With the Adams 14 district failing to meet state academic expectations for eight years, Colorado education officials plan to send in an outside manager — but they don’t trust the district to agreeably cede its authority.
So before it steps in, the Colorado State Board of Education is asking for an opinion from the attorney general’s office about just how far they can go.
Colorado has never ordered an external organization to take over full management of an entire district. Many of the changes the state board can order, such as merging districts, have never been tried in Colorado.
Based on discussions Thursday, Adams 14 will be required to hire an external manager for at least four years. The district will have 90 days to finalize a contract with an external manager. If it doesn’t, or if the contract doesn’t meet the state’s guidelines, the state may pull the district’s accreditation, which would trigger dissolution of Adams 14.
Read Chalkbeat Colorado’s full coverage here and here.
Chalkbeat Colorado is a nonprofit news organization covering education issues. For more, visit chalkbeat.org/co.
