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Week of May 26, 2022
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
LittletonIndependent.net
VOLUME 133 | ISSUE 44
Superintendent Brian Ewert to retire next summer Veteran education leader weathered pandemic threats, enrollment and funding challenges BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Littleton Public Schools Superintendent Brian Ewert said he plans to retire June 30, 2023.
“He has been an excellent leader and we will miss him,” said Board of Education President Robert Reichardt. “I think he picked a time to leave that works out really well.” A 36-year veteran of public schools, Ewert has served as LPS’ leader since April 2015 and has shepherded the district through a slew of crises, including funding challenges, declining enrollment rates and threats of violence spurred by COVID policies. After several years, the district may have hit the crest of a long
wave of growing challenges as it looks to school consolidations, more stable funding and the return of prepandemic learning. For Ewert, it marks the right time to bow out. “I’ve been contemplating retirement for a couple of years,” Ewert said. “As I look at all of the work that we’ve done … next year will be a very quiet and calm year.” The toll of COVID-19 The COVID-19 pandemic upended schools across the country, fueling
bitter backlash from parents and community members over masking policies and, in some cases, death threats. For Ewert, it was “absolutely exhausting.” “It is not something that any of us were ever prepared to deal with for two years,” Ewert said, adding that the entire school system was strained as it navigated closures, teacher shortages and tense public meetings. SEE EWERT, P10
County launches eviction clinic to help low-income residents $1.5 million allotted to program BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
People walk on Main Street in downtown Littleton.
FILE PHOTO BY DAVID GILBERT
accessibility standards and crafted an ADA transition plan in 1994, no action was ever taken to adopt the measure until now. Public Works Director Keith Reester called the vote “30 years in the making,” though he said many of the guiding principles of the plan have been part of the public works
Arapahoe County has opened an in-person clinic to provide legal aid to residents facing eviction. Located on the third floor of the county building at 1690 W. Littleton Boulevard, the clinic will be open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between 8 and 11 a.m. The program is a partnership with Colorado Legal Services, a statewide nonprofit providing civil legal services to low-income Coloradans. “There are a lot of people facing eviction right now as a result of the economic consequences of the pandemic and sometimes beyond that,” said Jon Asher, the nonprofit’s
SEE COUNCIL, P11
SEE HOUSING, P7
Council OKs plan to improve city access for people with disabilities Expanded sidewalks among priorities BY ROBERT TANN RTANN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Littleton City Council unanimously approved a plan to transition the city’s facilities, services
and public walkways to become more accessible for people with disabilities. The plan, approved on May 18, seeks to make the city compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal law passed in 1990 that prohibits discrimintaion based on ability. Though Littleton’s council conducted a self-evaluation of its
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 14 | LIFE: PAGE 16 | CALENDAR: PAGE 19 | SPORTS: PAGE 42
FARM-FRESH FARE From farm to tables, summer’s markets are open
P16
