Herald Highlands Ranch 11.21.13
Highlands Ranch
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 27, Issue 1
November 21, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourhighlandsranchnews.com
Campaign complaints go forward Parents say school election results don’t change facts By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com
A construction worker puts together an art piece containing The Childrens Hospital’s color scheme in the lobby of its new facility at C-470 and Lucent Boulevard in Highlands Ranch.
Hospital near completion
With one month remaining until the official grand opening, construction workers are putting the final touches on Children’s Hospital Colorado’s south campus near C-470 and Lucent Boulevard. A media tour of the 180,000-square-foot facility Nov. 18 revealed the downto-the-detail planning that included staff on every level. The hospital will have 24/7 pediatric urgent care, 12 inpatient rooms with sleep accommodations for parents and guardians, three overnight sleep study rooms, a sibling play area and an MRI suite that transforms with projected images, colored lighting and music to reduce anxiety.
PHOTOS BY CHRIS MICHLEWICZ
The Children’s Hospital’s “balloon boy” symbol is seen from the inside of a stairwell during a preview tour of the new hospital in Highlands Ranch Nov. 18.
SkyView students step up for others Young people collect gifts, make blankets for homeless women By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews. com From recycling projects to writing letters to deployed troops to collecting Christmas gifts for those less fortunate, SkyView Academy’s new service learning program is teaching students how to make a difference in their community. Most recently, middle and high school students from the Highlands Ranch charter school teamed up with 40 prekindergarten students to make fleece blankets, which were then given to 10 women staying at a Volunteers of America homeless shelter in Denver. The morning and afternoon pre-kindergarten classes spent three days each this October working for a half-hour with the older students cutting fleece, tying it off and making cards for the women, some-
SkyView Academy high school and pre-kindergarten students work together to make fleece blankets that were recently donated to the Women’s Homeless Shelter, run by Volunteers of America in downtown Denver. Courtesy photo thing that allowed the different grade levels to work together for the greater good, one of the keys to the program, said SVA board president Lorrie Grove. “I liked (making blankets) because I liked the cutting, and I liked having the high school kids here because I liked talking to nice, new people,” said preschooler Dylan Knudston.
When asked what he thought the women would say when they received the blankets, he said, “I think they will say, `thank you, I like those blankets.’” Dylan wasn’t too far off, either, as his lead teacher, Patti Ward — one of five teachers involved with overseeing the project — said she was greet-
ed with shouts of “Blankets!” when she dropped them off at the shelter early this month. “It was more than I expected,” Ward said. “They were excited. The ones that were there early got to pick out which pattern they wanted and were excited to get the cards we made. ... It made me feel very blessed, very lucky, and I want to know what more we could do for them. I’m hoping we can figure out some way to work something else into the plans for later in the year.” The school has plans to paint murals, pick up trash in business parking lots, conduct a coat drive, and do a book and game collection for Children’s Hospital already on the agenda for this year, and Grove sees the program taking off in years to come. “It is important for us that service is learning is more about doing and less about having parents open up the pocketbook,” she said. “We want the kids to learn what it means to participate and actually give back, not just give money.”
Douglas County residents who filed complaints related to Douglas County School District campaign activities said they’re moving forward with their charges, regardless of the election results. School officials, who previously have called the allegations frivolous and unfounded, said it’s time to move forward. Former school board candidate Julie Keim, who lost her Nov. 5 bid for a seat on the board, accused the district of violating the state’s Fair Campaign Practices Act. She filed her allegation Oct. 17 with the Colorado Secretary of State, claiming DCSD used district resources to support its preferred slate of candidates. A hearing on the matter is set for 9 a.m. Dec. 2 at the Colorado Office of Administrative Courts in Denver. DCSD has retained the Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck legal firm to represent it in the case. Keim also has hired an attorney. “It pains me to keep paying an attorney, but I’m going to move forward,” she said. “Someone has to follow through and hold the district accountable.” Three parents are pressing for answers to questions surrounding the Douglas County Educational Foundation. Parents Meg Masten and Susan Arnold have filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service alleging improper behavior by the district’s nonprofit fundraising arm. “These complaints are politically motivated,” school board president John Carson said. “They stem from the election and efforts to attack the school district. “The election is over. It is time for all parties to work together for the benefit of students, teachers and parents.” Both Arnold and Masten said the school board election results have no bearing on their concerns. “The IRS complaints stand,” said Susan Arnold, the first to file on Oct. 14. “The facts that drove the complaints initially still stand.” Masten recently submitted a second complaint with the IRS, almost identical to Arnold’s. “I firmly believe the way the funds were funneled through the foundation to pay for Bill Bennett’s speech and white paper, and for Rick Hess, do not fall in line with the objectives of the foundation. So I question the motives behind it, the ethical behavior.” The complaint alleges political campaigning and deceptive and improper fundraising practices by the foundation. Foundation funds paid for DCSD consultants including former U.S. Secretary of Education Bill Bennett, who spoke in support of the district’s education reforms weeks before the election but who was only later identified as a paid consultant. School continues on Page 12
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