By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
Ascent Classical Academy seemed to have the community support, the resources and the experience to launch another successful charter school in Colorado.
Parents in Durango seemed to want the option. More than 600 families signed letters of intent, but the Durango School Board said no in 2022.
This wasn’t a decision based on academic concerns, some say. The school board, backed by a mobilized teachers’ union, rejected Ascent on ideological grounds, blocking an alternative educational model that didn’t align with its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) priorities.
The Durango school board rejected Ascent twice, despite the Colorado State Board of Education’s original ruling in the charter school’s favor. The official reasons for the Durango school board’s denial cited procedural issues and a supposed failure to align with the district’s equity policies. But those close to the process say the real issue was political.
Kim Gilmartin, who led the charge for the Ascent charter application and advocates for charter schools, called out the board’s alleged bias.
“The board members would make comments throughout the interview, stating that this classical charter school was going to discriminate against LGBTQ, people of color and minorities,” she said. “These are unfounded accusations that are absolutely not true.”
The board took issue with Ascent’s curriculum, Gilmartin says, which follows a classical education model that emphasizes phonics-based literacy, Singapore math and American civics.
“They talked about Hillsdale and even Jan. 6th, because it’s in Imprimis, a Hillsdale publication,” she said. “They went off the deep end during the denial.”
The rejection came even though the school had a strong track record. Classical charter schools operate successfully across Colorado, including other Ascent campuses. The difference? Those weren’t proposed in a district where a progressive school board had other priorities.
The teachers’ union played an active role in the campaign against Ascent’s approval. Leaked emails show union leadership encouraged staff to oppose the school, not because of educational concerns, but because of money.
“Please note that if Ascent gets approved, it is anticipated to cause a further decrease in enrollment across our district,” the email stated. “For those of you who don’t know, less students = less $$.”
The email urged district staff to flood public meetings and pressure the board to reject the charter.
Despite Durango 9-R’s declining enrollment — now hovering at 5,595 students — school board members failed to consider how the charter school would have resulted in students returning to the district: “Of the 600 letters of intent, almost 65% of them were coming from homeschool or private school. So, we were going to bring students back into 9R,” Gilmartin said. “They knew that and didn’t care.”
Gilmartin points to similar enrollment losses in Jeffco and other districts, attributing the trend not to a declining birth rate but to families rejecting an education system that no longer reflects their values.
“They’re losing students, just like Jeffco has,” she said. “It’s not because of the declining birth rate — it’s because they’re [biased]. Parents are sick of it.”
Parents who supported Ascent never got the same level of consideration as the teachers’ union or advocates who want LGBTQ+ and BLM flags displayed in Durango schools. The board continues to place more value on DEI-focused student advocacy than on parent-driven school choice.
Corey DeAngelis, a national advocate for school choice, claimed: “The government school monopoly is terrified of competition,” in a Tweet he wrote, exposing the union’s attempt to frame financial self-interest as a community concern.
“They specifically claimed that we were a religious school, pushing Christianity or religious ideas. That’s not true,” Gilmartin said. “Yet, they support statements by a reverend from a Universalist church arguing in favor of these DEI resolutions. So, you can’t teach religion, but you can bring in a religious figure to promote your ideological agenda?”
The board’s rejection document argued that Ascent “does not respect and honor gender diversity,” claiming that the school’s goal of producing “good men and women” was exclusionary toward non-binary students.
DEI policies pushed by the Durango school board prioritize identity politics over academic results, some have said. Flags and student-led activism receive more attention and support than expanding educational options for the community.
The Colorado State Board of Education ruled that Durango had improperly rejected Ascent’s application. It ordered the school board to review the charter in good faith, but the district’s response may have demonstrated a resolve to prioritize their ideology instead of supporting additional educational alternatives that parents wanted.
“The people of Durango are going to have to vote in different school board representatives if they ever want to see school choice in that community,” Gilmartin said.
The fight over parental authority in schools isn’t unique to Durango. School boards across the country have become battlegrounds over DEI policies, parental rights and school choice.
Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.” The order pulls federal funding from schools that promote gender ideology or certain equity policies, which forces districts like Durango to reconsider their priorities.
It also brings back the 1776 Commission, aimed at promoting patriotic education with a focus on American history, civics and foundational knowledge. This approach stands in direct contrast to the DEI-focused policies that the Durango school board has supported.
If the district doesn’t change course, parents could eventually see Durango schools facing federal funding cuts for prioritizing DEI initiatives over academic achievement standards, some have said.
For Durango families who wanted a choice, the message from the school board was clear: if you want a classical education for children, you’ll have to pay for it privately. Public funding, it seems to parents, is reserved for DEI-approved curriculums.
That leaves parents with one option — change the leadership, they say.
Even Durango Board Vice President Erika Brown was quoted as saying that the final decision rests with the voters: “If people don’t like this, they can vote us out,” she said.
Gilmartin agrees.
“Nobody is coming to rescue [parents],” she said. “They have to make the change. They have to be the change.”
With Trump’s executive order cutting federal funding for schools that push DEI ideology over academics, the question now is whether the policy shift will give Durango parents the leverage they need to challenge a school board determined to stand by its agenda.