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Jeffco Public Schools, Colorado

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Jeffco Public Schools
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Jefferson County, Colorado
District details
Superintendent: Tracy Dorland
# of school board members: 5
Website: Link

Jeffco Public Schools is a school district in Colorado.

Click on the links below to learn more about the school district's...

Superintendent

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This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates.

Tracy Dorland is the superintendent of Jeffco Public Schools. Dorland was appointed superintendent on April 19, 2021. Dorland's previous career experience includes working as the deputy superintendent for Adams 12 Five Star Schools in Colorado, chief academic officer for Adams 12 Five Star Schools, and principal.[1]

Past superintendents

  • Jason Glass was the superintendent of Jeffco Public Schools from 2017 to 2020. Glass' previous career experience includes working as the superintendent of the Eagle County School District.[2][3]
  • Terry Elliott was the interim superintendent of Jeffco Public Schools in 2017. Elliott's previous career experience included working as the district's chief school effectiveness officer.[4]
  • Dan McMinimee was the superintendent of Jeffco Public Schools from 2014 to 2017. McMinimee's previous career experience included working as the assistant superintendent of the Douglas County School District.[4][5]

School board

The Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education consists of five members elected to four-year terms. Board members are elected to specific geographical districts in at-large elections.[6]


Elections

See also: Jeffco Public Schools, Colorado, elections

Elections are held on a staggered basis in November of odd-numbered years.[7]

Three seats on the board are up for general election on November 4, 2025. The filing deadline for this election was August 29, 2025.

Ballotpedia covered school board elections in 367 school districts in 29 states in 2024. Those school districts had a total student enrollment of 12,203,404 students. Click here to read an analysis of those elections.


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Public participation in board meetings

The Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education maintains the following policy on public testimony during board meetings:[8]

District map

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[9]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $104,368,000 $1,303 10%
Local: $579,546,000 $7,235 54%
State: $382,146,000 $4,771 36%
Total: $1,066,060,000 $13,309
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $1,181,318,000 $14,748
Total Current Expenditures: $914,617,000 $11,418
Instructional Expenditures: $497,667,000 $6,213 42%
Student and Staff Support: $122,943,000 $1,534 10%
Administration: $155,316,000 $1,939 13%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $138,691,000 $1,731 12%
Total Capital Outlay: $223,466,000 $2,789
Construction: $206,105,000 $2,573
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $393,000 $4
Interest on Debt: $42,835,000 $534


Teacher salaries

The following salary information was pulled from the district's teacher salary schedule. A salary schedule is a list of expected compensation based on variables such as position, years employed, and education level. It may not reflect actual teacher salaries in the district.

Year Minimum Maximum
2024-2025[10] $55,256 $110,742
2023-2024[11] $52,625 $105,469
2020-2021[12] $42,014 $90,696
2019-2020[13] $42,014 $90,696
2018-2019[14] $40,989 $88,484
2017-2018[15] $38,760 $83,673

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements.[16]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 36 54 10-14 17 15-19 39 42
2018-2019 41 58 17 21 20-24 43 48
2017-2018 42 58 18 21 25-29 42 49
2016-2017 40 55 19 21 20-24 41 48
2015-2016 40 56 18 21 20-24 42 47
2014-2015 39 53 15 20 20-24 39 45
2013-2014 63 75 33 43 41 63 70
2012-2013 63 75 36 44 45 64 70
2011-2012 62 74 35 44 43 62 69
2010-2011 88 92 70 78 79 91

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 53 61 30-34 32 30-34 57 59
2018-2019 54 65 32 34 25-29 56 61
2017-2018 51 62 30 32 30-34 52 59
2016-2017 49 60 28 31 30-34 52 56
2015-2016 46 57 25 28 25-29 50 53
2014-2015 49 58 30 29 32 51 56
2013-2014 76 81 57 60 62 78 83
2012-2013 77 81 57 61 63 80 83
2011-2012 76 79 57 60 62 79 82
2010-2011 94 94 85 88 89 96

