WEEK OF FEBRUARY 6, 2025
VOLUME 80 | ISSUE 16
$2
ANYTHINK GOES META
Library district launches virtual branch P4
Highlighting progress and inequities in local schools BY SUZIE GLASSMAN SGLASSMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Colorado has long been a pioneer in school choice, offering families various educational options, including public, charter, private and magnet schools, as well as open enrollment across district boundaries since 1994. According to the Reason Foundation, data from the Colorado Department of Education showed that more than 199,000 students, 28% of those enrolled in traditional public schools statewide, used open enrollment during the 2023-24 school year. While National School Choice Week, which was celebrated this year from Jan. 26 – Feb. 1, showcased these opportunities, it also raised questions among some policy advocates about the equity of access to these options. Director of the National Education Policy Center Kevin Welner, explained that while school choice was initially designed to decouple educational opportunities from residential zip codes, meaning that where you lived no longer had to define the quality of your education, that doesn’t always play out in practice. “Unconstrained school choice programs… often add a layer of stratification on top of the existing residential stratification,” Welner said. SEE CHOICE, P31
Local attorneys on short list judicial opening New judge would replace Sharon Holbrook BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Governor Jared Polis has until Feb. 11 to select a new judge for
the 17th Judicial District from a list of three nominees. One of the nominees will replace Hon. Sharon Holbrook, who passed away in Dec. 2024. The 17th Judicial District Nominating Commission selected three candidates, according the Jan. 17 press release. They are Stephanie R. Perkins of Brighton,
VOICES: PAGE 8 | CULTURE: PAGE 10 | BRIEFS: PAGE 16
Sara S. Price of Denver and Toni J. Wehman of Westminster. Perkins is an attorney currently based out of Brighton. Price is a magistrate currently serving the 17th District and Wehman is a prosecutor working for the District Attorney’s office in the 17th District. According to officials, as of Jan. 27, Gov. Jared Polis must appoint
one nominee as a district judge under the Colorado Constitution for the Seventeenth Judicial District within 15 days from the announcement date, which comes out to Feb. 11. If the public has any comments on the nominee, email Gov. Jared Polis at gov_judicialappointments@state.co.us.
2025
VOTING STARTS
MARCH 1!
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