Colorado Timberline Academy will close for the 2026-27 school year and may not reopen.
In an April letter to families, the academy’s board of directors said the closure is because of budget struggles and low enrollment.
“Despite our best efforts to find alternative revenue streams, streamline administrative operations and secure philanthropic support, we could not bridge the gap between our operating costs and our revenue,” the letter read. “Continued operation would have resulted in financial insolvency, jeopardizing our ability to fulfill our obligations to current students and staff.”
The letter described the focus now being on a “respectful and orderly transition” and ensuring all records, transcripts and diplomas are secure after the closure.
The board expressed hope that the academy may be able to reopen at a later date.
“While the school will not operate for the upcoming academic year, we remain hopeful about the future of Colorado Timberline Academy,” the letter read. “The mission and spirit that have guided the school for 50 years continue to matter deeply to many people, and there is a shared desire to explore what the next chapter might one day look like.”
The board acknowledged that Timberline Academy “holds a special place in the hearts of many.”
The academy, a co-ed college preparatory boarding and day school, was established in 1975. It has often served students who struggle in conventional school settings.
The academy has operated out of the historic Pinkerton Hot Springs site at 35554 U.S. Highway 550 since 1978.
As of early May, the academy’s website listed more than a dozen staff members employed at the academy, including eight teachers, at least one cook, a maintenance person, a “dorm mom” and “dorm dad,” and three administrative roles, including an office manager/bookkeeper and an assistant director and director.
Timberline Academy Director Dreher Robertson, who has held the position since 2024, accepted a role as the Animas High School head of school in February, and will officially begin his tenure July 1.
Robertson did not respond to a request for comment Sunday.
CTA parents, families and former students expressed a mix of sadness and understanding in the comments section of a Facebook post announcing the closure.
“CTA saved my son’s life…I am so grateful and sorry to hear this news and also understand,” Kim Bateman, a former Timberline Academy parent, commented.
“Only reason I finished high school was because of this amazing place, teachers, staff … I hope this just a for a year,” wrote Zac Scheuerman, a former student.
“(W)e had planned to send our granddaughter to CTA in three years. I really wanted her to experience what I had experienced,” wrote Rebecca Woods Stewart-Ary, a student from 1979 to 1981.
Colorado Timberline Academy is not the only educational institution experiencing budget and enrollment issues.
The Durango School District and the Bayfield School District have both decreased staff numbers significantly and adjusted or cut programming in recent months as a result of funding constraints and enrollment declines.
Reader Comments