As recommended by Superintendent Charlotte Macaluso on March 28 and again on Tuesday, Heroes K-8 Academy will close at the end of the current school year.

But Minnequa Elementary School, which also had been recommended for closure by the superintendent, will remain open.

In a well-attended special meeting Tuesday, the Pueblo City Schools (D60) board of education unanimously voted to support Macaluso's recommendation that Heroes elementary and middle school be shuttered by summer. It will be the first D60 closure since 2012, when Hellbeck, Somerlid and Spann elementary schools were shut down.

Macaluso, however, did not recommend Minnequa for closure this time around, leaving the board to vote only on the Heroes' recommendation.

The decision to close Heroes was centered around district policy, which cites factors such as enrollment percentage and building capacity, performance and academic success, and facility condition as significant.

In addition to millions of dollars in needed repairs and upgrades, and falling enrollment, Heroes Middle School is on the eighth and final year of the state's performance-based accountability clock. It's that fact that moved the state board of education to mandate that Heroes Middle School, along with Risley International Academy of Innovation, come under external management in the fall.

In a statement, the district said Tuesday's vote "will not impact current day-to-day operations (of Heroes) throughout the remainder of the school year and additional information concerning the transition plan will be forthcoming.

"Pueblo City Schools is working diligently to implement a transition plan for Heroes K-8. Within the transition plan will be necessary information concerning new boundaries, transportation, student support services, and a weighted choice application process."

In an address before the board's vote, Macaluso said she visited both Heroes and Minnequa and met with staff — whom she called "deeply caring and dedicated" — before arriving at a final recommendation.

Tuesday's action, which followed a 45-minute closed-door executive session, comes on the heels of a pair of public hearings at Heroes and Minnequa that allowed for community input on the proposed closures.

In contrast to the event at Heroes, which attracted but a handful of commenters, Minnequa's forum saw more than 30 stakeholders lobby the board to keep the school open.

That outpouring of impassioned advocacy was acknowledged by Macaluso Tuesday.

"We experienced an outcry of support from the community, who spoke of a caring and dedicated staff; a nurturing, positive school climate and culture; and most of all, we heard a common theme of words: family, community, and probably the most important word, love."

The superintendent, though, offered a reminder that while Minnequa moved out of the turnaround framework, it is in year six of the always-ticking accountability clock. Noting that "time is of the essence," she implored staff and supporters "to continue to leverage the various supports the district has provided, including the resources and flexibility provided through the Innovation status."

She also said that a literacy grant received by the school should "serve to spark the rapid achievement and improvement needed to remove themselves off the accountability clock. It will require the same level of fervor, passion and support from community and staff we witnessed during the rally to save their school."

Macaluso also took a moment to address those who accuse the board of arriving at a meeting with a decision already in hand, as well as those who spread misinformation.

She called it a "fallacy" to believe "that decisions from this board are predetermined, or decided behind closed doors, and that this board engages in processes merely to go through the motions. I can assure that whether it's a decision regarding school closure or master facility plan options: No decisions have been predetermined."

She then called on the community to come together in a spirit of collaboration in support of education and a potential bond issue in November.

Minnequa educator Shannan Lane, one of the stakeholders who passionately advocated for her school's continued operation during the public hearing, was obviously pleased with the outcome Tuesday.

"I don't know if it was a surprise," she said following the special meeting. "We came in hoping for the best and it sounds like the board really took into consideration a lot of what our families spoke about. And I think that Charlotte coming to our school and visiting with our teachers, seeing that we don't need to act right now on Minnequa — that there's no urgent reason to move in that direction — played a role in the decision."

Lane acknowledged, though, that "we've got a lot of work to do. We're going on year six (of the accountability clock) and we're in the middle of state testing right now. So there couldn't have been a worse time for this. Obviously, our kids have been up and down with their emotions, but we're just trying to be as professional as we can with them and keep them on task."

jpompia@chieftain.com

Twitter: @jpompia