By Jen Schumann | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice
Access to public, governmental records ensures transparency, but in Durango School District 9-R, accessing them can come with hurdles. Parents say their Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests have been met with delayed responses and roadblocks.
Brit Hanson, a Durango parent, started looking into the board’s decision-making processes after growing frustrated with its policies. Her concerns began during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My elementary son wore a mask for an entire year and developed an insane rash. He was on medication. Then he would go to violin class afterwards and still have to wear a mask,” Hanson said.
At one school forum, she recalled how officials dismissed parents’ concerns.
“We had over a hundred parents show up to talk about how we didn’t want to do masks anymore. They absolutely did not care what we said. They had pediatricians come in to tell us how basically, ‘kids are going to die, everybody’s going to die if we don’t have masks,’” Hanson said.
It left her wondering how much say parents really had, believing officials made key decisions behind closed doors. She decided to investigate by submitting CORA requests.
Hiring, policies and unintended consequences
Ben Smith, a band teacher at Escalante Middle School, was indicted in October 2024 on 48 counts of alleged sexual misconduct with minors. His arrest raised Hanson’s concerns about how he remained in the classroom despite potential warning signs.
Hanson’s concerns were that Durango 9-R’s focus on DEI initiatives created an environment that empowered alleged sexual predators.
Durango 9-R’s DEI initiatives began in late 2020, leading to a 2021 board resolution, a 2023 hiring and training expansion, and a 2025 LGBTQIA2S+ inclusion policy. Smith, hired amid these shifts, took on roles in tutoring and other after-school programs.
In late 2024, Brit Hanson submitted CORA requests for records on Ben Smith’s employment, involvement in student activities and any special recognition he received.
For Hanson, internal emails show district leaders coordinated their response.
“We have received multiple CORA requests regarding Ben Smith. I am forwarding these to district leadership for assistance and guidance to ensure these are appropriately fulfilled,” wrote Superintendent Executive Administrative Assistant Catina Morgan.
As Hanson submitted more CORA requests, her concerns grew. She learned that external entities were helping the board craft policies.
Who really shapes school policy?
Instead of engaging parents and community members, Durango 9-R officials relied on third-party consultants and external organizations to shape school policies, records detail. The Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), DEI consultant Tommie Lewis and others played key roles in crafting policy, training staff and drafting DEI resolutions.
Lewis, a strategist from Make It Plain Consulting, directly influenced DEI policies by revising official resolution drafts. “Rewrite as, ‘that Durango School District unequivocally believes that Black and Brown lives matter and…,'” Lewis advised.
He also provided feedback on policy drafts. “The resolutions look good! Please find our suggestions attached,” Lewis wrote to the board.
Beyond Lewis, the district worked with CASB for DEI training asking for suggestions for outside entities to work with to shape district practices. Cheri Wrench, executive director of CASB, responded, “We are also going to pilot a few learning sessions in April with Bill de la Cruz, as he is going to be partnering with CASB regarding our equitable outcomes work. Bill also does individual work with school boards and I’m happy to share his contact information with you.”
The district also looked to promote their DEI policies through CASB.
“We at Durango 9-R recently passed a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion resolution that I thought might be useful to others to have on your Equity in Education page,” Board Member Erika Brown wrote to CASB.
Hanson remarked about what she learned reviewing records obtained, “One of the emails talks about how CASB was involved in advising on how to be allies to kids that wanted to transition. I didn’t even know CASB had policies on how to support transitioning kids.”
As external entities guided the board’s DEI policies, not everyone agreed with them.
Snowberger challenges equity resolution language and premise
Former Durango School District 9-R Superintendent Dan Snowberger opposed the equity resolution, saying it unfairly blamed staff and misrepresented past efforts to close opportunity gaps.
In early 2021, Snowberger raised concerns that the resolution’s wording insulted employees and contained inaccuracies. He called for a document promoting a “team atmosphere” rather than assigning blame.
Snowberger also rejected the resolution’s premise, disputing the need to publicly acknowledge systemic inequity. He argued that if leadership was at fault, the board should “target [him] directly rather than employees.”
These CORA records raised new questions for Hanson, but some of her follow-up requests went unanswered.
Who holds schools accountable?
Limits on public record access adds to concerns over school oversight. Hanson says the lack of disclosure only fuels more questions.
“They didn’t fulfill my CORA request for DEI materials used in teacher training, even though it’s required. They still haven’t sent the DEI curriculum for students either,” Hanson said.
For Hanson, the district’s secrecy is part of a broader push to limit public oversight.
“If they had nothing to hide, they wouldn’t be making it so hard for people to find out what’s really going on,” Hanson said.
How Colorado lawmakers are responding to transparency
Colorado lawmakers are pushing reforms as public records become harder and more costly to obtain.
Introduced in February by Weld County Republican Rep. Lori Garcia Sander and Sterling Republican Sen. Byron Pelton, HB 25-1242 would make the first five hours of research free and cap the hourly rate at $25.
Another bill, SB 25-077, sponsored by Mesa County Republican Sen. Janice Rich, Larimer County Democrat Sen. Cathy Kipp, Delta County Republican Rep. Matt Soper and Front Range Democrat Rep. Michael Carter, would extend CORA response deadlines from three to five days, with delays up to 10 days in certain cases.
SB 25-077 is set for a Feb. 20 hearing in the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
A full calendar of House and Senate floor proceedings and committees is available at: https://leg.colorado.gov/session-schedule
Coloradans are invited to testify on bills in person, remotely via Zoom or by submitting written testimony. Instructions are available at https://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2025A/commsumm.nsf/NewSignIn.xsp