At its Dec. 15 meeting, the Silver Consolidated Board of Education received a chronological update on the district’s consolidation plan and the operational steps needed to move two campuses and integrate sixth grade into La Plata.

Jody Alexander, who presented the consolidation update, described contracts the district has put in place, an inventory process and an outreach schedule for families affected by new boundaries. Alexander said the district contracted a valuation firm and an asset-inventory firm and that movers are scheduled to work during a July moving window to limit disruption to the school year. She said the district has asked an interested party to fund an update to a recent appraisal and that the updated appraisal was expected the day of the meeting.

Alexander outlined logistical steps already taken: Divid Assets completed a barcode inventory of district items costing more than $1,000; shelving and cafeteria tables are being reassigned to match new building needs; playground upgrades and restroom retrofits are scheduled; and a major roof and HVAC abatement at Harrison is planned over winter break to be finished before movers arrive. "We have a skeleton plan for that, but the finalized plan depends on staffing," Alexander said.

Staff and board members clarified enrollment and transfer timelines. The district will open zone-exemption (out-of-zone) requests and new-student registration on March 1, and returning-student registration will begin on May 1; district staff said families will be notified of approvals after a July rollover. The board emphasized using a timestamped out-of-zone system to preserve fairness and avoid informal promises that are not in the official record.

The board also discussed transportation and vehicle availability for board and district travel during the transition period. Staff said the district will continue to prioritize district vehicles for official travel and to confirm vehicle requests in advance so operations staff can accommodate athletics and other seasonal demands.

Alexander proposed moving a portion of sixth-grade classrooms early (late May or June) to reduce the complexity of the larger July move and to allow teachers time to prepare classrooms over the summer. She said principals will finalize furniture and staffing assignments and that a January 13 planning meeting will address sixth-grade scheduling and the possibility of a "school within a school" model. "We want to get the best equipment from 6th Street and JB to where it needs to be so we can outfit our students and teachers for the best learning possible," Alexander said.

Next steps: the district will finalize staff reassignments, confirm mover schedules and circulate more detailed moving plans once those pieces are locked down; the board will continue to receive updates and has scheduled additional planning meetings in January.