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A four-year-old is worth more than a fifth grader to Colorado schools
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State, Uncategorized

A four-year-old is worth more than a fifth grader to Colorado schools

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project The incentive structure hiding in Colorado’s UPK I recently shared a video that went into (among other important things to know about school finance) how Colorado’s public school enrollment is dropping. That video is linked below if you missed it before; it’s great and cheap education on school enrollment and funding. Not too long after I put up the newsletter with that video, I had a reader send me something I thought interesting enough to share. There is a marked disparity between how much money someone gets from our Universal Pre K program for a child vs. how much they get for educating a child in K - 12. The second link below is to the state’s UPK rate sheet. It lists the 2026-27 rate the UPK progra...
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Colorado teacher home loan program puts school fund money at risk in foreclosures
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, State

Colorado teacher home loan program puts school fund money at risk in foreclosures

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project I wrote earlier in the week about Impact Development and taxpayer-subsidized mortgages. That newsletter is linked first below if you’re interested.I have an update of sorts to share. It’s not so much the program I outlined earlier, more a related program run out of Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA).The program is called the Schools to Home Program. The CHFA website for this program is linked second below. I’ll run through the details and a quick example here, but as I do, I do not want you to lose track of something.Hidden in all of the graphics and words are the following: public money is given out on loan to the people who are in the program, and they get generous terms on their loans that others woul...
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Missed Insurance Deadline Could Leave Jeffco Taxpayers Paying $15 Million Sex Abuse Settlement
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Missed Insurance Deadline Could Leave Jeffco Taxpayers Paying $15 Million Sex Abuse Settlement

By Matt Kyle | The Denver Gazette Taxpayers may end up on the hook for a child sexual assault settlement, possibly worth up to $15 million, after Jeffco Public Schools failed to notify its insurance company in a timely manner about the case. The incident stems from the Imagine Kay Ewer case. Ewer, a former paraprofessional in the district, groomed and sexually abused a special needs student for several months in 2023. Ewer pleaded guilty in 2024 to criminal charges for providing drugs and alcohol, and engaging in several sexual acts with the then-16-year-old disabled student.  Ewer received a four-year prison sentence followed by 10-years-to-life probation last year. According to documents obtained by The Denver Gazette, Jeffco and its legal couns...
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Colorado Schools Receive $24 Million to Expand Free Meals Program
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado Schools Receive $24 Million to Expand Free Meals Program

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics The Colorado Department of Education is providing Colorado schools with nearly $24 million in grant funding to implement a free lunch program. Approved by voters in 2022, the Healthy School Meals for All provides free breakfast and lunch to all public school students in the state, as well as wage increases for cafeteria staff. The program is funded through a tax increase on households making more than $300,000 a year. Because initial estimates fell short of the actual costs, the program ran into fiscal challenges right from the start and had never been deployed in its entirety. A pair of ballot measures approved by voters last year allows the state to keep additional revenue and interest from income tax deductions to help pay f...
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New Report Finds Colorado Children Face Growing Financial and Education Challenges
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

New Report Finds Colorado Children Face Growing Financial and Education Challenges

By: Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics Despite having one of the country’s highest median incomes, Colorado families are struggling to afford essentials like food, housing, health care and child care. That’s according to the Colorado Children’s Campaign, which released its annual Kids Count report recently. It provides an overview of how the state’s infants, children and teens are faring compared to previous years. The report is broken down into four categories: economic security, health, K-12 education and early childhood. “The data remind us of what is at stake and who is relying on us to pay attention,” Heather Tritten, president and CEO of Colorado Children’s Campaign, said in the report. “This is a moment when data matter. In difficult times, c...
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Jeffco Schools Seek $135 Million Tax Hike to Address Deficit and Facility Needs
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Colorado Public Radio, Approved, Local

Jeffco Schools Seek $135 Million Tax Hike to Address Deficit and Facility Needs

By Melanie Asmar | CPR News Faced with a looming deficit, Jeffco Public Schools is weighing whether to ask voters in November to approve a $135 million tax increase. A community advisory group has recommended the funding be used for teacher salaries, career and technical education programs, technology, and safety and building upgrades. If voters approve the measure, property taxes would increase by $3.58 per month on every $100,000 of a home’s value, according to a district presentation. Although Jeffco is Colorado’s second-largest school district with 74,000 students, it spends less money per pupil than several other metro districts, according to state data. Part of the reason is that Jeffco voters have approved fewer tax increases, known as mill levy o...
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Ex Jeffco Schools Security Guard Faces Dozens of Child Sex Abuse and Exploitation Charges
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Ex Jeffco Schools Security Guard Faces Dozens of Child Sex Abuse and Exploitation Charges

By Matt Kyle | The Denver Gazette A former security guard for Jeffco Public Schools was arrested Monday over charges of child sexual abuse. Brian C. Richie, 67, was arrested by Longmont police and booked into the Boulder County jail. He faces several charges, including sexual assault of a child by a person in a position of trust, 12 counts of sexual exploitation of a child by possessing videos, 16 counts of sexual exploitation of a child by possessing photos, invasion of privacy for sexual gratification of a person under 15 and invasion of privacy for sexual gratification, according to the jail log and Richie’s arrest affidavit. Richie’s LinkedIn and Facebook pages showed he was employed by Jeffco as a “patrol sergeant” from April 2015 to February 2026, when he ...
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Poudre Schools Cut 182 Positions as Enrollment Declines
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Poudre Schools Cut 182 Positions as Enrollment Declines

By: Adria Iraheta | Denver7 District officials say some cuts reflect unfilled vacancies — but parents say fewer educators mean kids pay the price. FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Poudre School District is eliminating 182 educator positions heading into the next school year, citing budget issues as the driving force behind the cuts. The move comes after months of conversations about declining enrollment, forcing Poudre School District to consider how its budget could reshape schools across the district. PSD is projected to have 654 fewer students in its schools next year, citing fewer school-aged children in the area due to declining birth rates and fewer younger families moving into the area due to housing costs. Denver7 was there as parents brought their co...
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School Board Pays $95K After Censoring Student Tribute to Charlie Kirk
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The Christian Post, Approved, National

School Board Pays $95K After Censoring Student Tribute to Charlie Kirk

By Michael Gryboski | The Christian Post Officials violated student's First, Fourth and 14th Amendment rights. A North Carolina school district has agreed to pay $95,000 in attorneys' fees and damages after censoring an on-campus student tribute to conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk. Last year, a high school student and her parents sued the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education over a painted tribute to Kirk that was removed shortly after it was completed.   The nonprofit legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the student, announced Monday that it had reached a settlement with school district officials over the lawsuit. Per the settlement, the board of education agreed to pay $95,000 in assorted fees...
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Denver Schools Approve Full-Day Cell Phone Ban Beginning Next Year
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Denver Schools Approve Full-Day Cell Phone Ban Beginning Next Year

By: Maggie Bryan | Denver7 Denver Public Schools adopted a new policy banning student use of cell phones and other personal communication devices during school hours. DENVER — Denver Public Schools will ban student cell phones and other communication devices for the entire school day starting next school year, after the DPS Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt the new policy Monday night. The ban covers the use of cell phones, smart or electronic watches, wireless earbuds, personal tablets, laptops, and any other personally owned portable electronic communication devices. The policy was drafted in response to a state law requiring school districts to implement a policy by July 1 concerning student device use during the school day. A DPS survey sent to...
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