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August 12, 2021
JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 15
VOLUME 17 | ISSUE 8
Jeffco paid for a report on school closure, then shelved it Four years later, the district faces the same challenges BY YESENIA ROBLES FOR CHALKBEAT COLORADO
Sept. 13. Arvada Manager of Mobility and Planning Innovation John Firouzi said that the idea for the pilot program came from a desire to increase connectivity to the G-line. “It started with the citizen’s Transportation Advisory Committee coming to City Council with a solution for first and last
When Jeffco leaders saved four out of five schools from closure in 2017, they knew they were just kicking the problem down the road.They said so at the time. They even paid an education consulting firm $170,000 to look at how other districts handle school closures and make recommendations, but the report was shelved and never acted on. It wasn’t presented to the school board or the community, and no policies changed. Instead, administrators worked on other priorities, even as enrollment continued to drop. This spring, Jeffco Public Schools closed another small school, Allendale Elementary, with little warning for parents and no board vote. At one meeting, parents and teachers who wanted to talk about their school were turned away. Another 28 Jeffco schools have enrollment below 200 students, a level that threatens their financial viability, and district leaders again are launching a conversation about what to do. It’s unclear if the previous work will be used or need to be updated. Steve Bell, Jeffco’s chief operating officer, points out that the district has different board members, a new superintendent, and even new administrators who all need to discuss the issue. “It’s incumbent upon us to draft and implement a certain set of criteria so we can address those things,” Bell said. “So that there is a very clear awareness both internally and externally in the district about how we do this.” Since the 2017 proposal to close five Jeffco schools, several things interrupted the work of planning for school closure, Bell said. When Bell and his team first hired MGT Consulting to do the outside review, they thought more school
SEE BIKES, P7
SEE SCHOOLS, P6
Children assemble in front of an Arvada Fire Protection District truck on National Night Out.
PHOTO BY LEILANI OSMUNDSON/CITY OF ARVADA
Arvada celebrates National Night Out 18 events bring police, first responders together with community BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Neighbors could be found barbecuing, enjoying music and
meeting with local first responders on Aug. 3 as part of Arvada’s celebration of National Night Out, an annual communitybuilding campaign that seeks to promote police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. 2021 marks Arvada’s 15th year hosting National Night Out events, with 18 neighborhood gatherings held throughout the
city, according to Arvada Chief Communications Manager Ben Irwin. Police officers, first responders, city team members and elected officials paid visits to neighborhood gatherings throughout the evening. Irwin said that in light of recent tragedies that have occurred in Arvada, connecting with first SEE NIGHT OUT, P8
Council to vote on shared scooter and bike pilot program Pilot program up to council vote on Aug. 16 and would begin Sept. 13 BY RYAN DUNN RDUNN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Shared scooters and bikes might be coming to Arvada on a limited basis in the near future.
A pilot program proposed by the Transportation Committee will go to a City Council vote on Aug. 16 to determine if two vendors can begin offering micromobility services around the Arvada and Wheat Ridge G-line stops. If approved by Council, the proposed program would allow two approved companies to drop a predetermined number of devices in the designated service area surrounding the G-line on