Denver school
Habanero peppers are blamed for haz-mat situation at Lakewood School
Six habanero peppers are being blamed for Monday afternoon’s haz-mat situation at a Lakewood school. At about 1 p.m. Monday a skin reaction sent seven students from Jefferson County Open School to hospitals, and about two dozen others were decontaminated on site before the school was evacuated. Jefferson County Public Schools released a statement Tuesday saying that members of the environmental services team found pieces of about six habaneros peppers scattered in the wood chips of the playground where the children had the mysterious reaction. Investigators don’t know how the peppers got onto the playground. District officials are washing the playground and equipment to ensure there is no more oil from the peppers. The wood chips where the habanero peppers were found will be re...
An important win for Jeffco charter schools: one mom’s impassioned perspective
The Jefferson County Public School Board of Education Meeting was the place to be on Thursday night. It was standing room only, literally, and by the time the meeting officially started at 6:30 p.m. people were being turned away due to fire code and space issues. As a concerned parent, voter, and taxpayer in Jefferson County, this meeting piqued my interest. Up for discussion was the equalization of funds for public charter schools. I felt it was important for my voice to be heard, so I wrote a letter to the Board (below) and spoke at the meeting. It was amazing to see so many parents there! The Board majority approved a $3.7 million line item for charter schools. In my opinion this is a huge step in the right direction. ****************************** Dear Jefferson County Public School Bo...
$950 million Colorado school finance measure officially on ballot
It’s official: The proposed school finance restructuring known as Initiative 22 will appear on the November ballot, now under the title Amendment 66. Secretary of State Scott Gessler announced Wednesday that the initiative, which would raise $950 million in additional taxes for education, had passed the threshold of valid signatures required to bring the measure before voters. Proponents had been confident all along that they had more than enough signatures after delivering almost double the 86,105 required. A random sample analyzed by Gessler’s office came up just short of the verification rate necessary to put the initiative directly on the ballot, although it projected that supporters would have the requisite valid signatures.
