WEEK OF MAY 15, 2025
VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 23
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Home-rule plan spurs contentious discourse Douglas County voters face big decision in June BY JULIA KING SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
Throughout his 27 years of working in the Douglas County School District, Jason Jacob served as a teacher, basketball coach, dean, assistant principal PHOTO BY HALEY LENA and the principal of Legend High School.
Behind the scenes of creating a Legend Outgoing principal Jason Jacob reflects on how the Parker high school got its name BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Year after year, Legend High School Principal Jason Jacob watched with pride as students received their diplomas and graduated into the next chapter of their lives. But as the class of 2025 steps off the stage into new adventures, Jacob will be joining them.
After working in the Douglas County School District for 27 years — 17 of those years at Parker’s Legend High School — Jacob is retiring. “I love this place, it’s my second home,” said Jacob. “I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot here.” Throughout his years with the district, Jacob created bonds with staff and students that made coming to the
VOICES: 12 | LIFE: 16 | CALENDAR: 19 | PUZZLES: 22
school everyday not feel like work, but rather just a part of his life. “They’ve helped me out as an individual and I’ve hopefully helped them out,” said Jacob. “When you know that you made an impact on somebody, there’s something that just kind of warms your heart and you know that you’re put on this earth to help people.” Starting with helping run sports camps while in high school and college, working with youth has always been a passion for Jacob. He attended the University of Northern Col-
Douglas County voters are set to make a rare decision next month as they weigh whether to rewrite the rules of county government. Officials agree it could be a historic moment for the county — but they’re divided on what’s at stake. At the center of the debate is a proposal for Douglas to become a home rule county, allowing it to adopt its own governing charter. Supporters say home rule is a necessary tool to protect local interests from what they view as overreach by liberal state lawmakers. Critics argue the process has been rushed and risks entrenching a narrow political agenda. During a four-minute special meeting on March 25, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners voted to place home rule on the ballot for a June 24 special election. Voters will be asked two questions: whether to form a home rule charter and to elect 21 charter commission members who would be tasked with writing it. If the commission is approved and seated, the drafted charter would return to voters for approval in November. If approved, Douglas County would become just the third of Colorado’s 64 counties to enter home rule status — and the first in nearly 50 years to do so. What home rule could change — and what it can’t
orado where played basketball and studied science, but he was drawn towards education. Shortly after college, at the age of 22, Jacob started his career at Chaparral High School in Parker in 1998 as a science, anatomy and physiology teacher, and also served as the boys head basketball coach. “I thought I was just going to be a teacher and coach forever,” Jacob said. One day, Jacob went to his teacher mailbox and found paperwork urging him to go into
Home rule charters outline how a county or municipal government is structured, and they grant authority over more than 40 specific areas, from reorganizing departments and defining election processes to setting local public safety and transportation rules, taxes, term limits and salaries. Counties can use that power to tailor policies to local needs — for example, Pitkin County taxes luxury real estate. Pitkin and Weld are the only two Colorado counties with home-rule status that are not combined cities and counties. If home rule passes in the June special election in Douglas County, the charter’s contents would be open
SEE LEGEND, P14
SEE HOME RULE, P10
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