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 85 90-94 75-79 77 60-79 80-84 88
2018-2019 85 90-94 80-84 78 60-69 85-89 88
2017-2018 85 >=95 70-74 76 70-79 90-94 88
2016-2017 83 90-94 75-79 75 70-79 80-84 86
2015-2016 83 90-94 75-79 75 60-69 85-89 85
2014-2015 83 90-94 80-84 74 80-89 85-89 85
2013-2014 83 90-94 70-74 74 70-79 80-84 86
2012-2013 81 90-94 65-69 71 65-69 80-84 85
2011-2012 81 90-94 70-74 69 65-69 80-84 85
2010-2011 79 85-89 70-74 65 60-69 83


Students

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 75,327 -2.1
2021-2022 76,904 -4.2
2020-2021 80,099 -5.0
2019-2020 84,078 -0.7
2018-2019 84,646 -1.8
2017-2018 86,146 -0.3
2016-2017 86,371 -0.4
2015-2016 86,731 0.2
2014-2015 86,581 0.7
2013-2014 86,011 0.5
2012-2013 85,542 -0.3
2011-2012 85,793 -0.2
2010-2011 85,979 -0.4
2009-2010 86,282 0.4
2008-2009 85,946 -0.3
2007-2008 86,168 0.0
2006-2007 86,154 -0.2
2005-2006 86,332 -0.6
2004-2005 86,868 -0.3
2003-2004 87,172 -0.9
2002-2003 87,925 -0.6
2001-2002 88,460 0.9
2000-2001 87,703 -1.0
1999-2000 88,579 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Jeffco Public Schools (%) Colorado K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.5 0.6
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 3.1 3.3
Black 1.4 4.6
Hispanic 24.9 35.3
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.1 0.3
Two or More Races 4.4 5.1
White 65.7 50.8

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


Staff

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Jeffco Public Schools had 4,550.96 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 16.55.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 103.81
Kindergarten: 331.78
Elementary: 2,027.23
Secondary: 2,088.14
Total: 4,550.96

Jeffco Public Schools employed 77.51 district administrators and 334.56 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 77.51
District Administrative Support: 397.03
School Administrators: 334.56
School Administrative Support: 476.45
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 1,579.15
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 377.96
Total Guidance Counselors: 330.56
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 69.12
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 219.87
Librarians/Media Specialists: 110.29
Library/Media Support: 2.04
Student Support Services: 839.77
Other Support Services: 1,249.20


