Canyon Courier

11/10/2025

Jefferson County Schools faces a critical decision: Ask voters for new taxes or watch reserves run dry.

After 18 months of analysis, the district's citizen Financial Advisory Committee delivered a stark message last week: "Using reserves to fund recurring operating expenses is simply not sustainable."

The committee recommends pursuing a mill levy override that would raise Jeffco's per-student funding to match neighboring districts like Denver and Boulder.

The district has already closed 21 schools due to declining enrollment and is implementing $45 million in budget cuts. But committee members say cuts alone won't solve the structural deficit.

Read the full story:

Jefferson County Schools faces a $60 million budget crisis, with a citizen financial advisory committee proposing new taxes to avoid reserves depletion.

11/06/2025

🎓 ICYMI: While everyone was watching election results, Jeffco families got HUGE news!

Your student with a 3.0 GPA = GUARANTEED admission to CU Denver

💰 No application fees
📍 Stay home, save thousands
✅ Starting NOW for current juniors & seniors

Full details: https://www.canyoncourier.com/news/jeffco-students-with-3-0-gpa-get-cu-denver-guarantee/article_8129533c-a003-5c3d-8eaf-b2d83a9c12cf.html

11/06/2025

Evergreen High School students said they felt the support and love from their community in the wake of the Sept. 10 shooting. Recently, they hosted a gathering to say thank you.

Only in Evergreen would a community rally around its children in the wake of a tragedy as they did after the Sept. 10 shooting, believes Evergreen High School student body

11/06/2025

Efforts are underway to try to stem the ever-increasing costs of fire insurance, and industry experts and politicians talked about options during a recent meeting at Conifer High School.

Fire insurance is a huge pain point for foothills residents, who love their quiet mountain homes but are struggling with the cost to protect them from one of the area’s

11/06/2025

Students gleefully destroyed pumpkins and learned a real-time lesson about composting during the second annual Parmalee Elementary Pumpkin Smash.

There’s more than one way to destroy a pumpkin. And by the end of Parmalee Elementary’s second annual Pumpkin Smash, the students knew them all.

11/05/2025

📚 JEFFCO SCHOOLS UPDATE: Election results are solidifying, showing Jefferson County voters have chosen significant change for their school board.

Here's where the races stand this morning:
✅ District 1: Denine Echevarria maintains strong lead (64.5%)
✅ District 2: Peter Gibbons' victory confirmed (68%)
📊 District 5: Tina Moeinian holding lead in three-way race (40.7%)

If these results hold, Jefferson County Public Schools will have three new members when they are are sworn in early December - just as the district grapples with critical decisions about a $60 million budget shortfall.

Whitney Newman, educator and JCEA political action chair, said the union hopes newly elected board members "will do a better job of managing our taxpayer dollars to ensure funding reaches critical resources that support our students in the classroom."
Read our full analysis, including what parents should watch for in coming weeks:

https://www.canyoncourier.com/news/new-faces-emerge-as-jeffco-school-board-race-leaders/article_aca840a7-d4ee-5581-9654-ff10146541a0.html

What changes do you hope to see with new leadership? Share your priorities below.

11/04/2025

Jefferson County Schools' $1.7 Million 'Ghost' Accounts

The Halloween decorations are down, but I've discovered something that should genuinely concern our community—17 "ghost" purchasing accounts that operate without the accountability required for every other district credit card.

While regular employees face strict oversight and potential discipline for purchasing violations, these ghost accounts have:

No assigned cardholders
No application forms
No centralized record-keeping

One ghost account alone spent $570,000. These accounts represent 12% of all district credit card spending.

For comparison: Denver Public Schools and Douglas County Schools don't have ghost accounts at all.

Read the full investigation: https://www.thegoldentranscript.com/news/jeffco-schools-ghost-accounts-spent-1-73m-in-7-months/article_988ec1ee-ec3d-403b-819e-6cdcaa54d9d6.html

What are your thoughts on this? Should the district eliminate these accounts?

Ghost accounts don't follow normal P-card rules, lack application forms, and had a total of 409 transactions totaling $1.73 million within seven months.

11/03/2025

Adequate fire pressure in mountain hydrants is among the many keys to fighting wildfires. The Evergreen Metro District and Evergreen Fire are working together to test and eventually improve those flows.

The Evergreen Metropolitan District and Evergreen Fire/Rescue are working together to test water pressure in hydrants throughout the area.

10/31/2025

Seven years after the off-leash dog park closed, the Stagecoach Trailhead area has been renovated, including a new trail to Jenkins Peak.

With much of it closed for seven years, the site of the former Elk Meadow Park Dog off-leash park reopened in late October with a new trailhead and an added

10/27/2025

Evergreen's tennis bubble has new life again. The owners of Club 45 envision a vibrant future for it as an athletic and community center for tennis and pickleball players.

Nearly 10% of Colorado’s population plays tennis, yet court space nationwide is vanishing fast — either converting to development or pickleball courts, or simply not being maintained, according to USTA

10/24/2025

Six weeks after a shooting at Evergreen High School, Jefferson County Public Schools faced tough questions from parents about both security measures and school culture at Thursday's community forum.

https://www.canyoncourier.com/news/education/jeffco-pledges-permanent-evergreen-security-amid-frustration/article_e360c41f-d125-4930-8bc2-34565a9e4620.html

10/23/2025

With the clock ticking on getting any money from Red Rocks at all in 2025, the Morrison board approved a new impact agreement with its world-famous neighbor.

After more discussion and an executive session, the Morrison Town Board signed a new impact agreement with Red Rocks Amphitheater, one that at least one trustee says still gives the