Week of March 17, 2022
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DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
HighlandsRanchHerald.net
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 12 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 17 | SPORTS: PAGE 30
VOLUME 35 | ISSUE 15
Douglas County cancels water town hall after protest warning 2 commissioners still planning visit to San Luis Valley BY ELLIOTT WENZLER EWENZLER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
employees, including teachers. But the plan could be seen as a gamble, too, as the district will run out of enough revenue to fund the system after the 2023-24 school year if voters do not pass another mill levy override. For that reason, the district’s fiscal oversight committee had advised against adopting the licensed employee compensation
The Douglas County commissioners will no longer host a March 26 live town hall for residents of the San Luis Valley regarding a proposal to pump water from the valley to the Front Range. The decision to cancel the event came during a March 9 work session in which county staff told the commissioners they were expecting 300 to 400 people to attend and that it appeared a protest was planned to take place. The project, proposed by Renewable Water Resources, has received wide opposition in the valley and around the state, from valley elected officials and water districts to U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, Gov. Jared Polis, Attorney General Phil Weiser and both of Colorado’s U.S. senators. “What we’re hearing from RWR is that they don’t anticipate generating substantial supporters at the event,” county staff member Dan Avery told commissioners. Commissioner George Teal, who has voiced his support for the project, said was in favor of canceling the meeting, adding that he had initially hoped to have “actual conversations” with residents and “get past the visceral, emotional aspects of this project.” He said he’s heard from people in the
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From left, ThunderRidge basketball players Justin Cremeen, Andrew Crawford and Zach Keller celebrate as Joey Bilello raises the championship trophy at the 5A state final. The Grizzlies defeated Fossil Ridge 59-49 on March 12 at the Denver PHOTO BY PAUL DISALVO Coliseum. See story on Page 30.
District approves new teacher compensation system Future funding uncertain as DCSD looks to boost teacher pay BY JESSICA GIBBS JGIBBS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
In what one director described as “a historic moment,” the Douglas County School Board
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approved a long-awaited new compensation system for licensed employees in hopes of boosting teacher pay and making DCSD more competitive with neighboring districts. That includes three new stepand-lane salary schedules that staff say will correct pay gaps, better honor educational attainment, be more transparent and more predictable for staff. There are approximately 3,500 licensed
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