Schools

Jeffco Public Schools operates 162 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Adams Elementary School314PK-5
Addenbrooke Classical Academy2019-12
Addenbrooke Classical Grammar School728PK-8
Alameda International Junior/Senior High School1,0627-12
Arvada High School7059-12
Arvada K-8554KG-8
Arvada West High School1,8409-12
Bear Creek High School1,4319-12
Bear Creek K-8 School931KG-8
Bell Middle School7316-8
Belmar School Of Integrated Arts215KG-5
Bergen Meadow Primary School247PK-2
Bergen Valley Intermediate School2433-5
Blue Heron Elementary School376PK-5
Bradford K8 North3145-8
Bradford K8 South402KG-4
Brady Exploration School3049-12
Campbell Elementary School215PK-5
Carmody Middle School6166-8
Chatfield High School1,7849-12
Coal Creek Canyon K-8 Elementary School98KG-8
Collegiate Academy Of Colorado304PK-12
Colorow Elementary School194PK-5
Columbine High School1,6869-12
Columbine Hills Elementary School299PK-5
Compass Montessori - Golden Charter School424PK-12
Compass Montessori - Wheat Ridge Charter School288PK-6
Conifer Senior High School8219-12
Connections Learning Center On The Earle Johnson C236-9
Coronado Elementary School397PK-5
Creighton Middle School7946-8
Dakota Ridge Senior High School1,3389-12
Deane Elementary School295KG-6
Deer Creek Middle School5576-8
Dennison Elementary School612KG-6
D'Evelyn Junior/Senior High School1,1256-12
Devinny Elementary School455KG-5
Doral Academy Of Colorado140KG-12
Drake Junior High School9576-8
Dunstan Middle School8186-8
Dutch Creek Elementary School294PK-5
Edgewater Elementary School292PK-6
Eiber Elementary School259PK-5
Elk Creek Elementary School337PK-5
Emory Elementary School385KG-6
Evergreen High School9549-12
Evergreen Middle School5416-8
Everitt Middle School5156-8
Excel Academy Charter School478KG-8
Fairmount Elementary School633KG-5
Falcon Bluffs Middle School6046-8
Foothills Elementary School272PK-5
Foster Dual Language Pk-8369PK-8
Free Horizon Montessori394PK-8
Fremont Elementary School253KG-5
Glennon Heights Elementary School136KG-5
Golden High School1,4169-12
Governor'S Ranch Elementary School344KG-5
Great Work Montessori260PK-8
Green Gables Elementary School265KG-5
Green Mountain Elementary School202PK-5
Green Mountain High School1,0859-12
Hackberry Hill Elementary School356KG-5
Hutchinson Elementary School297PK-5
Irwin Preschool17PK-PK
Jeffco Remote Learning Program583KG-12
Jeffco Transition Services School11811-12
Jeffco Virtual Academy3396-12
Jefferson Academy317KG-12
Jefferson Academy Elementary733KG-6
Jefferson Academy High School4249-12
Jefferson County Open Elementary School239PK-6
Jefferson County Open Secondary3177-12
Jefferson Junior/Senior High School6127-12
Ken Caryl Middle School7476-8
Kendallvue Elementary School280PK-5
Kendrick Lakes Elementary School372PK-5
Kullerstrand Elementary School195PK-5
Kyffin Elementary School484PK-5
Lakewood High School1,8859-12
Lasley Elementary School286KG-6
Lawrence Elementary School320PK-5
Leawood Elementary School344PK-6
Lincoln Charter Academy809PK-8
Little Elementary School248KG-5
Longview High School359-12
Lukas Elementary School262KG-5
Lumberg Elementary School318PK-6
Mandalay Middle School4766-8
Manning Options School6706-8
Maple Grove Elementary School327KG-5
Marshdale Elementary School336KG-5
Mclain Community High School3957-12
Meiklejohn Elementary457PK-5
Miller Special Education99PK-12
Mitchell Elementary School519KG-5
Molholm Elementary School229PK-6
Montessori Peaks Charter Academy410PK-8
Moore Middle School3686-8
Mortensen Elementary School303PK-5
Mountain Phoenix Community School552PK-8
Mount Carbon Elementary School393PK-5
Mountview Youth Service Center145-12
New America School999-12
New Classical Academy At Vivian162PK-5
Normandy Elementary School263PK-5
North Arvada Middle School4046-8
Oberon Middle School6686-8
Parmalee Elementary School278KG-5
Parr Elementary School185PK-5
Patterson International School351PK-6
Peak Expeditionary - Pennington266PK-5
Peck Elementary School151KG-5
Peiffer Elementary School216PK-5
Pomona High School1,1329-12
Powderhorn Elementary School443KG-5
Prospect Valley Elementary School425KG-5
Ralston Elementary School274KG-5
Ralston Valley Senior High School1,8439-12
Red Rocks Elementary School260PK-5
Rocky Mountain Academy Of Evergreen349KG-8
Rocky Mountain Deaf School91PK-12
Rooney Ranch Elementary School473KG-5
Rose Stein International Elementary281PK-6
Ryan Elementary School351PK-5
Secrest Elementary School249PK-5
Semper Elementary School296PK-5
Shaffer Elementary School503PK-5
Shelton Elementary School374PK-5
Sheridan Green Elementary School250PK-5
Sierra Elementary School445KG-5
Slater Elementary School206PK-5
Sobesky Academy110KG-12
South Lakewood Elementary School331KG-5
Standley Lake High School1,1809-12
Stevens Elementary School322PK-5
Stober Elementary School234KG-5
Stony Creek Elementary School350PK-5
Stott Elementary School299PK-5
Summit Ridge Middle School9096-8
Swanson Elementary School212PK-5
Thomson Elementary School186KG-5
Three Creeks K-81,026KG-8
Two Roads Charter School331PK-12
Ute Meadows Elementary School400PK-5
Van Arsdale Elementary School449PK-5
Vanderhoof Elementary School349KG-5
Warder Elementary School373PK-5
Warren Tech2611-12
Wayne Carle Middle School5216-8
Weber Elementary School234KG-5
Welchester Elementary School277PK-5
Westgate Elementary School352PK-5
West Jefferson Elementary School269PK-5
West Jefferson Middle School5026-8
Westridge Elementary School395PK-5
West Woods Elementary School525KG-5
Wheat Ridge High School9709-12
Wilmore Davis Elementary School230PK-5
Wilmot Elementary School315PK-5
Witt Elementary School239PK-5
Woodrow Wilson Charter Academy512PK-8

