SENTINEL EXPRESS C O M M E R C E
VOLUME 34 32
C I T Y
50cI
SSUE 48 24 ISSUE
WEEK, N OFOVEMBER JUNE 16,24, 2022 TUESDAY 2020
New COVID-19School restrictions will prohibit indoor dining, personal A newgatherings manager superintendents
takes on Adams County
condemn order to reorganize Adams 14 BY JENNY BRUNDIN COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO
Thirteen metro Denver school superintendents are pushing back against a decision by the State Board of Education ordering a district north of Denver to reorganize. The June 7 letter to the board is the first salvo in what could become a heated battle over how much control local school districts have over their destinies. The state school board’s order forcing the Adams 14 school district to begin a process of reorganizing is the first time an improvement order could result in a Colorado school district being dissolved or absorbed by surrounding districts. “Your action demeans every student, parent, and staff member in the school Adams 14 district officials appear before the State Board of Education in April. The district,” superintendents wrote in the board on May 10 voted to reorganize the district because of low performance and letter. PHOTO BY JENNY BRUNDIN/CPR NEWS removed the district’s accreditation. The district chiefs, including superinthat could potentially see the tight-knit ask the board to rescind the order and tendents from Denver, Aurora, Cherry allow Adams 14 officials to be in control working class district dissolved, anCreek, Littleton and 27J in Brighton, nexed or consolidated. of its improvement process. Some of are members of the Denver Area The superintendents also expressed those superintendents are supposed to School Superintendents Council. They support for Adams 14 Superintendent be participating in drawing up a new wrote they were surprised and “deeply Karla Loria, who didn’t gain control of plan for the Commerce City district. disappointed” by the state’s board’s the district until February after sever“We believe collectively in locally May 24 order. ing ties with the old outside manager The vote was one of the most extreme elected school boards of education and MGT Consulting. The letter noted that their Colorado constitutional right to options the state board could take Loria has increased student achievethe local control of the instruction of under the state’s accountability law. ment in highly impacted schools in their students,” the letter states. Colorado relies on a system of locally Nevada, Texas, Colorado, California Adams 14 leaders were hopeful that controlled school boards. But state law and North Carolina. allows the board to direct improvement they could contract with a partial out“She has the experience and skills side manager for a new improvement plans after a school or district has had necessary to lead the changes all of plan after the school board ordered low ratings for more than five years. you, and all of us, know are necessary just that in April. But the state board Adams 14 had posted nine years of low for the students and families switched direction after hearing the ratings on the state’s accountability By Ellis Arnoldin Adams details of Adams 14’s plan and clock. A long line of cars outside the city of Brighton’s rapid testing site atvoted Colorado Community 4-3 for the district to begin a process In their letter, the superintendents SEE CONDEMN, P6 Media
Riverdale Regional Park. The site has had to close early many days in recent weeks due to high demand. Adams County’s 14-day test positivity rate was 15.9 percent, as of Nov. 17, according to Tri-County Health Department. Brighton and Commerce City’s test positivity rates were both higher than 13 percent. Forty-five people in Brighton and 29 in Commerce City have died from COVID-19 related health issues. To limit the spread of COVID-19, at least 15 counties moved to tighter restrictions that prohibits indoor and personal gatherings.
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As Denver metro counties continue to inch closer to local stay-at-home orders under Colorado’s system of coronavirusrelated restrictions, the state announced a new level of rules that prohibits indoor dining and personal gatherings — a change that applies to the majority of the Denver metro area and many counties in other regions. The state’s COVID-19 dial, which has been in effect since September, is the set of different levels of restrictions that each
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BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Adams County Commissioners have chosen a former Texas City Manager to be their top administrator. Commissioners voted on June 3 to pick former Brownsville, Texas City Manager Noel Bernal as Adams County Manager. According to a news release, Bernal will start his service with the county on August 8. “I am honored to join a best-inclass community and organization in Adams County,” Bernal said. “My professional values align with the strong leadership and innovative culture already in place. I’m prepared to serve and harness the talents of our organization as we boldly advance Adams County into the future.” Bernal served as City Manager in Brownsville, the largest city in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Bernal reported to the Mayor and City Commission. Brownsville has a population of more than 185,000. By contrast, according to the 2020 U.S. Census, Thornton has 144,186 residents, Westminster has 114,832 and Brighton 38,355. Adams County has a population of 509,844, according to the 2020 census. to follow based on the county is required
severity of a county’s local virus spread. SEE MANAGER, P4 The dial grew out of the state’s safer-athome order — the policy that came after the statewide stay-at-home order this spring and allowed numerous types of businesses to reopen. The state recently switched to color identifiers — levels blue, yellow and orange rather than numbered levels — to avoid confusion. Until Nov. 17, level red meant a stay-at-home order. Now, level red — “severe risk” — is the second-
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