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Cherry Creek School District Withholds Itemized Legal Invoices After $65K Investigation
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Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Cherry Creek School District Withholds Itemized Legal Invoices After $65K Investigation

By: Nico Brambila | Colorado Politics After previously refusing to disclose the cost associated with the investigation into the former superintendent and his wife, the former human resources chief, Cherry Creek School District officials partially released records showing the cost to taxpayers: $65,054.85. The Denver Gazette obtained “invoice cover sheets” through a June 12 Colorado Open Records Act request seeking — among other things — invoices, billing records or payment records related to the investigation. Caitlin Holzfaster, the district’s records custodian,denied a similar request on May 15, claiming that descriptions could reveal attorney-client privileged information, legal advice or litigation strategy. Abbe Smith, a district spokesperson...
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Principles over popularity: Lessons from the Declaration of Independence for Douglas County Schools
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Principles over popularity: Lessons from the Declaration of Independence for Douglas County Schools

By Laureen Boll | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Douglas County School District (DCSD) board members will be deciding later this year whether to resume formal collective bargaining with the Douglas County Federation (a local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers), and a primary deciding factor will be the results of a survey of teachers and staff.  This follows union pressure earlier in 2026 and comes after years of the federation advocating for a return to a contract model. The political composition of the DCSD school board has shifted back and forth over the decades, reflecting the community’s own evolving priorities. In 2012, a reform-minded board allowed the long-standing collective bargaining agreement (CBA) to expire, moving the district to operat...
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Enrollment drops but Denver schools keep growing administration
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, Local

Enrollment drops but Denver schools keep growing administration

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Denver Public Schools administrative bloat -- with some interesting counterpoint The Gazette article linked first below touches on a subject that I’ve written about multiple times. It’s administrative bloat in schools. It seems as though DPS has gotten its ranks of administrators while at the same time enrollment has fallen. This pattern also seems to be playing out in school districts around the state. Quoting (with link intact) from the article: “This finding [that DPS is beefing up administration while student numbers fall] mirrors a statewide trend identified in a report by the Common Sense Institute (CSI) that found Colorado school districts continued to grow their administrative staff despite declin...
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DPS Fires Teacher After Students Report Pressure To Participate In Same Sex Kissing Skits
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

DPS Fires Teacher After Students Report Pressure To Participate In Same Sex Kissing Skits

By: Logan Smith | CBS Colorado Denver Public Schools board members voted unanimously May 20 to dismiss a 50-year-old foreign language teacher following a district investigation and an independent review into student complaints about a class assignment. The board voted 7-0 after meeting in executive session to consider the firing of Jennifer Honka. Honka taught French Language and Culture at Northeast Early College for all of her eight years with the district. Officially, Honka was fired for incompetence and neglect of duty. There was no public debate among the board members prior to the vote. Honka's classroom instruction first came into question during the 2023-24 school year. She had received the highest possible rating in district assessments the prior three years. ...
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Cherry Creek Schools Target Of New Federal Civil Rights Investigation
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Cherry Creek Schools Target Of New Federal Civil Rights Investigation

By Nicholas Fogleman | The Denver Gazette The U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into Cherry Creek School District on Monday over allegations of racial discrimination. The department said its Office for Civil Rights is reviewing claims that the district violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by sponsoring “a wide range of racially-discriminatory programming.” The complaints alleged the district discriminated on the basis of race in student clubs, academic support programs, teacher training and a parent committee, the department said in a news release. In a statement, the district said it has not yet received a copy of the complaint and could not comment in detail. “We strongly disagree with the characterization of the district programming...
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Denver Public Schools Grows Bureaucracy While Student Population Declines
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Public Schools Grows Bureaucracy While Student Population Declines

By: Nicole C. Brambila | The Denver Gazette Meanwhile, the district employs 262 fewer teachers compared to 5 years ago. Denver Public Schools (DPS) has operated with thousands fewer students than its peak enrollment in 2019 but it has grown its administrative ranks back to nearly their pre-pandemic level, a Denver Gazette analysis of state staffing data shows. This finding mirrors a statewide trend identified in a report by the Common Sense Institute (CSI) that found Colorado school districts continued to grow their administrative staff despite declining student enrollment. In the past five years, districts across the state have added more than 250 administrators, a 13.1% increase, according to CSI. State data shows Colorado has lost more than...
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School Funding Concerns Grow As Douglas County Faces $22 Million Deficit
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

School Funding Concerns Grow As Douglas County Faces $22 Million Deficit

By Nicholas Fogleman | The Denver Gazette The Douglas County School Board on Tuesday previewed its proposed 2026–27 budget amid declining enrollment and a projected $22 million deficit. District officials said the shortfall will be partially covered by a one-time drawdown of the district’s general fund, bringing the balance in line with pre-COVID levels. However, leaders warned the approach is temporary and will require more permanent solutions in the following year. “Without a structural change to how we fund schools in this state, there is at least a substantial risk that next year’s budget would not just be lower but substantially so,” board member Brad Geiger said. “Any substantial decrease in our budget means decreasing employees.” The proposed $901 ...
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Appeals Court Weighs Parental Rights Case Against Jeffco Schools
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Approved, Complete Colorado, Local

Appeals Court Weighs Parental Rights Case Against Jeffco Schools

By Savana Kascak | Complete Colorado DENVER–The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month heard oral arguments in a lawsuit brought against Jefferson County Public Schools for rooming an 11-year-old girl in the same bed as a biological boy during an overnight trip. Plaintiffs’ lawyers told the court that school leaders told the girl to lie to her parents about the reasoning behind her distress while staying with the transgender student. As previously reported by Complete Colorado, the daughter of Joe and Serena Wailes went on a school trip to Philadelphia and Washing D.C. upon finishing the fifth grade. While on the trip, she was assigned the same room and bed as a biological boy who identified as a female. School officials had assured parents that boys and girls would be ...
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The parent-child bond is not the government’s to break
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

The parent-child bond is not the government’s to break

By Colleen Enos | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice Each morning you kiss your 12-year-old daughter goodbye while sending her off to school. You trust that her teachers care about her and are nurturing her mind, not hiding things from you. Weeks later, you discover your once-bright child is now anxious, isolated, and medically altered, because her trusted teachers have secretly counselled her to take life-altering hormones while keeping you in the dark—the mother who loved her, sacrificed for her and would lay down your life to protect her.  This scenario isn’t rare; it’s unfolding in schools nationwide. When the state severs the sacred parent-child bond, it doesn’t just break families; it assaults the natural rights that shield every American’s liberty and the rule of ...
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Jeffco Parents Demand Answers After Hidden Safety Audit Flagged 153 Threats
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Jeffco Parents Demand Answers After Hidden Safety Audit Flagged 153 Threats

By Maggie Bryan | Denver7 A safety audit completed a month before the Evergreen High School shooting flagged 153 threats in Jeffco schools, including a hit list with around 15 names. JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Jefferson County Public Schools parents are demanding answers after learning school district leaders received a third-party safety audit flagging 153 imminent threats — including a hit list with 15 names — a month before the shooting at Evergreen High School, but never released it to the public. The audit was conducted by student safety firm Gaggle, which was given access to the district's Google Workspace, including Google Drive and email accounts belonging to students, from February to April 2025. In the report, the company said it looked for questionable cont...
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