Brighton Standard Blade 020923 by Colorado Community Media

STANDARD BLADE B R I G H T O N

SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1903

75cI

VOLUME 120

Issue 06

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Our in-depth look at the housing crisis

27J board sets timeline for Fiedler’s replacement Superintendent to retire next year BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Gov. Polis stresses more housing is key to Colorado’s economic health BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

If lawmakers don’t act to make housing more affordable now, “we will soon face a spiraling point of no return.” That’s what Gov. Jared Polis said in January, during his annual State of the State Address. He noted myriad problems linked to rising housing costs. People, he said, “are being forced out of their neighborhoods with no hope of ever living close to where they work.” “That means more traffic, lost

time and money spent on long commutes, more air pollution, and greater economic and workforce challenges,” Polis said. Polis added that rising housing prices are “putting the dream of homeownership out of range for more and more Coloradans.” The governor’s assessment squares with the findings of Colorado Community Media in our four-week series exploring what many experts say is a housing crisis — one that affects practically everyone in the Denver area. Lower-income workers are seeing larger chunks of their paychecks

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go to landlords. Young families can’t find starter homes they can afford. Retirees don’t see any attractive options for moving and downsizing, meaning their homes stay off the market, helping keep prices high. “Just look west,” Polis said in his address. “In California, decades of poor planning has led to interruptions of drinking water and electricity for entire towns and cities, average home prices over $1 million in major cities and 16lane freeways” with “bumper-to-

LOCAL • Cyclists, activists question if there are enough safe places to bike

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SPORTS • Wrestlers rumble in Front Range League

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The 27J Schools board of education approved a timeline to replace outgoing Superintendent Chris Fiedler during a Jan. 25 meeting. Fiedler announced his plans to retire when his contract with the district runs out June 30, 2024. By the time he leaves, Fiedler will have been the superintendent for 13 years. It’s fast. The board would like to appoint someone during its March 8 meeting. The deadline for candidates to submit application materials to the board was Feb. 3. The board planned to meet in executive session Feb. 8, after press time, to consider the applicants and then to name finalists. The community gets its chance to meet with the finalists during a special meeting Wednesday, March 1. That’s followed by contract negotiations and then an appointment Wednesday, March 8, according to the district’s timeline. The debate among the board was whether to stay in-house for Fiedler’s replacement or go outside. Board member President Greg Piotraschke seemed to lean local. “I look at the program, the graduation rates. That’s a long process,” he said. “Hiring someone from California may not reflect that.” Before the board approved the search process, district resident and former TV journalist Stacey Baca SEE BOARD, P5