Noteworthy events

2017: Board appoints new superintendent

The Jeffco Board of Education unanimously appointed Dr. Jason Glass as superintendent of the district on May 16, 2017. He started serving in the role on July 1, 2017.[2]

Glass replaced former Superintendent Dan McMinimee, who served the district from May 2014 to March 2017. He continued to serve in an advisory role in the district until June 30, 2017, while Terry Elliott served as interim superintendent until Glass took over the position. McMinimee transitioned to the advisory role as part of a mutual agreement with the board. His contract was adjusted so that he could serve the district in the new role until it expired on June 30, 2017.[17]

2015: Governing majority

Prior to the November 2015 general and recall elections, the governing majority of the Jeffco Board of Education was John Newkirk, Julie Williams and Ken Witt, who ran together and won as a conservative slate in the 2013 school board election. Lesley Dahlkemper and Jill Fellman were the minority bloc on the board.[18] All new members were elected to the board on November 3, 2015.[19]

2015: Recall effort

See also: Jeffco Public Schools recall, Colorado (2015)
(L-R) Julie Williams, Ken Witt, and John Newkirk were included in the recall effort in Jeffco Public Schools.

Along with the general election, a recall election for three of the district's five board members was on the ballot on November 3, 2015. District 1 representative Julie Williams, District 2 representative John Newkirk, and District 5 representative Ken Witt, the former majority bloc on the board, were named in the recall petitions.[20] All three members were successfully recalled.[19]

District 3 candidate Ali Lasell and District 4 candidate Amanda Stevens came out in support of the recall. They ran as a slate with three candidates who sought to replace the board members included in the recall effort. Brad Rupert ran for Williams' seat, Susan Harmon ran to unseat Newkirk, and Ron Mitchell sought Witt's seat.[21] Rupert, Harmon and Mitchell, all members of the Clean Slate, were elected to replace the recalled board members.[19]

Kim Johnson and Tori Merritts, who ran against Lasell and Stevens in District 3 and 4, respectively, did not support the recall. Johnson said the recall “increases the level of influence of special interest groups in politics.”[21]


Ballotpedia's Senior Elections Analyst, Brittany Clingen, recaps the results of the historic Jeffco Public Schools elections and recall elections.

A group called Jeffco United for Action filed the petitions against Williams, Witt, and Newkirk in the summer of 2015. All three members said they had no intentions of resigning from the board.[22] Jeffco United for Action filed more than double the number of signatures needed to put the recall on the ballot. "Everybody's really worried about the direction that JeffCo Schools is headed in and this is their answer to helping stop that change that isn't good change," said campaign organizer Lynea Hansen.[23]

Jeffco United for Action accused the three board members of attempting to censor AP U.S. history classes, pushing out over 700 district educators due to their new policies, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars, violating open meeting laws, limiting public input at board meetings, bullying students and parents, and releasing private student information without consent.[24] In response, all three board members stated that their policies raised teacher salaries, made union negotiations transparent, provided free full-day kindergarten to families in need, and brought greater equality in how the district funded its schools.[25]

