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A controversial public education co-op that spearheaded a “public Christian school” in southern Colorado last year will lose a member in August, putting its existence in jeopardy for the second time this summer.
Pikes Peak State College will withdraw from the co-op — Education reEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Educational Services or ERBOCES — effective Aug. 15, Matt Radcliffe, a spokesperson for the college, said by email on Tuesday.
“We do not have anything further to add,” he wrote.
The Elizabeth School District withdrew from ERBOCES in early June. The only other school district member — District 49 in El Paso County — also considered dropping out this month but ultimately opted not to.
State law requires co-ops like ERBOCES to have at least two members, either two school districts or a school district and a college. Once Pikes Peak State College leaves the co-op, ERBOCES would need another member to keep operating in accordance with the law.
ERBOCES has been at the center of two major controversies over the past year, and both its members and state lawmakers have taken notice. Last summer, the co-op authorized Riverstone Academy, a tiny school in Pueblo County that emails show was created at the behest of a conservative law firm that wanted to spark a religious liberty lawsuit that would go to the U.S. Supreme Court. ERBOCES has also fueled massive growth in publicly funded home-school enrichment programs across the state, using private contractors and subcontractors that keep many details hidden from the public.
In May, Colorado lawmakers sharply curtailed the power of such co-ops to operate schools or programs outside their member districts. The changes prompted the permanent closure of Riverstone and could lead to the closure of other schools and some home-school enrichment programs authorized by ERBOCES.
Asked how ERBOCES will continue operating once Pikes Peak drops out, Ken Witt, the group’s executive director, was vague.
“We routinely welcome new members, just as we understand when political and administrative changes lead to affiliation changes,” he said by email Wednesday. “We will continue to do all in our power to ensure parents have access to the programs and schools they want for their children.”
ERBOCES authorizes several schools, most of them online schools. It also has dozens of home-school enrichment programs, which typically provide six hours a week of tuition-free classes or activities.
When the District 49 school board, which is ERBOCES’ fiscal agent, discussed whether to drop out of the co-op in early June, board members were divided. Some, like Mike Heil, who drafted a presentation highlighting his concerns, questioned the “reputational impact” of District 49 being associated with the co-op.
Board member Lori Thompson, who recently joined the ERBOCES board, said Heil’s presentation told an incomplete story.
School Board President Marie LaVere-Wright, who used to be a member of the ERBOCES board, urged the District 49 board to stick with the co-op for another year at a minimum.
“If we leave, because their funding flows through us, too, that creates a structural problem for them,” she said. “And you have a whole set of families that are depending on this who would immediately lose something.”
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
