Same goal, di erent process

Over the last few weeks, two elected boards in the south metro area have had to establish a process to ll a suddenly vacated seat.

In Douglas County, Elizabeth Hanson abruptly resigned from the school board.

South Suburban Parks and Recreation, which provides services in Arapahoe County and part of Douglas County, is also managed by an elected board. In South Suburban’s case, tragedy struck when a board member died, leaving a vacant seat.

Now, let’s get into why one elected board was transparent and upfront with the public and why another is being questioned for maybe following the laws, but not adhering to the spirit of them.

e Douglas County School Board held an ofcial open meeting, voted on a process, set dates and approved an application. All in public view.

To ll the open seat, the board will also discuss their opinions on every applicant publicly. e applications submitted are public records — as they should be.

Now, let’s move on to South Suburban, where a board election had been held shortly before the death opened another seat. Reporter Nina Joss has struggled to get information leading up to and after the May 2 election.

And when the other seat became open, Joss simply asked what the process would be to ll it. Simple question — right? Joss asked obvious questions and should have received clear answers and information to tell the public what was going on

From The Editor

and what would happen.

However, while the elected board who took an oath to manage this district that manages a $128 million budget are patting themselves on the back for creating an application process, they are missing the point on why the interested public is frustrated. ey clearly do not understand the spirit of transparency.

ey decided to make the applications “con dential.” Really? Con dential? Do you need to be reminded that you are a board that can increase property taxes at will without a special election? I bet the Town of Castle Rock and other municipalities would love that kind of power.

Even after the vote where a new member was selected with no discussion and sworn in, the process to release the applications to the press took time. e reference letters still have not been released, and while it may be legal, it’s not OK. ey should have been part of the agenda and used as part of a discussion that should have been held in selecting the new board member. All of this should have been done in the public eye and not behind closed doors. Voting for a new member in less than a minute without discussion is not OK.

When Joss questioned the process and the fact that the public knew nothing about the person appointed to the seat — she was told to tell the

LINDA SHAPLEY Publisher lshapley@coloradocommunitymedia.com

MICHAEL DE YOANNA Editor-in-Chief michael@coloradocommunitymedia.com public to Google him. at is absurd coming from a board member who took a sworn oath. en, board members and South Suburban sta wonder why people are upset. Here’s the obvious answer. It’s not about who you appointed to ll the seat. When I Googled him — he seemed legitimate. He may even educate fellow board members on the fact that elected boards collecting tax dollars do answer to the public. e problem is the refusal to be transparent in the entire process. elma Grimes is the south metro editor for Colorado Community Media.

It’s hard to gure out who exactly is calling the shots for South Suburban right now, but, to the board members: you should realize it should be you, and it should be done through public meetings, not behind closed doors.

Some other advice to remember — as an elected board, you are the boss of this huge organization. You are in charge. You don’t need sta approval — they need yours. Listen to their recommendations, ask questions, and make decisions — but do the right thing and do it in front of the public.

As citizens, residents and the community, we deserve better, transparent board members. Doing a simple story on an election, or a sad one on lling a vacated seat due to unexpected tragedy, should never turn into what you have turned it into.

Instead, what you have is a lot of raised eyebrows, more questions, and a lot more attention from not just the media, but local residents.

From success to significance to legacy

Winning

He worked hard for his whole career, climbed the ladder as he was taught to do, and nally landed in the role that he wanted most, the position he was born to have, he became the CEO of the company. Having experienced plenty of successes along the way, nothing compared

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Times have changed Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed on June 19, 1953 for selling atomic secrets to Russia. ey were the only two people ever executed for the crime of espionage. Her brother, David Greenglass, an Army sergeant stationed at Los Alamos, New Mexico, turned them in and received 15 years for the same crime.

President Eisenhower was president, the rst Republican president in 20 years. President “Ike” was the president to all Americans, having been the supreme commander in Europe during WWII and ending the Korean War a month after the Rosenbergs were executed. I served four

ERIN ADDENBROOKE Marketing Consultant eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com

AUDREY BROOKS Business Manager abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com to the surge of pride that Brian felt ll his head and heart the day the public announcement was made, Brian CEO. Having nally reached what he believed was the pinnacle of his career, Brian found himself wondering, “What’s next?” As a 52-year-old CEO, he began to think about the impact he could have on the company he was now leading, the e ect he could have on the people who were now in his care. I remember our conversation as we made our way around the golf course.

SEE NORTON, P15 months in the Air Force under (Give ‘Em Hell Harry) Truman and 44 months under Ike. Fast forward to 2023. We have a former president who is charged with numerous crimes and, no doubt, will be charged with many more in the coming months. Some could be espionage, insurrection and other crimes that carried a death sentence in 1953. Unlike Presidents Eisenhower and Truman, this president was loved by no one except Americans of the same stripe and Autocrats around the world.

Roy Legg Highlands Ranch

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Highlands Ranch Herald A legal newspaper of general circulation in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, the Herald is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media, 9233 Park Meadows Dr., Lone Tree, CO 80124. Send address change to: Highlands Ranch Herald, 750 W. Hampden Ave., Suite 225, Englewood, CO 80110 e project was inspired when Madhavan’s friend could not a ord a birthday party.

Madhavan, a student at STEM School Highlands Ranch, raised $1,000 to put together 200 birthday kits, which she donated last month to A Precious Child, a Broom eldbased nonpro t that provides essentials to families in crisis situations.

“ ey didn’t have all of the money to a ord (a birthday party), so I was really sad for them,” she said.

To pay for the birthday supplies, Madhavan held an arts and crafts sale in her neighborhood and applied for a grant from Youth Services America, which awarded her a $500 Hershey Heartwarming Young Heroes grant.

She bought supplies, including birthday crowns, candles, balloons, balloon decor arch connectors, streamers, cake toppers with a birthday message, decorated birthday cards and party favors of sunglasses and small toys.