March 24, 2016
VOTE NOW!
VO LUM E 29 | IS S U E 1 8 | FREE
SEE AD INSIDE FOR VOTING DETAILS
HighlandsRanchHerald.net D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
School board votes for revised voucher policy Change will remove religious facilities from Douglas County program By Mike DiFerdinando mdiferdinando@coloradocommunitymedia.com The Douglas County School Board has passed a revised version of the school district’s voucher program that removes religiously affiliated schools as an option. The 4-3 vote on March 15 to approve the revision to the Choice Scholarship
Program comes nine months after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled the original version of the program was illegal. No public funds can be used to aid or support any “sectarian” institution, the court ruled. The school district appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. A decision has not been made on whether the court will hear the case, but the appeal will continue, a district spokeswman said. School board member Doug Benevento said the district now has a clear direction from the courts about what is allowable under state law and should proceed
with the new program. “They made the decision that you cannot have a voucher program that includes religious schools — therefore, we won’t,” he said. Cindy Barnard — president of the group that filed the original lawsuit Benevento against the district to stop the voucher program — said the revised policy is illegal and unconstitutional since public money would be leaving the district for private
schools in violation of the Public School Finance Act. “Every dollar taken in the private school voucher program is a dollar taken away from our public schools,” said Barnard, head of Taxpayers for Public Education, a nonprofit, Colorado-based group that advocates for “a strong public education system.” Before it was halted, the original voucher program, designed to accommodate 500 students, allowed students’ parents to use state-provided, per-pupil Vouchers continues on Page 6
Incumbents keep HRCA board seats Lemmon, Park, Seymour prevail over challengers Staff report
Chris, left, and Chrissie Smith in their Highlands Ranch home near Quebec and South University. “I’m so proud of her,” Chris said of his wife, who is donating her kidney to a 16-year-old in April. “This is really such a great thing.” Photo by Alex DeWind
Donor match a ‘minor miracle’ Kidney donor, recipient are both area residents By Alex DeWind adewind@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Jillian LaPlante, 16, suffers from a rare kidney disorder. Courtesy photo
Chrissie Smith was 18 when she lost her mother to breast cancer that metastasized into bone cancer. Nothing could be done to save her life. Smith decided then, that if given the chance, she would do what couldn’t be done for her mother. So when she saw a bumper sticker that said 16-year-old Jillian LaPlante needed a kidney transplant, she took it as a sign. “I got on Facebook the following day and saw a post with the same 16-year-old girl,” the Highlands Ranch
resident said. “I thought, ‘That’s it — this is me.’” Smith, 33, will donate her kidney to the Mountain Vista High School sophomore April 19. LaPlante was diagnosed with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis — a rare autoimmune disorder that involves rapid loss of kidney function — when she was 5 years old. Both of her kidneys failed. “The doctors never found a trigger,” LaPlante said. “Basically, my body was attacking itself.” There are only seven reported cases of the disorder per million people a year, according to Medscape, part of the WebMD Health Professional Net-
Eastridge Recreation Center’s meeting room had a full house on March 15 for the Highlands Ranch Communtiy Association board of directors election. INSIDE Three incumbents, including president Scott Lemmon, secretary Melissa Park and treasurer Dennis Find out Seymour, and two who the new candidates, inparties cluding Jack Patterson and Kurt Hoffchose to man, contested for appear on three seats on the the primary board. ballot. The incumbents PAGE 3 were re-elected. Election continues on Page 3
NET GAINS In tennis, the second serve is one of the most important parts of the game. PAGE 24
Donor continues on Page 6
Grand Opening! ColoradoSkinAndVein.com See page 5 for an invitation to our grand opening celebration
303-945-2080