2014: Proposed curriculum review

The AP U.S. History curriculum was revised for the 2014-2015 school year by the College Board, which develops and administers the Advanced Placement exams. The changes concerned board member Julie Williams. “It’s our constitutional obligation to look at what we are teaching our kids,” Williams said. “The college board owns that framework. I only wanted to review it. It’s important for parents, community members and our stakeholders to see what we are teaching students.”[26] Williams proposed the creation of a nine-member "Board Committee for Curriculum Review" in a special meeting of the board on September 18, 2014. Her proposal described the purpose of the committee as follows:

The charge to the committee is to review curricular choices for conformity to JeffCo academic standards, accuracy and omissions, and to inform the board of any objectionable materials. The committee shall regularly review texts and curriculum according to priorities that it establishes, however, at any time, the Board may add items to the list for review. The committee shall report all comments (majority and minority) to the board in writing on a weekly basis as items are reviewed. Board members may move for discussion or action on items reported when matters warrant public discussion or action. The committee’s initial projects will be a review of the AP US History curriculum and elementary health curriculum.

Review criteria shall include the following: instructional materials should present the most current factual information accurately and objectively. Theories should be distinguished from fact. Materials should promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights. Materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law. Instructional materials should present positive aspects of the United States and its heritage. Content pertaining to political and social movements in history should present balanced and factual treatment of the positions.[27]

Julie Williams (2014)[28]

Williams also suggested that each board member be allowed to nominate three candidates for the committee and that the board as a whole then vote on which nine people to appoint. In that same meeting, board member John Newkirk submitted a revised draft of the proposal reducing the number of nominees to two candidates per member, removing the elementary health curriculum as an initial project, and eliminating the second paragraph of the original proposal. This limited the committee's initial projects to only a review of the Advanced Placement U.S. History curriculum. The board delayed voting on the initial proposals during the meeting. [29]

In an interview with The Denver Post, board member Lesley Dahlkemper stated she was troubled by the proposal, saying, "It's unclear to me what problem this resolution is attempting to solve—other than pushing through a political agenda."[18]

In the week following the board meeting, teachers and students began protesting the proposals, arguing they would censor student's history education.[30] On September 22, 2014, Evergreen High School students protested Williams' proposal by staging a walkout from their classes.[31] The next day, hundreds of district students from at least five different high schools staged similar walkouts.[32][33] Jack Shefrin, one of the students involved in organizing the protest, stated that the protests were entirely the work of students. An article by The Denver Post noted that several students attending the protests had been told by their teachers that they would not be punished for leaving their classes.[34]

In response to walkouts by students and teachers in the district, board president Ken Witt criticized the protests. He stated, "It is never OK to use kids as pawns, and it’s exactly what I think is happening here. And I’m disappointed in the actors in this — the union message coming down through the teachers to get kids to deliberately get out and protest something they don’t have any facts about whatsoever."[18]

Jefferson County Education Association President John Ford characterized Witt's claim that students were being misled by their teachers on the debate as insulting. Ford added that the board committee would be redundant due to the existence of the resource review committee, which included both residents and educators appointed by the district's chief academic officer.[18][35]

A group of roughly 20 students responded to Witt's accusation of being pawns of the teacher's union at the school board meeting on November 6, 2014. The students protested the curriculum review by interrupting the meeting. In addition to 12 students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, approximately 10 students stood up and read about prominent civil disobedience figures from history. According to Chalkbeat Colorado, the students made the following demands of the board: "a public apology from the school board’s conservative majority for referring to students as 'union pawns;' a reversal of an earlier decision to amend content review policies; proof from the board that they listen and act on community input instead of what students called an 'ideological' agenda; and more resources for classroom instruction." The students left together without any arrests being made.[36]

College Board response

College Board logo.png

The AP U.S. History curriculum was revised for the 2014-2015 school year by the College Board, which develops and administers the Advanced Placement exams. Discussions and proposals in response to changes to the AP U.S. history curriculum were not limited to Jeffco Public Schools. The New Hanover County Board of Education in North Carolina objected to the curriculum at an August 2014 board meeting. Additionally, criticism has been an issue for state boards of education in Texas, South Carolina and Alabama.[37][38][39]

The College Board issued a general statement in response to its critics. "At the root of current objections to this highly regarded process is a blatant disregard for the facts. Despite the principled engagement and unwavering cooperation of the College Board in addressing concerns, the most vocal critics have prioritized their own agenda above the best interests of teachers, students, and their families."[40][41]

