Denver City Wire

The Adams County School District 14 Board of Education (Adams 14 Board), and as required by statute, passed a resolution this evening affirming its rejection of the proposed contract offered by University Preparatory Schools (UPrep). In September 2021, UPrep submitted a charter school application wherein it made numerous public promises to the Adams 14 community and Board related to the educational programs it claimed it would provide in the Fall of 2022. UPrep even provided a timeline of work. One of the educational programs promised to the community was to provide Pre-K 3 and 4 classes in August 2022. Relying on these public promises and timeline, the Adams 14 Board approved UPrep’s charter application in December 2021. 

Not even one month after approval of the charter application, and behind closed doors, UPrep began working with former district manager, MGT of America, Inc., to pull back on the promises and timeline made to the Adams 14 community and Board without the Adams 14 Board’s knowledge or approval.

By June 2022, UPrep attempted to place a provision in the proposed contract that gave it the ability to not provide Pre-K 3 and 4 classes the first year, as promised to the Adams 14 community and Board. When Adams 14 staff rejected UPrep’s attempt to pull back from its public promises, UPrep threatened Adams 14 to involve Colorado State Board of Education (SBOE) Member Steve Durham in the contract negotiations. By law, the SBOE has no authority to interfere in contract negotiations between local school districts and charter schools. It is public knowledge that Durham has unfairly treated the Adams 14 community and Board with his public bias against the district, and he has made racist statements against our community for which an Adams 14 Board member filed an official complaint. 

Today’s resolution reaffirms the Adams 14 Board’s decision to not enter into a contract with UPrep because of its failure to live up to its public promises and timeline presented to the Adams 14 community and Board, and also because UPrep’s threats to Adams 14 to involve Durham in contract negotiations brings grave concerns to the Adams 14 Board regarding any relationship with UPrep.

Original source can be found here.