Week of October 27, 2022
FREE
DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LoneTreeVoice.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 22
VOLUME 21 | ISSUE 36
Teachers across the metro area describe pay rates Douglas County looks to voters for 9% bump BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Lucy Squire just marked her 18th year as a teacher at Copper Mesa Elementary School in Douglas County.
One of the things she has that many teachers here and around Colorado don’t is a home. Squire looks at what Douglas County School District teachers earn and doubts she and her partner today could afford the same home. That’s even considering her current salary as a veteran educator. “When I started interviewing and looking as a brand new teacher,
all of the (school) districts were so comparable with pay,” said Squire, a third-grade teacher. “It didn’t matter where you ended up because they were so similar.” That was in 2004. Fast forward to today, and differences in teacher pay across Denver metro school districts are often stark. While teachers in many districts across the state say they are strug-
gling to keep up — particularly amid rising inflation — in Douglas County, south of Denver, teachers say voters have an opportunity to help them. Squire and others are supporting Ballot Issue 5A on the November ballot to boost pay for teachers and other district staff. SEE TEACHERS, P8
County clerks report death threats amid election fraud claims Still fighting uproar after 2 years BY ELLIS ARNOLD EARNOLD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Lone Tree Mayor Jackie Millet speaking during the Oct. 12 town hall at Lone Tree Arts Center.
PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW
Mayor talks temporary tax reduction, developments Special town hall held BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Lone Tree’s sales and use tax will be reduced by 0.5% for the month of December, said Lone
Tree Mayor Jackie Millet during a recent town hall. In November 2021, Lone Tree voters approved ballot issue 2E, increasing the city’s sales tax by 1% for a period of 10 years. This approval increased the overall city sales and use tax to 2.8125%. “These monies were essential
to maintain our public safety, our public works, our capital investment, our planning for the future, and maintaining the efficient local government that we have here,” Millet said to an audience of about 50 people at
For the clerks and other people trusted to oversee elections in Colorado, these are tense times. Some face hostility, even violent threats, a trend that continues in Colorado two years after the 2020 election, when former President Trump and his supporters alleged widespread voter fraud. Those claims, which fueled the Jan. 6 insurrection, remain unfounded. Yet in Arapahoe County, Joan Lopez, the clerk and recorder in charge of elections, says an atmosphere of intimidation lingers. She tells Colorado Community Media she has received a threatening, handwritten letter with profanity and referring to her race. The letter writer also claimed to know where she lives.
SEE TOWN HALL, P2
SEE THREATS, P4
Check out
School of Choice In this week’s paper!