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Week of November 17, 2022
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
JeffcoTranscript.com
VOLUME 39 | ISSUE 17
Jeffco Board of Education votes to close 16 elementary schools
All three Jefferson County ballot measures fail BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Melissa Jacobson (left), a parent from Kullerstrand Elementary, waits for the Jeffco Board of Education’s vote on whether to close 16 PHOTOS BY ANDREW FRAIELI elementary schools. The Board voted unanimously in favor. BY ANDREW FRAIELI AFRAIELI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Jefferson County Board of Education unanimously voted to close 16 elementary schools on Nov. 10, approving a consolidation plan initially presented to the Board by the District on Aug. 25. Under-enrollment and lack of resources were continuously cited by the District and Board over the last three months for why the consolidations are necessary, with specific attention to inequity in school programs due to stretched District resources. An hour-long public comment before the vote showed no parent, teacher or community member
speaking in support of the decision, though. “Closing 16 schools with no public process or input the way you have done it is not appropriate,” Sarah Stites, a local business owner and former Jeffco teacher said. Many parents and community members see the decision as rushed and lacking sufficient input from the community, calling the community meetings and public hearings that each closing elementary school had “performative,” as Board member Paula Reed put it. However, she clarified “that these sessions were not for debating whether or not to close these schools, but rather how best to make
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 24
the transition…perhaps we jumped into that too quickly.” “If I thought that Regional Opportunities for Thriving Schools would cause kids to lose anything without gaining a great deal in return, I would absolutely vote no,” she continued. “As an educator, I cannot leave some kids in under-resourced schools, while others get everything they need and more.” Board member Mary Parker similarly pointed to programs like special education and how consolidations will help address their limited resources, and the negative effects that can have on the program, in the SEE CLOSING, P2
Marijuana growth and sale in unincorporated Jeffco, along with a possible sales tax on it, have failed Voters are decided against approving Ballot measure 1A and 1B, the sale and production of marijuana in unincorporated Jeffco and sales tax on it, according to unofficial election results as Nov. 11. Unincorporated areas like Evergreen and Conifer were included, as well as south Jeffco, but large areas within and around Lakewood would have been included as well, such as almost the entire area surrounded by US 285 and C-470. Ballot measure 1B would have been a sales tax resolution of three to six percent on the marijuana products. The resolution estimated an added $600,000 in taxes would have gone to Jeffco within the first fiscal year with the three to six percent tax on marijuana sales continuing after. Jeffco TABOR will not change The Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights for Jeffco will remain unchanged as Ballot measure 1C fails, according to unoffical election results as of Nov. 11. It would have limited only property taxes, removing the ceiling for other taxes, allowing the county to keep more revenue. The resolution pointed to lower tax income to the county during the SEE BALLOTS, P3
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