On September 26, 2014, the College Board issued a statement in support of Jeffco Public Schools student and teacher who were protesting the proposed curriculum review committee. It said, "These students recognize that the social order can—and sometimes must—be disrupted in the pursuit of liberty and justice."[42]

Board approves revised curriculum review proposal

In a meeting on October 2, 2014, the board voted 3-2 to revise the district's procedures for handling curriculum reviews using a compromise proposal developed by Superintendent Dan McMinimee. Williams, Newkirk, and Witt voted in favor of the proposal and both Dahlkemper and Fellman voted against it. The approved proposal did not specifically refer to the AP U.S. History course or order a review of its curriculum.[43] According to The Denver Post, the plan "would reorganize existing curriculum review groups in the district to involve more student, teacher and community voices." Reporter John Aguilar noted that Dahlkemper and Fellman did not say they were opposed to McMinimee's compromise but that they wanted more time to review the proposal.[44]

College Board makes changes to AP history curriculum

On July 30, 2015, the College Board announced that it had reviewed the AP history curriculum and made updates to the existing guidelines. According to the College Board, the resulting framework "is a clearer and more balanced approach to the teaching of American history that remains faithful to the requirements that colleges and universities set for academic credit."[45]

According to the College Board's website, the areas that received the greatest attention as a result of public commentary were as follows:[45]

  • American national identity and unity
  • American ideals of liberty, citizenship, and self-governance, and how those ideals play out in U.S. history
  • American founding political leaders, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin
  • Founding Documents – including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers – as reflected in a new recommended focus section
  • Productive role of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation in shaping U.S. history
  • U.S. role in the victories of WWI and WWII, particularly the contributions and sacrifices of American servicemen and women in those wars
  • U.S. leadership in ending the Cold War[27]
—College Board (July 30, 2015)[45]

Williams told the local media outlet The Complete Colorado that she was pleased with the changes. "It shows what was missing and what needed to be added back," she said.[26]

2014: Merit pay implementation

Prior to Julie Williams' curriculum committee review proposal, district teachers were considering staging a sickout in protest of the district's teacher evaluations being used to implement a merit pay systems. A sickout is a form of protest that involves teachers calling in sick the night before a school day in order to make it more difficult for administrators to find substitute instructors.

Negotiations between the school board and the Jefferson County Education Association over teacher salaries were deadlocked in the first half of 2014, leading to the union and the board hiring a third party to review the issues stalling the negotiation. At the center of the stalemate was the proposal to tie salary increases to a four-step teacher evaluation system: highly effective, effective, partially effective, and ineffective. The teacher's union argued that teachers with a rating of partially effective or above should move up one step in the salary schedule; the district argued that teachers with a rating of effective or above should move up one step.[46]

The third-party review, published on August 26, 2014, said the teacher evaluation system was unreliable and recommended that the district give a step increase to teachers rated as partially effective until the evaluation system became more reliable.[46]

The school board did not implement the recommendation. Instead, the board approved a new pay system that granted a 4.25 percent raise to teachers who were rated highly effective, a 2.43 percent raise to teachers who were rated effective, and a 1 percent raise to probationary teachers who were rated partially effective. The plan also raised the minimum salary for all teachers to $38,000. A press release outlining the plan was published by the district on September 5, 2014, and stated, "Recognizing that Jeffco teachers took salary reductions and furlough days in the last few years, the board felt that this plan would benefit more teachers than a traditional 'step' increase."[47]

In response, district teachers planned a sickout that forced the closure of two high schools on September 19, 2014. A second teacher sickout occurred on September 29, 2014, also resulting in the closure of two schools. After the second sickout, Superintendent Dan McMinimee announced that he was considering disciplinary action for the teachers involved. McMinimee indicated that teachers were violating district policy and their collective bargaining agreement by not giving sufficient notice for their personal days. Although the exact form the discipline was not certain, he suggested that the teachers involved might lose a day's worth of pay.[48]

