Welcome to Class Notes.

I'm Suzie Glassman, an education reporter covering K–12 schools across Jefferson, Adams, and Weld counties for the Colorado Trust for Local News.

I do the homework, so you don't have to.

That means I watch the board meetings, read the budget documents, and ask the follow-up questions, so you get the story, not the spin.

This newsletter exists because I believe parents and educators deserve more than press releases and Facebook rumors. You deserve reported journalism that explains what's actually happening in your schools and why it matters.

This week: Jeffco counselors are asking where $33 million in mental health funding went, and the district says it doesn't track that. Five (or more) Westminster schools land on a closure/consolidation list parents haven't seen. And Fort Lupton remembers a superintendent who believed in kids first.

Let's get into it.

The district can't show where $33 million in voter-approved funding went, and the oversight committee required by the ballot measure was never formed.

Seven school counselors stood before the Jefferson County school board on Dec. 18 with a question the district couldn't answer: Where did the mental health money go?

In 2018, voters approved a mill levy starting at $33 million annually, designated partly for mental health services. Seven years later, the district is cutting many of those positions.

The ballot measure also required a Citizens' Financial Oversight Advisory Committee to review spending. When counselors filed a public records request for meeting minutes, the district said no such committee existed—and that none had ever been formed.

Between the lines: The next day, the district announced 139 positions had been eliminated, 90 of which are currently vacant. About 50 employees were notified their positions would be "discontinued." Meanwhile, the district is actively recruiting for an executive director of strategic initiatives at up to $155,000 per year.

What's next: Individual school budgets will be set in January. School-based staff will receive notifications about position changes in February or March, with a contractual deadline of March 15 for tenured teachers.

📌 5 (or more) Westminster schools face closure or consolidation. Two schools landed in the "red zone": Mesa Elementary and Hidden Lake Secondary. Three more are borderline. A public Q&A is set for Jan. 13. Full story →

📌 Westminster families scramble as child-care program closes. Nearly 50 families are searching for new care after the district announced F.M. Day, its largest early childhood program, will close in May. Full story →

📌 Jeffco has closed 22 schools. Here's where they stand. Eight have found new owners or uses. Fourteen haven't sold. Five more properties were declared surplus in 2025, meaning the district can start looking for buyers—but no deals are in place. Full tracker →

📌 'Kids First': Weld RE-8 remembers Superintendent Kaylor. Alan Kaylor, who served as Fort Lupton High School principal and then Weld RE-8 superintendent until his retirement in June 2025, died Dec. 23 after a battle with ALS. Full story →

📍 Westminster's full closure plan. I'm meeting with district administration to discuss the roadmap through 2028 and get more context behind the viability scores.

📍 Jeffco's missing oversight committee. The 2018 mill levy ballot language required a Citizens' Financial Oversight Advisory Committee to review spending. I'm looking into why it was never formed, and what that means for accountability.

📍 Zerger Elementary and the plutonium question. Jeffco plans to sell Zerger Elementary, vacant since 2023, to a housing developer. The site sits near Rocky Flats, and community members have raised concerns about possible contamination. I'm digging into what the district knows and what disclosures are required.

If this issue was useful, forward it to another parent, teacher, or neighbor who wants to know what's happening in their schools. And hit reply to tell me what you want to see. I read every message.

See you next week.
Suzie

Class Notes is reported and written by Suzie Glassman for the Colorado Trust for Local News.

I do the homework, so you don't have to.

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