WEEK OF MARCH 13, 2025
VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 14
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Douglas County increases teacher pay, but remains the lowest in the Denver metro area BY MCKENNA HARFORD MHARFORD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
District of Colorado U.S. Marshal Kirk Taylor, left, joins Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly and other elected officials at the Douglas County Courthouse PHOTO BY HALEY LENA in Castle Rock on March 5 to speak about the nationwide effort to find a missing boy.
Douglas County deputies help solve kidnapping Louisiana family grateful that Abdul ‘Aziz’ Khan has been found after seven-year mystery BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
A call to the Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office to report a trespassing in a Highlands Ranch neighborhood resulted in the recovery of a child in a national kidnapping case. “This call not only led to the apprehension of two suspects, but — unknown to everyone at the time — to the discovery of a missing child and the resolution to a seven-yearold mystery,” said Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly. Abdul “Aziz” Khan, now 14, was found safe and healthy after an effort to locate him that spanned seven years and involved multiple agencies across the U.S. He was found at a Highlands Ranch home, with a 40-year-old woman who authorities have identified as his mother, Rabia Khalid,
42-year-old Elliot Blake Bourgeois and another child. Aziz’s family in Louisiana are asking for privacy at this time, but provided the sheriff ’s office with a statement: “We are overwhelmed with joy that Aziz has finally been found. We want to thank everyone for their support over the last seven years. We specifically want to recognize the Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office for their exceptional work in solving this case.” Since Aziz went missing seven years ago, his case gained national attention, including being featured on Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries.” In addition to the Louisiana Kenner Police Department’s involvement, the U.S. Marshals Service got involved in 2020 and traveled to 11 different states for search efforts. The National Center for Missing & Ex-
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ploited Children, a nonprofit corporation, also worked with the family. “In family abduction cases, it can be difficult to garner public attention, but we knew that the national media coverage was crucial — Aziz could have been anywhere,” John Bischoff III, vice president missing children division of the NCMEC said in a statement. A call to Kelliwood Way
Just before 4 p.m. on Feb. 23, deputies with the Douglas County Sheriff ’s Office were dispatched to a vacant home listed for sale on Kelliwood Way in Highlands Ranch after the homeowners saw two people enter the house on their security cameras. Deputies thought they were there to invesSEE KIDNAPPING, P5
The Douglas County School District is still working to make its teacher compensation more competitive with other metro area school districts by approving a small increase for next school year. The school board approved an average 3% increase to salaries for licensed staff, including teachers, as well as a 3% increase for classified staff and a 2% increase for administrative staff. The district will also cover any increases in health care costs for all employees. With the approved increase, Douglas County’s starting teacher salary will go from $51,400 to $51,900. Douglas County’s starting salary is the lowest in the metro area, with Jeffco and Denver public schools offering the next lowest salaries at about $55,200 in the 2024-25 school year. The district is planning to cover the cost of the salary increases with funds from its unassigned balance, which is roughly $75 million. Chief Financial Officer Jana Schleusner said the unassigned balance has increased more than expected since 2020 because of federal funding during the COVID-19 pandemic and staff vacancies. Schleusner said the district will use about $12.5 million from the unassigned fund balance to increase teacher compensation. “What we’re proposing is to continue prioritizing our staff and have strategic use of our fund balance to have a softer SEE TEACHER PAY, P2
2025
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