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November 6, 2014 VOLU M E 1 3 | I SS UE 42
LoneTreeVoice.net A publication of
D O U G L A S C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
Voucher case set for state’s top court Among the flurry of development in the Lone Tree area is a 230-unit apartment complex on the west side of Park Meadows Drive north of Lincoln Avenue. Two other apartment complexes are under construction at the Lincoln light rail station. Photo by Jane Reuter
Global stature on the rise Business leaders weigh in on 3 million mark in metro area By Amy Woodward and Jane Reuter Staff writers
Denver may be home to more than 600,000 people, but add the surrounding cities and counties, and the Denver metro area is expected to collectively grow to 3 million people. In fact, it may have already happened, a milestone that firmly places the area on the international radar in the global competition for jobs. According to estimates from the State Demographer’s Office, the population may have hit the 3 million mark in mid-August, but demographers won’t know for sure until next July, said Elizabeth Garner, a state demographer. In July, the estimated population of the Denver area was 2.951 million people. “The growth that Colorado is experiencing right now is not that unusual,” said Garner, reporting an increase of 78,000 people last year compared to 120,000 people at one time dur-
ing the 1990s. Typical or not, local political and business leaders are taking notice of the population growth and weighing in about what that means for the area. “It’s a brave new world for us,” said Tom Clark, chief executive of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. and executive vice president of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. “At 2 million people, a metropolitan region becomes a perpetual job machine,” he said, citing a study conducted by a research economist in the early 1990s. At the 2 million mark, a city begins to grow its own jobs and becomes self-sustaining, Clark explained. Money stays within the community longer and exits later while wealth and income tend to go up. But at 3 million, a city or in this case — a metropolitan area — makes its debut on the world stage. “Three million begins to put you into a global competition for jobs,” Clark said. In the past, Colorado’s biggest competitors for job locations were Phoenix and Dallas. Today, Colorado’s direct competitors to the south
are overshadowed by cities much farther away such as Dublin, Singapore and Toronto. Clark credits transportation build-out, infrastructure and a highly diverse economy for putting the Denver area on the global market. He pinpointed specific areas of the state’s economy that are in line with the U.S. economy — green and fossil energy, health care and wellness, IT, telecom, bio-tech, aerospace and financial services. Most of those industries already are well represented in Douglas County, which is seeing some of the fastest job-growth in the country. That isn’t expected to change anytime soon, with demographers predicting the population to grow by another third from about 315,000 to 478,000 in the next 25 years. Much of that growth will center around light rail, predicts Jeff Holwell, Lone Tree’s economic development director and former chief operating officer for the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce. “New investment in office and commercial facilities is frequently moving towards transit and transit-oriented developments because 3 Million continues on Page 14
Beloved Highlands Ranch High teacher dies Students credit Joe Chandler for saving and changing lives By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com As a Highlands Ranch High School student, Adam Rhodes was so disinterested in school he drew giraffes on his ACT and SAT test forms. Today, Rhodes owns a successful custom art and clothing company Dive Ink, and soon may be appearing on the “Ink Master” tattoo artists’ competition reality show. At 21, he is so financially comfortable he considers himself largely retired. He credits it all to former HRHS teacher Joe Chandler, who died unexpectedly Oct. 12. “The only reason I’m here, doing exactly what I do today, is because of Joe Chandler,” Rhodes said, adding that without Chandler’s guidance he knows he wouldn’t have finished high school. “He’s the reason a lot of kids are either alive or where they are now,” Rhodes said. Chandler, 46, collapsed while on a fall break cruise with his wife, Sue Chandler, who said her husband’s family has a history of heart conditions. According to Sue, he did not regain consciousness despite multiple efforts to revive him. He leaves behind his wife, Chandler four children, and a stunned collection of current and former students. Chandler taught Alternative Cooperative
Joe Chandler, standing, who headed up the Alternative Cooperative Education program at Highlands Ranch High School since its inception in 2007, died Oct. 12 while on a cruise with his wife. The program had been recognized as the best in the state in 2012. File photo Education (ACE) at HRHS, classes designed for at-risk students, since the program’s inception in 2007. Under Chandler’s direction, the state-sanctioned ACE was recognized as the best among 111 such programs in Colorado. “There are 150 kids who would not have walked across the graduation stage without Joe being part of their lives,” said Sue, who met her future husband while both were college students in Washington. “From the time I met him, he knew he wanted to teach. “He always taught those kids that fall be-
tween the cracks or are challenged. He was a friend. He was a father. He was a mentor. He made those kids who might otherwise be invisible in high school extraordinarily visible.” HRHS Principal Jerry Goings said Chandler’s death is a huge loss for the school. “You move on and hopefully find someone who will meet the kids’ needs and continue with the strong program we have, but he’s not replaceable,” Goings said. “When you’re teaching at-risk kids, you have to find a way Chandler continues on Page 14
Battle over school district program continues Dec. 10 By Jane Reuter
jreuter @coloradocommunitymedia.com 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 Larsen 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 reversed that decision in February 2012. Voucher continues on Page 14
South Suburban measure passes Arapahoe voters put tax hike over top By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com Voters in western Centennial and Littleton propelled to victory a tax measure to support the South Suburban Parks and Recreation District, though residents in Douglas and Jefferson counties were less enthusiastic. South Suburban asked voters to approve a tax hike of 2 mills. It passed by a tally of 32,921 to 29,694, or about 53 percent in favor, as of results released the morning of Nov. 5. The measure lost in both Douglas and Jefferson counties, but won by more than 4,000 votes in Arapahoe, which is the largest portion of the district. The Douglas part of the district is primarily made up of Lone Tree. “We are very pleased with the results of the election, and we thank the voters of the district for their continuing support of South Suburban,” said John Ostermiller, chairman of the SSPRD board of directors. Ballot Issue 4C asked for a property-tax hike for 10 years — about $16 per $100,000 of a home’s value per year — resulting in about $4.5 million annually in additional revenues Suburban continues on Page 4
BALLOT ISSUE 4C A look at how Ballot Issue 4C fared in the three counties in which it was placed on the ballot: ARAPAHOE: Yes — 28,437; No — 24,217 DOUGLAS: Yes — 3,951; No — 4,871 JEFFERSON: Yes — 533; No — 606