May 29, 2014
50 cents Jefferson County, Colorado | Volume 148, Issue 25
A publication of
goldentranscript.net
Golden library remodels resources
START YOUR ENGINES
JCPL holds community meeting for public input By Amy Woodward
awoodward@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Nearly 300 middle schools students participated during the 24th annual Junior Solar Sprint and Lithium Ion Battery car competitions on Saturday, May 17, at Dakota Ridge High School in Littleton. The competitions gave students the opportunity show their engineering skills by building and racing high-performance model solar and battery vehicles. Seventy-four teams from 21 Colorado schools raced their cars on a 20-meter course. Jeffco schools who participated included Bell Middle School, Ken Caryl Middle School, and Lincoln Academy Middle School. Courtesy Photo
School funding measures signed into law Hundreds of millions of dollars to fund programs, construction By Vic Vela
The Jefferson County Public Library held its first informal community meeting about the Golden Library Remodel on Monday, May 19. Directors for the project were on hand to receive public input regarding current library services and what patrons would like to see. Although a design firm has been selected for the remodel, Studiotrope Design Collective, a formal building design is still in the works, and will not be presented to the public until June. “We can’t start the design until we hear from the community,” said Donna Walker, director of public services at Jefferson County Public Library. Cost for the project totals $250,000 with the City of Golden contributing $85,000 and the Jefferson County Public Library funding the difference. The Golden Library, the oldest and first library in Jefferson County, is celebrating 100 years since it’s opening in 1914. The 13,500-square-feet building received 247,898 visitors last year who borrowed
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com In front of a group of school children who are just starting to grasp basic arithmetic, Gov. John Hickenlooper on May 21 signed into law a pair of complex, multimillion dollar school finance measures. The new laws will allow a state school finance system that was significantly strained by recession-era budget cuts to grow by nearly $500 million. The cash infusion will fund several areas of K-12 resources, including school construction and preschool, kindergarten and English language learner programs. “We’re trying to make sure that each one of you guys gets every single advantage, every single chance, because your success is the future of this state,” Hickenlooper said during a bill signing that was held inside Aurora’s Ponderosa Elementary School. A major K-12 funding piece comes from the Student Success Act. The legislation provides $20 million for programs that target children who are struggling to read and $53 million for school construction, with $40 million of that going toward construction in rural areas — the latter funding coming from Amendment 64-backed retail marijuana revenue. An additional $3 million will go toward financial transparency efforts that are POSTAL ADDRESS
Library continues on Page 18
Gov. John Hickenlooper is joined by lawmakers and students from Aurora’s Ponderosa Elementary School for the bill signing ceremony of two school funding measures. Photo by Vic Vela aimed at allowing taxpayers to see how the new money is being reported and spent. The funding includes a $110 million buy down of the so-called “negative factor” — recession-era funding cuts that slashed about $1 billion from the state’s K-12 budget. The governor also signed into law the annual school finance act, which includes $27 million for English language learner programs and funds an additional 5,000 seats in preschool and kindergarten classrooms. “This bill that the governor is about to sign will authorize 5,000 more kids next year going to publicly-funded, quality pre-
GOLDEN TRANSCRIPT
school programs than what was possible the year before,” said Sen. Pat Steadman, D-Denver, a bill sponsor. Additionally, per-pupil funding for next school year will jump to $7,021, a 5 percent increase. “That’s almost $400 for every one of you students,” Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver, told the children in the audience. “So imagine if you came through the doors this morning and we handed $400 to each one of you. It would be pretty good stuff.” The funding efforts that the Legislature passed this year were a response to last School continues on Page 15
Residents left their comments on sticky notes about what they need from their library during a community input meeting by the Jefferson County Public Library. The meeting is part of the Golden Library Remodel project that includes not only a physical redesign but an internal redesign in service and collections. Photo by Amy Woodward
(ISSN 0746-6382)
OFFICE: 110 N. Rubey Dr, Unit 150, Golden, CO 80403 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Jefferson County, Colorado, the Golden Transcript is published weekly on Thursday by Mile High Newspapers, 110 N. Rubey Dr., Unit 150, Golden, CO 80403. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT GOLDEN, COLORADO. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 110 N. Rubey Dr, Unit 150, Golden, CO 80403 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. | Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Tues. 12 p.m.
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