Pueblo City Schools (D60) board of education this week denied Pueblo School for Arts and Sciences' expansion plan to the former Colorado Department of Transportation headquarters. [CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/FILE] ▲

Citing a host of unanswered questions and application deficiencies, the Pueblo City Schools (D60) board of education this week unanimously denied Pueblo School for Arts and Sciences' charter school expansion application.

With campuses on Jones Avenue and in Fulton Heights, PSAS was hoping to expand the Fulton Heights K-5 school to an East Side property that once served as Colorado Department of Transportation headquarters. There, a new high school was proposed to be established, with an intended fall opening.

Earlier in the month, PSAS officials appeared before the board in a work session to answer questions about the application. At that time, the district requested additional information and clearer specifics.

But, as the board learned from D60 Assistant Superintendent Suzanne Morey during a pre-vote report, many of the identified application deficiencies remain.

For starters, while PSAS has identified a "sole finalist" for its vacant executive director's seat, no additional information on the candidate and his or her credentials was provided. Also lacking was requested information on high school programming, curriculum and graduation guidelines; student discipline, facilities and budget.

Morey referenced an environmental site assessment, commissioned by the Colorado Department of Transportation, that outlined concerns about "potential hazardous conditions in the soil and air on the property" that could render it unsuitable for a school. It was noted that a second such study would be needed before the the cost of rehabilitating the "Creekside Campus" could be accurately determined.

"It is the opinion of the district staff that there are still many outstanding questions and concerns, including the absence of a clear budget and debt structure aligned to a clear master facilities plan," Morey told the board.

Before the vote was taken, both board President Barb Clementi and member Dennis Maes offered strong assurance that the board did not arrive at the meeting with a decision already in hand. Two resolutions — one affirming the application and the other denying it — were drafted by the district's counsel and staff for the board's consideration.

"It may look a little weird that there is a resolution prepared," Clementi said. "But I want to be clear that's because we're required to have that by law. No decision has been made and the board has not had discussions about how to proceed.

"It sometimes looks a little fishy but it isn't. It's a construct that's required by law."

As a complement to Clementi's statement, Maes held aloft the two resolutions as drafted, before reading aloud the one subsequently approved by the board.

Per that four-page resolution, here is a snapshot of the board's reasons for denial:

"The application does not clearly outline a viable high school instructional program," including traditional course sequence options, concurrent enrollment and elective courses, or new graduation guideline implementation.

"There is not substantial evidence of support. There were no letters of intent to enroll in grades 7 and 8 and eventually continue to ninth grade and on into the other high school grades. The high school proposes only 25 students per grade level, and a concern is how PSAS will attract sufficient numbers to a secondary program as small as described, without activities and athletics."

"The application indicates they will use a blended learning model," with online serving individualized academic and interest needs of students. District 60 is currently developing a (secondary) online school in 2019-20 and there are also other online and blended alternative options at the high school level in the Pueblo community."

"There is not a specific plan for implementing a restorative justice approach to discipline..."

"The application is silent with respect to linking the plan for evaluating student performance to the effectiveness of the overall education program."

"PSAS has not demonstrated that construction and renovation of the Creekside Campus in accordance with its proposed master facility plan will provide a safe facility for its high school program in the time frame set forth..."

"PSAS has not presented evidence that its plan for operating a charter school at the proposed Creekside Campus site and facility is economically sound."

"There are limited specifics within the application in terms of materials, assessments, equipment, staffing or budget..."

In a statement, PSAS said it's planning to appeal the D60 board's decision.

"We believe we provided every bit of information that the district requested and that our application was complete," reads the communique. "We did initiate it pursuant to the expansion application process published on the district's website, but when they demanded that we adjust it to an application for a new school, we did provide them with the additional information.

"So we are disappointed to hear that the staff recommendation described our application as incomplete, when in fact it contained all the necessary information."

In addition to the appeal, the board is "considering whether to ask the state board of education to conduct a hearing on the exclusive chartering authority of D60."

jpompia@chieftain.com

Twitter: @Jpompia