2014: Superintendent Dan McMinimee

Superintendent Dan McMinimee

Prior to his appointment, Superintendent Dan McMinimee served as an assistant superintendent with the Douglas County School District (DCSD) in Colorado. The Jeffco school board voted 3-2 in favor of his appointment in May 2014, with Williams, Newkirk and Witt in favor and Dahlkemper and Fellman opposed.[49]

Reactions to McMinimee's hiring were mixed due to his background with the DCSD, whose conservative school board implemented school choice and eliminated collective bargaining.[50][51][52]

At the time of his appointment, some community members voiced concerns that the new superintendent would bring reforms in the vein of DCSD to Jeffco Public Schools. According to The Denver Post, "Most of the commentary from the public trended against McMinimee" during the board meeting where he was officially hired.[53][54] Board member John Newkirk defended McMinimee from these claims, stating "The fact he was at Douglas County for years and then for years after this new board (was elected in Douglas County) demonstrates he can work with a wide variety of constituents."[55]

2013: Resignation of Superintendent Cindy Stevenson

After 12 years as the district superintendent, Cindy Stevenson announced plans to resign from the district shortly after the 2013 school board election. Stevenson left the district to work with the Colorado Association of School Executives. During a board meeting on February 8, 2013, the outgoing superintendent noted that the board at the time wanted changes in district leadership and she felt a lack of respect from new board members John Newkirk, Julie Williams and Ken Witt.[56]

Stevenson's speech drew cheers from supporters in the audience and boos for board members. Williams countered that Stevenson had not attempted to work with the board, citing her intention to leave the district shortly after the election. The board worked with district officials to handle day-to-day affairs through the remainder of the school year rather than appointing an interim superintendent. They later appointed Dan McMinimee as the new superintendent.[57]

Contact information

Jeffco Public Schools logo.png
Jeffco Public Schools
1829 Denver West Dr. #27
Golden, CO 80401
Phone: 303-982-6500

