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November 6, 2014 VOLU M E 1 1 3 | I S S UE 1 | 7 5 ¢
DouglasCountyNewsPress.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
Voucher case set for state’s top court
TRICK OR TREAT ON WILCOX STREET
Battle over school district program continues Dec. 10 By Jane Reuter
jreuter @coloradocommunitymedia.com
Children enjoy free crafts during Trick or Treat Street Oct.31 at Festival Park in Castle Rock. Orange and black balloons led the way as trick-or-treaters from around Douglas County made their way around Wilcox Street in downtown Castle Rock the afternoon of Oct. 31. Local businesses handed out candy and some business owners even got in the spirit and dressed up themselves. The fire department invited people in for crafts and down at Festival Park there was more candy, food and a bouncy castle.
PHOTOS BY MIKE DIFERDINANDO
POSTAL ADDRESS
Businesses welcomed trick-or-treaters during Trick or Treat Street Oct. 31 in downtown Castle Rock.
NEWS-PRESS
(ISSN 1067-425X) (USPS 567-060) OFFICE: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 PHONE: 303-566-4100 A legal newspaper of general circulation in Englewood, Colorado, and the towns of Castle Rock, Parker and Larkspur, the NewsPress is published weekly on Thursday by Colorado Community Media and additional mailing offices. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address change to: 9137 S. Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 DEADLINES: Display: Fri. 11 a.m. Legal: Fri. 11 a.m. | Classified: Mon. 5 p.m. G ET SOCIAL WITH US
P L EA SE R ECYC L E T H I S C OPY
WISE Authority buys existing pipeline $34 million price split between 10 members By Mike DiFerdinando
mdiferdinando@coloradocommunitymedia.com One of the last major pieces of infrastructure for the WISE Water Agreement is now in place. On Oct. 21, members of the South Metro Water Supply Authority and Denver Water purchased the East Cherry Creek Valley Water and Sanitation District’s Western Waterline. The pipeline purchase is a significant milestone in WISE, a partnership between 10 southmetro members, Denver Water and Aurora Water to share water supply and infrastructure. The South Metro WISE Authority is made up of 10 water providers that are all part of the larger South Metro Water Supply Authority. Nine of those water providers — Centennial, Cottonwood, Dominion, Inverness, Meridian, Parker, Pinery, Stonegate Village and Castle Rock—are located in Douglas County. The 10th, Rangeview Metropolitan District, is located in Aurora. The purchase price was $34 million, with the 10 south-metro WISE participants paying 85 percent or $29,275,000, and Denver Water paying 15 percent or $4,725,000. Using Aurora’s Prairie Waters system, Au-
rora Water and Denver Water will provide water through the Western Waterline to participating south-metro members on a permanent basis. WISE will also provide a new emergency supply for Denver Water, and offset costs and stabilize water rates for Aurora. “This is pretty much the last big piece of the puzzle,” said East Cherry Creek’s executive director of the South Metro Water Supply Authority, Eric Hecox. “With the purchase of the pipeline, we can begin to build the infrastructure that will bring water to all of the South Metro members.” The 20-mile east-west pipeline along E-470 and C-470 has capacity to deliver 38 million gallons of water a day to Douglas and Arapahoe counties. “Our sale of this pipeline is mutually beneficial for all the parties involved,” the president of the ECCV board, O. Karl Kasch, said in a statement. “Under the purchase and sale agreement, ECCV will still have the capacity we need in the pipeline, while also supporting a regional solution to one of the most important water challenges facing the Denver metro region. We have always viewed the Western Waterline as an infrastructure asset from which the entire South Metro community can benefit, and that’s what will be accomplished.” WISE continues on Page 9
The Douglas County School District’s choice scholarship program finally will be aired before the state’s highest court. Oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the voucher program are set for 1:30 p.m. Dec. 10 at the Colorado Supreme Court in downtown Denver. That date is more than three years after a Denver District Court judge halted the pilot program by declaring it unconstitutional in August 2011. The Colorado Court of Appeals Larsen reversed that decision in February 2012. “We’re certainly looking forward to entering this phase,” school board president Kevin Larsen said. “It’s our wish they would uphold the decision that stands at the moment.” Plaintiff Cindy Barnard shares Larsen’s sense of anticipation. “I’m confident that we will prevail in the Supreme Court,” said Barnard, a Highlands Ranch resident and president of the nonprofit Taxpayers for Public Education. “It’ll be a bad day for public education if we do not prevail.” Parents and groups, including the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado and Taxpayers for Public Education, filed suit after DCSD introduced the program in 2011. It allows parents to use state-issued funds toward tuition at private schools — most of which have a religious affiliation. The Colorado Department of Education and the school district are defendants in the case. Each side will have 30 minutes to present oral arguments during the Dec. 10 court proceeding. Justices will then deliberate and write an opinion, a process that could take months. Though it is on hold during litigation, the program is listed on DCSD’s website among its school choice options. The district’s description of the choice scholarship program includes a notation that it is pending due to a court challenge, links about the court proceedings and the legal fund established to defend the program. Donations to the fund so far have totaled more than $1.16 million. The site says the defense is relying on privately raised funds, and no taxpayer dollars. Larsen said the district hasn’t discussed the next steps. “We’ve really gone four years now without being able to implement the pilot that was about to get under way,” he said. “We will look at the time the decision comes what the best course is for the kids in the district. “It’s really too early to speculate now. We’re just focused on one step at a time.” Likewise, Barnard said the plaintiffs haven’t considered any further action if they don’t prevail at the state Supreme Court. “We’ll cross that road if we come to it,” she said. “We’re hopeful that we will not come to that.”