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Week of May 12, 2022
ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO
A publication of
Northglenn-ThorntonSentinel.com
VOLUME 58 | ISSUE 40
Superintendents sound off on teacher shortage
DELIVERING THE PITCH
BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
The Public Education and Business Coalition hosted a panel of regional school district superintendents on May 4 to discuss the teacher shortage affecting Colorado. The coalition promotes teamwork among the business community and the education community to solve problems. In attendance for the
Westminster baseball pitcher Michael Davidson fires a pitch in during the second inning of a May 7 game against Rangeview. See the story on page 16. PHOTO BY JONATHAN MANESS
State to spend $28 million to fund free summer trips RTD officials hope bus and train program will form ridership habits BY JESSE PAUL THE COLORADO SUN
If you build it, will they really come? Or, more specifically, if you make transit free for one month will Coloradans start riding it and then come back when they have to pay? Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Jared Polis hope the
answer is “yes” as they prepare to spend $28 million on a program aimed at easing air pollution in Colorado, particularly during summer months when ozone levels are high. Senate Bill 180 would allocate the money to let public transportation agencies, primarily the Regional Transportation District in the Denver area, offer free train and bus trips. RTD plans to use the money to offer free rides in August 2022 and 2023. The idea, first unveiled by the governor late last year, is to get Coloradans to try out transit in the hopes that they
INSIDE: VOICES: PAGE 10 | LIFE: PAGE 12 | CALENDAR: PAGE 15 | SPORTS: PAGE 16
SEE TRIPS, P9
SEE TEACHERS, P4
Westminster hosts second town hall BY LUKE ZARZECKI LZARZECKI@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
will form a habit. “We want to increase ridership because we want to increase the use of public transit because that helps our air quality,” said state Rep. Matt Gray, a Broomfield Democrat and prime sponsor of the measure. But not everyone believes that the adage “if you build it they will come” applies in this case. RTD’s ridership is still recovering from the pandemic and the funding comes without data showing it’s a sure bet.
panel was Deputy Superintendent for JeffCo Public Schools Kym LeBlanc-Esparza, Superintendent for Adams 12 Chris Gdowski, Superintendent of Fremont RE-2 School District Brenda Krage and Aurora Public Schools Superintendent Rico Munn. Prior to their discussion, remarks came from Cindy Marten, deputy
Homelessness and speeding were the top concerns at Westminster High School May 3 as the Westminster city council hosted its second town hall. City Councilor Lindsey Emmons said there are more than 17 encampments in Westminster after Mark Kaiser asked why it takes so long to remove those individuals off private property and clean up the site. Emmons said staff and council created a protocol on how to compassionately remove these individuals, and it may take from one day to over two weeks.
CHOREOGRAPHED COMEBACK
“We have one homeless navigator on staff that is working with each of these individuals to place them in programs or homes or shelters,” she said “Something to get them within a productive means of society.” Councilors conducted the meeting differently this time. Instead of city staff members calling on folks to ask a question, each attendee wrote down their questions on cards and council members pulled those cards from boxes. “Some of the times people got up to speak (at the last meeting) it went on for a long time
Ballet and opera look to begin anew post-COVID P12
SEE TOWN HALL, P6