliminate middle school grades at five schools through 2030.

Westminster Public Schools has blocked ChatGPT on school networks, joining Jeffco and Denver in directing students to Google Gemini instead. If your kid has tried to use ChatGPT at school lately, they may have hit a wall. Westminster Public Schools blocked the popular AI tool on district networks last month, joining Jeffco and Denver in restricting student access.

Westminster Public Schools will close two school buildings and create a unified PK-8 campus opening in 2028, district officials announced Nov. 4. The $40 million project, approved by voters in 2024, will combine John E. Flynn A Marzano Academy with Shaw Heights Middle School on a single campus. The district plans to reconstruct the Flynn building starting in 2026, adding high-tech classrooms, a regulation-size gymnasium and an outdoor learning complex.

Starting immediately, Jefferson County Public Schools juniors and seniors who maintain a 3.0 weighted GPA or higher are guaranteed admission to the University of Colorado Denver, with no application stress, no waiting for acceptance letters and no admission fees. The landmark agreement, signed Wednesday at Lakewood High School, creates what Jeffco officials are calling "CU Denver Direct," opening college doors for students in the Class of 2026 and beyond.

Westminster's current school board will serve together through 2027 after Dan Orecchio and Aaron Martin secured second terms without opposition. No other candidates filed to run, allowing the district to cancel this November's election as permitted by Colorado law. But that continuity comes as Westminster faces significant academic challenges.

David Maki's eyes light up when he talks about the kid who poked his head out from behind the bushes at a Westminster park one summer, nervous but hungry. "He says, you know, Mister, can I get something to eat? How much is it?" said Maki, Chartwells' director of culinary services for Westminster Public Schools. "It's free.