FEBRUARY 2, 2017
CALMING THE SENSES: JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
Sensory-deprivation tanks help separate mind from body P14
Jeffco targets five schools for possible closure Pennington and Stober may not be opening for 2017-18 school year
HUB HELP: Stevens Elementary adds
a community resource hub to help those in need P8 COOKIES! It’s that time of year again, as Girl Scouts celebrate 100 years of cookie sales with a new recipe P6
BY SHANNA FORTIER SFORTIER@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Five Jefferson County elementary schools have been named for possible closure under the district budget-cutting plan, a measure school officials say will save the district $3.5 million. “It will be a disruption to some families short-term,” Jeffco Superintendent Dan McMinimee told reporters the afternoon of Jan. 26, hours before the school names were released. “But hopefully long-term, those families will see benefits of having high-quality educators in classrooms their kids access.” The schools being considered are Peck and Swanson elementaries in Arvada, Pennington Elementary in Wheat Ridge, Pleasant View Elementary in Golden and Stober Elementary in Lakewood. The school board will make a final decision as early as its Feb. 9 meeting. Stober and Pleasant View were previously on a school closure list when the district proposed closing and consolidating schools last year. The other three schools have not been part of the school closure conversation until now. “This is day one of this conversation in those communities,” board member Amanda Stevens said at the Jan. 26 meeting. “I’m feeling a deep sense of compassion that this is the first night they have heard this and they might get the final word two weeks from now.” SEE CLOSURES, P5
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MINER’S ALLEY PLAYHOUSE
THE BOTTOM LINE
“The worse part is that under current state law, employers found guilty of wage theft are shielded from the public eye because an obsolete law classifies wage theft as a ‘trade secret.’ ” Rep. Jessie Danielson, District 24 | P10 INSIDE
VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 14 | CALENDAR: PAGE 16 | SPORTS: PAGE 18
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VOLUME 93 | ISSUE 25