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Denman Families and Teachers Urge Board to Block Leadership High Colocation
Summary
Multiple Denman Middle School parents, students and teachers told the board that colocating Leadership High School in Denman’s building would harm middle-school stability, reduce enrollment and compromise student safety; they urged a moratorium and fuller community process.
A wave of Denman Middle School parents, students and staff used the board’s public-comment period to press elected officials to halt a proposal to colocate Leadership High School on the Denman campus.
Pamela Pullen, a Denman PTA representative, said middle-school students "need stability" and urged the board to consider developmental impacts. Michael Fox, a 17-year Denman science teacher, said the move would likely erode enrollment and undercut programs he and colleagues built over years: "When you put a high school into a middle school building...I think that's the end of James Denman Middle School as we know it," he said.
Other speakers, including parent Robert Chang, teacher-librarian Daniel Hollander and parent Craig Wong, said the district failed to engage the community and that the process felt unilateral. Students who spoke expressed fears about space loss and peer pressure if older high-school students occupy a floor of Denman.
Board leadership acknowledged the extensive comment period, clarified that the item was not on the meeting agenda, and said the comments would be "taken under advisement". Several speakers invoked Proposition 39 — the state law governing facility sharing — asking the district to consider alternative nearby sites and to follow a more transparent process.
Next steps: speakers asked the board to delay any action and to engage in a thorough, public review of siting alternatives before finalizing any colocation plan.
