Dougco Board’s decision threatens STEM’S future

As a junior at STEM School Highlands Ranch, I am deeply saddened by the decision to only extend our school’s charter by one year instead of the standard five year renewal.

STEM is an excellent school (ranked No. 5 in Colorado by U.S. News & World Report), and a place where students like myself learn to be hard workers and responsible citizens.

Unfortunately, Douglas County School District has decided to look past a history of stellar performance and their own charter school ranking system, which places STEM as the No. 1 charter school in Douglas County.

While the STEM administration must focus on recovering from the tragedy that occurred within our school, they cannot do so if DCSD does not extend our charter in a typical manner.

This is because when the charter is not extended for a full five years, investors tend to avoid that school.

Even a three-year extension as opposed to a five-year plan would deprive STEM of $5 million, money that could be spent on improving the school’s mental health care. I urge the people of Douglas County and Colorado to stand behind STEM and give them the help they need to recover from this tragedy.