About school boards

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See also

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External links

Footnotes

  1. ABC 7 Denver, "Tracy Dorland selected as Jeffco Public Schools superintendent," April 15, 2021
  2. 2.0 2.1 9News, "New Jeffco superintendent unanimously approved," May 16, 2017 (dead link) Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "glass" defined multiple times with different content
  3. Jeffco Public Schools, "Superintendent Bio," accessed October 26, 2019
  4. 4.0 4.1 The Denver Post, "Dan McMinimee to get superintendent’s wages while serving as Jeffco board adviser," March 10, 2017
  5. Jeffco Public Schools, "Superintendent," accessed September 19, 2014 (dead link)
  6. Jeffco Public Schools, "Board of Education: Board Members," accessed April 20, 2021
  7. LexisNexis: Colorado Legal Resources, "C.R.S. 22-31-104," accessed April 9, 2021
  8. Jeffco Public Schools, "Board Policy: BEDH - Public Participation at Meetings," accessed January 28, 2024
  9. National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
  10. Jeffco Public Schools, "Educator Salary Schedule 2024-25," accessed April 16, 2025
  11. Jeffco Public Schools, "Educator Salary Schedule 2023/2024," accessed February 4, 2024
  12. Jeffco Public Schools, "Educator Salary Schedule 2020/2021," accessed April 20, 2021
  13. Jeffco Public Schools, "Educator Salary Schedule 2019/2020," accessed April 20, 2021
  14. Jeffco Public Schools, "Archived Salary Schedules: 2018-2019," accessed April 20, 2021
  15. Jeffco Public Schools, "Archived Salary Schedules: 2017-2018," accessed April 20, 2021
  16. U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
  17. Denver Post, "Dan McMinimee to get superintendent’s wages while serving as Jeffco board adviser," March 10, 2017
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 The Denver Post, "Jeffco school board curriculum committee idea latest divisive issue," September 24, 2014
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Jefferson County, "Unofficial County Results," accessed April 23, 2021
  20. Chalkbeat Colorado, "Clerk: Jeffco school board recall will be on November ballot," September 3, 2015
  21. 21.0 21.1 Colorado Public Radio, "In JeffCo, Recall Vote Brings Years Of Turmoil To A Head," October 19, 2015
  22. High Timber Times, "Recall of 3 school board members likely to move forward," July 14, 2015
  23. 9News, "JeffCo board recall campaign halts signature gathering," July 26, 2015 (dead link)
  24. Jefferson County Elections, "Election Information - What's on the 2015 Coordinated Election Ballot?" accessed October 9, 2015
  25. 9News, "JeffCo recall effort gets underway," July 9, 2015 (dead link)
  26. 26.0 26.1 The Complete Colorado, "Jeffco board vindicated by College Board’s changes to U.S. History framework," August 3, 2015
  27. 27.0 27.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  28. Jeffco Public Schools, "Board Committee for Curriculum Review," accessed October 1, 2014
  29. Jeffco Public Schools, "Board Committee for Curriculum Review (Newkirk thoughts on Williams’ Draft)," accessed October 1, 2014
  30. The Denver Post, "Jeffco students walk out of 5 high schools in school board protest," September 23, 2014
  31. The Denver Post, "Evergreen students protest proposed history change," September 22, 2014
  32. The Denver Post, "Jeffco students protest proposed "censorship" of history curriculum," September 22, 2014
  33. The New York Times, "In Colorado, a Student Counterprotest to an Anti-Protest Curriculum," September 23, 2014
  34. The Denver Post, "Jeffco students walk out of 5 high schools in school board protest," September 23, 2014
  35. The Denver Post, "Jeffco students walk out of 5 high schools in school board protest," September 23, 2014
  36. Chalkbeat Colorado, "Jeffco students interrupt board meeting, leave peacefully," November 6, 2014
  37. MSNBC, "Texas moves to veto AP history course," September 19, 2014
  38. The Post and Courier, "South Carolina a battleground state in high school history debate," September 28, 2014
  39. Dothan Eagle, "Guest column: Don’t allow the College Board to rewrite United States History," August 10, 2014
  40. The Los Angeles Times, "Colorado students walk out to protest proposed curriculum changes," September 24, 2014
  41. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Georgia picks fight with College Board over AP history. Guess who loses again? Our children.," January 30, 2015
  42. The Denver Post, "College Board: We support the "actions," protests of Jeffco students," September 26, 2014
  43. 9News, "Questions remain after Jeffco curriculum review vote," October 3, 2014 (dead link)
  44. The Denver Post, "Jeffco school board OKs compromise plan in curriculum review showdown," October 2, 2014
  45. 45.0 45.1 45.2 College Board, "The 2015 AP U.S. History Course and Exam Description," accessed August 13, 2015
  46. 46.0 46.1 Support Jeffco Kids, "In The Matter Of Fact-finding Between: Jefferson County Public Schools and Jefferson County Education Association - Report and Recommendations of the Fact-finder," accessed April 21, 2021
  47. Jeffco Public Schools, "Press release: New Teacher Compensation Model Voted On by Board," September 5, 2014
  48. The Denver Post, "Jeffco schools superintendent threatens to discipline absent teachers," September 29, 2014
  49. Chalkbeat Colorado, "In split vote, Jeffco board hires new superintendent," May 27, 2014
  50. The Denver Post, "Douglas County Teachers Union Sues District," February 15, 2013
  51. Chalkbeat Colorado, "The sense and sensibility of Jeffco superintendent finalist Dan McMinimee," May 15, 2014
  52. 9News, "Douglas County Schools votes for school choice voucher program," March 15, 2011 (dead link)
  53. The Denver Post, "Jeffco Schools board OKs hiring of Daniel McMinimee by 3-2 vote," May 27, 2014
  54. Chalkbeat Colorado, "Jeffco community says superintendent finalist proves their fears of “Dougco agenda”," May 10, 2014
  55. The Denver Post, "Jefferson County Public Schools faces crisis over school board changes," September 28, 2014
  56. 9News, "Jefferson County Schools Superintendent: 'I will be gone by the end of the month'," February 9, 2014 (dead link)
  57. The Denver Post, "Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Cindy Stevenson will leave post early," February 8, 2014