Westminster Window

06/04/2026

"The people educating your students are being priced out." That's how the Jefferson County Education Association described a benefits package the school board approved last month — one that more than doubled premiums for some staff while trimming coverage.

About 720 of Jeffco's 7,300 employees have switched plans to escape the rates. Here's what changed, and why the district's share didn't move ⬇️

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06/03/2026

Westminster WindowHow Flatirons Academy baseball got over the state title hump.
For the past two years, the Class 1A baseball state championship eluded Flatirons Academy. The Bison had made it to two consecutive state title games in 2024 and 2025, but ultimately came up short of hoisting the trophy. That all changed in 2026.

For the past two years, the Class 1A baseball state championship eluded Flatirons Academy. The Bison had made it to two consecutive state title games in 2024 and 2025, but ultimately came up short of hoisting the trophy. That all changed in 2026.

05/29/2026

Two of the districts Westminster-area families follow are running into the same state math this week.

In Jeffco, a rising property tax bill still doesn't add up to more school funding, thanks to a "seesaw" that cuts state aid as local revenue climbs. In Adams 12, next year's budget counts 1,352 fewer funded students — 413 of them lost not to families leaving, but to a state change in how enrollment is averaged.

Same formula, different shapes. This week's Class Notes connects the dots. Subscribe free:

Colorado education news you can trust. Class Notes covers school boards, classrooms, and policy across the Front Range — straight to your inbox.

05/28/2026

Colorado junior heads to Native American All-Star Showcase. Ryker Robinett of Kiowa High School will attend the fifth annual Native American All-Star Baseball Showcase on June 27-28. Athletes will take part in a pro‑style workout on Saturday, June 27, followed by a showcase game on Sunday, June 28.

Every year for the past four years, 50 of the nation’s best Native American high school baseball players descend on Atlanta for a showcase at Truist Park, the home stadium of the Atlanta Braves. This year, one of them is from our Colorado backyard.

05/28/2026

Quick recap for anyone who missed it last week —

Jeffco's teachers union and district agreed to a tentative contract that doesn't keep raises up with inflation, and ties the question of a meaningful raise to a November ballot measure. If any new-funding measure passes — local MLO, the state TABOR-refund referral, or the proposed graduated income tax — pay talks reopen within 30 days.

Suzie Glassman is tracking the campaign through the summer.

Background: https://www.thegoldentranscript.com/news/jeffco-educators-tied-their-next-raise-to-the-ballot/article_76b3268a-3374-4d42-a9a5-ca652d28050d.html

📬 Subscribe to Class Notes for weekly Colorado education reporting: https://cotlns-newsletter-education.beehiiv.com/

Jefferson County educators accepted modest raises that won’t keep pace with inflation, awaiting voter approval in November to potentially reopen contract talks for higher pay if measures pass.

05/23/2026

A POLL for Jeffco parents and voters:

Jeffco teachers just signed a tentative contract that gives them small raises now and ties the bigger raise to what voters do in November. Three different measures could trigger a reopened pay talk — the local mill levy override, a state question about TABOR refunds for teacher pay, and a proposed graduated income tax.

How well do you feel you understand what will be on your November ballot for schools?

🟦 Know all three measures and how they'd affect Jeffco
🟦 Heard of the local MLO but not the others
🟦 Heard of one of the state measures but not the local one
🟦 First time hearing of any of them

The ballot language won't even be final until August. Suzie Glassman is tracking what makes the ballot — drop a comment with what you're seeing in your district.

📬 Subscribe to Class Notes for weekly Colorado education reporting: https://cotlns-newsletter-education.beehiiv.com/

05/22/2026

Jeffco's teachers won't find out the size of their next raise at the bargaining table. They'll find out at the ballot box.

The union and the district reached a tentative deal Tuesday night. Educators get step increases and a small bump for the most-credentialed staff — but no cost-of-living raise. Then the deal hands the question of a bigger raise to the voters.

If voters approve a November measure that brings new funding to schools — the local mill levy override, a state TABOR-refund question, or a proposed graduated income tax — the district has to reopen pay talks within 30 days. If voters say no, the modest deal is the deal.

One Standley Lake science teacher told the district that forgoing a cost-of-living raise is essentially agreeing to a pay cut. Incoming JCEA president Ang Anderson said many educators will see take-home pay decrease again next year because of inflation and rising healthcare costs.

Read Suzie Glassman's full reporting on what's in the deal and what's on the ballot.

🔗 https://www.thegoldentranscript.com/news/jeffco-educators-tied-their-next-raise-to-the-ballot/article_76b3268a-3374-4d42-a9a5-ca652d28050d.html

📬 Subscribe to Class Notes for weekly Colorado education reporting: https://cotlns-newsletter-education.beehiiv.com/

Jefferson County educators accepted modest raises that won’t keep pace with inflation, awaiting voter approval in November to potentially reopen contract talks for higher pay if measures pass.

05/21/2026

Golden adds Wednesday farmers market to 2026 schedule.
The Golden Farmers Market is offering double the opportunity for food and fun this summer.
The Golden Chamber of Commerce, which runs the market, is launching a new midweek market on Wednesday afternoons from June 10 to July 29, it recently announced.

The Golden Farmers Market is offering double the opportunity for food and fun this summer.

05/20/2026

Westminster gets $439 more per student under the new School Finance Act. The school board also just voted unanimously to close two campuses and eliminate middle school grades at five schools through 2030.

How do those two facts fit together? I walked through the funding math district by district.

📬 Subscribe to Class Notes for more like this: https://cotlns-newsletter-education.beehiiv.com/

Last fall, Adams 12 classes grew to 35 students, and some teachers left for districts with higher pay. A new Colorado bill raises per-student funding but doesn't fully close budget gaps or stop school closures.

05/19/2026

The Luck of the Broncos: Remembering ‘Rocky the Leprechaun’.
Perhaps the most famous of all Broncos super-fans was Rocky the Leprechaun — a small, orange and blue-donned man with a big personality who lit a fire in the Broncos’ crowd for decades. He crossed the other side of the rainbow on May 4 at age 75.

Perhaps the most famous of all Broncos super-fans was Rocky the Leprechaun — a small, orange and blue-donned man with a big personality who lit a fire in the Broncos’ crowd for decades. He crossed the other side of the rainbow on May 4 at age 75.