Adams 14 School District sues for judicial review, stay of state board's reorganization decision
The Adams County 14 School District is fighting back after the Colorado State Board of Education voted to reorganize the district in May. In a court complaint filed Tuesday, the district said the state board's order has caused the district "substantial and irreparable injury."
"Never in Colorado's history has the state board used its 'general supervision' authority to order a constitutionally created public school district with constitutionally derived local control powers to reorganize and dissolve," the district wrote in the complaint. "As a direct result of the order, a large number of teachers and staff have resigned from Adams 14, Adams 14 suffered a downgrading of its bond rating, students have left or will leave the district, and the order interferes with a collective bargaining agreement between Adams 14 and SD14CTA members."
In the complaint, Adams 14 requested the court review the state's decision and issue a stay on the order until the judicial review is complete. Adams 14 also asked the court to restrain reorganization from occurring.
In May, state board members voted four to three to reorganize the district, citing nine years of poor student test scores.
Adams 14 had been in hot water with the state since it fired its private management company, MGT Consulting. The state had required Adams 14 to work with MGT in 2018 due to low student performance.
Adams 14 fired MGT in January, saying the company didn't deliver on its promises and wasted district tax money. MGT says it improved student graduation rates and lowered dropout rates. CBS4 Investigates has reported Adams 14 isn't the only education institution in the Denver metro area that has had issues with MGT in recent years.
In Tuesday's complaint, Adams 14 alleged the state board was unfair and biased in its decision to reorganize the district, claiming the state board "fail(ed) to take into consideration poverty, ethnicity, language barriers, and the high mobility of less affluent students."
Adams 14 also alleged in the complaint it did not receive any right to appeal the reorganization decision before it was finalized in late May, and call the state board's action "an abuse or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion" and are "contrary to law."
A spokesperson for the state sent CBS Colorado the following written statement regarding Tuesday's complaint: "We have received the notification of the legal action. We don't discuss ongoing legal matters. The State Board of Education has followed their obligations to intervene in a struggling district as statute dictates. We look forward to exploring the district's concerns with the court."
The reorganization process could take up to a year, if completed.
Several Denver metro area school superintendents have voiced support for Adams 14, with neighboring school district Mapleton expressing it has no interest absorbing schools from Adams 14 as a result of reorganization.
