Elizabeth School District’s board voted unanimously Tuesday night to sever its relationship with Education ReEnvisioned BOCES, a Monument-based education agency that drew scrutiny after a short stint authorizing what its leaders called Colorado’s first “public Christian school.”
The school board approved a resolution to withdraw from the ERBOCES, as it is commonly referred to, after joining in January.
“After thoughtful review, we’ve concluded that our membership in the ERBOCES was not providing sufficient benefits to justify continued participation,” board President Rhonda Olsen said before the board voted. “And as a result, we determined that it is time for a fresh start and new approach. This decision was based solely on what we believe is in the best interest of the district and not on social media commentary, political pressure or outside influence.”
Four of the five board members were at the meeting. Mike Calahan, who was the board treasurer, resigned in May, Colorado Community Media reported.
A BOCES, which stands for board of cooperative educational services, acts as a hub that connects school districts with services and resources they could not otherwise afford on their own. That includes special education services, technology support, applying for grants or purchasing supplies. Colorado has 21 BOCES agencies working with more than 150 districts, according to the Colorado BOCES Association.
Ken Witt, executive director of ERBOCES, wrote in an email to The Colorado Sun Wednesday that “districts choose to join and leave ERBOCES as members occasionally, often in conjunction with district leadership or significant board changes in those districts.”
“ERBOCES is grateful for the support and participation of members,” Witt wrote, “and we understand when political and administrative changes lead to affiliation changes.”
Meanwhile, the board of School District 49 in Falcon — the only other district that is part of ERBOCES — will consider stepping back from the agency at its board meeting Thursday.
A memo from board Treasurer Mike Heil and approved by Board President Marie La Vere-Wright says the board will “re-evaluate D49’s relationship with ERBOCES in light of recent developments.”
“Since announcing their opening of the ‘first Christian public school in Colorado’ in our board room in October, ERBOCES has been subject to increasing public scrutiny,” the memo reads. “In light of developments that have followed, it is appropriate for the board to have a discussion about emerging facts and controversies, and consider the organizational impact. As not only a BOCES member district, but also their fiscal sponsor, D49 is a part of the public conversation around them, for better or for worse.”
The “public Christian school,” called Riverstone Academy in Pueblo County, closed earlier this month after changes in state law disqualified the school from receiving state funding, Chalkbeat Colorado reported. The state education department last fall raised questions over whether the school could receive public dollars in light of its Christian affiliation.
The school was born out of a mission by a conservative law firm to set the stage for a religious freedom lawsuit that could ultimately be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, Chalkbeat Colorado reported.
Heil said he has had reservations about ERBOCES since first learning of the agency, wary about what he sees as “minimal transparency” baked into the agency’s process of opening schools — including Riverstone Academy.
“The design was to authorize and operate schools in a way that most people have no idea what was happening,” Heil said Wednesday in a phone interview with The Colorado Sun.
He is particularly concerned about the ways ERBOCES has used public funds to connect homeschool students and private school students with enrichment programs that enhance their education, in some cases paying for ski passes or horseback riding for students. Chalkbeat Colorado reported that ERBOCES works with private contractors to offer more than 50 homeschool enrichment programs across the state with more in the works.
Lawmakers set new parameters around the homeschool enrichment programs backed by ERBOCES, allowing the programs to offer only activities that are typically available to public school students. Additionally, private school students will no longer be permitted to take advantage of enrichment programs that rely on public funds, according to Chalkbeat Colorado. Targeting ERBOCES with the changes could save the state tens of millions of dollars a year.
Heil described the agency’s homeschool enrichment programs as “an inappropriate use of public funds.”
“We are operating in an environment where Colorado education has just been very, very, very slowly starved of funds,” he said, noting that voters routinely tell him the board must cut waste, fraud and abuse.
“Well here is waste, fraud and abuse happening right in front of me,” Heil said, “and now that I’m aware of it, it is my moral, legal and ethical responsibility to address it.”
However, should District 49 end its relationship with ERBOCES, it could also stand to lose funding. As ERBOCES’ fiscal sponsor, District 49 acts as “a conduit,” passing along dollars from the state to the agency. The district also reports data from the ERBOCES to the state, including counts of students.
As part of that arrangement, the district receives Title I funds for students who are growing up in poverty and learning through the ERBOCES. That’s usually more than $2 million per year, according to Heil. If the district parts ways with the agency, it will forfeit those dollars.
One big question Heil said the board must address: “How does the district in its tight financial situation walk away from money on the table?”
The stakes are high for ERBOCES. If District 49 follows Elizabeth School District and terminates its work with the BOCES, that will leave Pikes Peak State College in El Paso County as its sole member. A BOCES needs at least two members, including two school districts or one district and one higher education institution, to stay in business in Colorado.
Without District 49, Heil said, ERBOCES would have to quickly find a new school district as a replacement, one that would be willing to serve as its fiscal sponsor.