Harrington Town Hall #1: More Details, More Questions
Reminder: Independent parent group — not affiliated with or endorsed by FASD.
TL;DR
FASD held its first Harrington town hall after the May 27 Board vote.
Harrington still appears to be a major operational upgrade for students, teachers, and staff.
The town hall clarified that Harrington is not “free.” FASD expects to pay a DPS facility use fee of roughly $1,200 per student.
FASD will share a portion of the building with two arts nonprofits.
The Facility Use Agreement is expected in the next couple of weeks, but has not yet been shared.
An official school FAQ and question form are expected soon.
Parent Recap (What We Learned)
The first Harrington town hall answered several practical questions and clarified a few important details that were not obvious from the Board meeting.
Harrington still sounds like a major facilities upgrade.
The building was described as spacious, clean, updated, air-conditioned, and much better suited to elementary-school use than the current St. Ignatius facility. Families heard about more classrooms, a gym, a cafeteria, a kitchen, playground space, a safer carpool lane, and better student support spaces.“No rent” does not mean “no facility cost.”
The school clarified that FASD expects to pay a DPS facility use fee of roughly $1,200 per student. At a projected enrollment of about 240 students, that gets close to $300,000 per year before any additional details or rounding. The school explained that this fee includes building-related services such as utilities, maintenance, janitorial, and facilities support.
That is still likely a better deal than the current facility. But it is not the same as a free building.
The school is projecting about 240 students next year.
FASD reportedly has about 225 students this year and is budgeting around 240 for next year (240 is what we budgeted for this year, for what it’s worth). The school is not planning a major enrollment expansion for 2026–27, though longer-term growth remains possible.The immediate staffing focus is support, not rapid growth.
The school expects to add two teaching assistants next year — one French-speaking and one English-speaking — to better support the current student population.FASD will share part of Harrington with two arts nonprofits.
This was a new and important detail. The school explained that the nonprofits would use a small portion of the building, with a separate entrance and physical separation inside the building. This may be workable and could even create partnership opportunities, but families will need more detail about access, safety, shared spaces, schedules, and building management.Middle school is not coming back immediately.
School leaders said bringing grades 6–8 back under one roof is not necessarily “off the table,” but they also emphasized the benefits of the Denver Language School pathway. DLS has space for two French classes per grade, and the school appears to remain committed to that partnership for now.Busing is not expected in the near term.
The school said busing would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Satellite busing could be considered in the future, but it does not sound like a near-term plan.Tours are likely, but probably not right away.
The school hopes to offer families an opportunity to see the building before the school year starts, but likely not until at least July.Volunteers will be needed soon.
The school expects to ask families for help with boxes, packing, and possibly moving items that are awkward or inefficient for movers to handle. A more organized volunteer plan should be coming. If you want to see the new facility, volunteering is your best bet.
The “Since You’re Here…” Section
Unofficial reflections — offered in good faith (and with a grain of salt)
I want to be explicit: the section above is my attempt to keep things factual and balanced. This section is my personal perspective.
The town hall made the Harrington move feel more real. It also made the story more complicated.
The good news is still good. Harrington appears to solve real problems for FASD: space, safety, air conditioning, maintenance burden, playground limitations, and room for better student supports. That matters. Students and teachers deserve a building that helps the school function well.
But the town hall also clarified that this is not quite the simple “DPS building means no rent and huge savings” story some families may have understood. The school may not be paying traditional rent, but it will pay a meaningful per-pupil facility use fee. That may be perfectly appropriate under the DPS Facility Use Agreement structure, but families deserve to understand the economics clearly. Hopefully the FY27 budget that the Board approved last night will be posted to the school’s Financial Transparency page soon.
The co-location detail also matters. Sharing a large building with arts nonprofits may be fine. It may even be a benefit. But it is material information, and families should know exactly how it will work.
And the St. Ignatius exit deserves a little more clarity. The Board voted to non-appropriate funds for the current lease, which school leaders described as the lease mechanism for leaving St. Ignatius. That may be exactly right. But families should still understand whether any penalties, repair obligations, security deposit impacts, final utility costs, or other exit costs remain.
Here are the questions I’m still watching:
What exactly is included in the DPS facility use fee?
Does the fee change with enrollment, inflation, or future DPS policy?
What is the true before-and-after facilities cost comparison once MLO 2020 funding and one-time move costs are separated out?
Who are the arts nonprofits sharing the building, and what spaces will they use?
Will students and outside users ever share common areas?
How will entry, security, background checks, and scheduling work?
What obligations remain under the St. Ignatius lease?
When will the Facility Use Agreement be signed and shared?
When will families be able to tour Harrington?
What is the actual move timeline?
None of this means Harrington is a bad move. From what we know so far, it still looks like a strong move.
It just means the next step should be transparency.
The school should publish the Facility Use Agreement when available, explain the cost bridge in plain English, clarify who else will use the building, and show families how the move will be managed safely and responsibly.
Harrington may be a major win.
Now we need the details.
~ Greg
PS: Parent input still matters
One lesson from the Harrington announcement is that big things can happen before families have much opportunity to weigh in. With FASD’s strategic plan refresh on the horizon, parents still have an important chance to share what they think the school’s priorities should be — academics, communication, governance, culture, facilities, fundraising, and more.
Please take the independent parent survey here: [Independent Parent Survey]
