Buoyed by newly arriving immigrant students, Denver Public Schools has about 1,000 more students enrolled this school year than district officials had projected — marking a second year of consecutive gains.

According to a budget report prepared for the board’s work session Thursday, the 84,908 students counted in October marked the highest enrollment numbers in recent years.

The district has been struggling — like many districts across Colorado and the U.S. — with declining enrollment. Some have identified lower birth rates, skyrocketing home costs in Denver and gentrification as the major forces driving student declines.

The issue is not just an abstract issue because enrollment in Colorado is tied to funding.

The district expects to lose $70 million in funding each academic year for at least the next four years, district officials have said.

To stave off further losses, the Board of Education in November unanimously approved Superintendent Alex Marrero’s recommendation to shutter seven schools for a net savings of $6.6 million. While it costs — on average — the district nearly $5 million to operate a school, the majority of the savings are being rolled back into the budget.

The schools set to close at the end of the school year are: Columbian Elementary, Castro Elementary, Schmitt Elementary, International Academy of Denver at Harrington, Palmer Elementary, West Middle School and Denver School of Innovation and Sustainable Design.

Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy, Dora Moore and Denver Center For International Studies at Baker will undergo an administrative restructure.

A group of parents is trying to halt the closures with a lawsuit filed last month in Denver District Court that alleges the district failed to follow its policies, specifically one that requires “Marrero to make truthful and complete disclosures” to the Board of Education.

The lawsuit makes several claims, including that the district used bad enrollment data to justify the closures and maintains school boundaries that ensure the inequitable distribution of resources.

Each year in October, usually on Oct. 1, school districts across the state conduct a student count called the “October Count,” which is used to determine funding. The nearly 85,000 students in October represent the highest level since the 2019-20 school year. District officials attribute the increased enrollment “almost entirely” to newly arriving immigrant students who have enrolled over the past two years.

Immigrant students — many of whom illegally crossed the border — also contributed to the district’s rising enrollment last school year.

This time last year, officials reported a steady increase of immigrant students each week that, temporarily, staved off further enrollment decline. During the October Count in 2023, the district had 83,701 students, a 1.4% year-over-year increase, similar to this year’s.

Staring down district projections showing a pattern of continued enrollment decline, the board of education has closed 10 district-run schools over the past two years and restructured three others.

Birth rates have been declining nationally since 2008, but the Denver metro region had been largely spared because domestic migration to Colorado.

The district’s adopted budget for this school year is $1.45 billion. Spending has come in slightly higher at $2.6 million. With additional revenue from higher-than-projected enrollment, officials were overall hopeful about the financial position, pointing to the roughly $6.8 million that will be added the district’s fund balance.

Director Xóchitl Gaytán asked Thursday whether the savings could be used to settle a contract dispute with the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. The union, which represents roughly 4,200 teachers, has claimed the district owes teachers a full cost-of-living-adjustment, which officials deny.

Having argued the case before an arbiter last month, a non-binding decision is still pending.

Marrero cautioned that the arbitrator could side with the district, making the issue moot. “Hypothetically we can, but at an expense,” Marrero said.

In other news, the board also spent more than 30 minutes airing a complaint against Director John Younquist, whom members described as having inappropriate and unprofessional behavior with staffers while seeking to address his board compensation.

Board members can be compensated up to $33,000 annually.

As a retired educator, Younquist receives a pension from PERA, which limits how many hours retirees can work each year. PERA penalizes retirees who exceed the threshold.

Staff spent 120 hours — or the equivalent of $13,000 — working to reconcile to get Younquist his full pay, Director Michelle Quattlebaum said.

The board discussed the issue in an executive session in December in which Youngquist was excluded.

Younquist responded with a written accusation that the board had violated Colorado’s Open Meeting’s law. Outside counsel sided with the board, according to district officials.

Board members appeared to expect an apology from Younguist. None came, except an admission that the accusation was made in frustration.

While it is rare for board members to air their grievances publicly, they have. Most notably when censoring former Board Vice President Auon’tai M. Anderson after an independent investigation into sexual assault allegations found he had engaged in inappropriate online conversations with underage girls.

On the surface, it appeared that the board had moved past the contentious infighting that has characterized previous boards.