FORCED SEXUAL ASSAULT AT 13TH & EMERSON




Colorado Latino Forum Denver Metro ChapterFiles Administrative Complaint under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964Against Denver Public Schools Board of Education, Mary Seawell PresidentDenver - The Colorado Latino Forum (CLF) Denver Metro Chapter, whose mission is to increase the political, social, educational and economic strength of Latinas and Latinos, requests relief for Latino students in Denver Public Schools District 4 (D4) under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act that bans discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities that receive Federal funds or other forms of Federal financial assistance. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d.CLF Metro Denver Chapter asserts that there has been an act of discrimination on the basis of race against Latinos as a group, in the activity of selecting a school board member to fill the remaining the D4 position vacated by Nate Easely on January 18, 2013. Under state law the position must be filled within 60 days of Easley’s resignation. We claim specifically that qualified Latino candidates were excluded by an arbitrary and capricious process within a school district that is comprised of nearly 60% Latino students.1. Qualified Latinos have been intentionally and discriminatorily excluded from the finalist pool.We believe the discrimination occurred with the exclusion of all qualified Latino applicants on Feb 4, 2013 when the finalists were named during a hastily convened school board meeting. None of the nine finalists from a pool of twenty-five included a Latino. One highly qualified but rejected Latina candidate was Dr. Barbara Medina who was the Assistant Commissioner for Innovation and Transformation at the Colorado Department of Education where she directed the Language, Culture and Equity Unit.
Last Thursday, WildEarth Guardians, being represented by the DU Environmental Law Clinic, and Xcel Energy resolved a lawsuit with a big win for the community. Both parties decided that $447,000 would be entrusted to Groundwork Denver to implement projects in Globeville, Elyria and Swansea neighborhoods. Because of this settlement, the residents will have a new park where they can connect with nature, walk, bike and play. At least 140 homes will be insulated, collectively saving $27,000 per year, and a solar PV system will be installed on a public or community building, saving another $3,400 per year. Each of these projects will benefit the residents while also demonstrating a sustainable future for the neighborhoods. You can read about the case and the settlement in the Denver Post. We expect to start the projects in about three months once all of the settlement paperwork is completed. Thank you to both parties for putting the community first!
Board of Education David Suppes, Chief Operating Officer Through: Trena Deane, Executive Director, Facility Management March 11, 2013
Approval of Fox Street/Hampden Heights land exchange
Purpose: approve the exchange and development agreements (“Agreements”) with the City and County of Denver that allows for the exchange of 1330 Fox Street for 11.7 acres of land in Hampden Heights.
Executive Director, Facility Management, requests the Denver Public Schools (“DPS”) Board of Education to
Background\Related Facts: DPS staff and the Mayor’s Office have come to definitive terms for the land exchange of 1330 Fox Street (“Fox Street”) and 11.7 acres located in the Hampden Heights neighborhood at the corner of Girard Avenue and Havana Street (“Hampden Heights”).
Elementary schools located in southeast Denver have been experiencing severe overcrowding. DPS staff determined that elementary‐aged children would continue to grow over the next several years. Significant short‐term steps were taken to address the shortage of classroom seats in the region: 1) we have added three modular units at Samuels; 2) we redesigned the library at Southmoor to add a classroom; and 3) we moved fifth‐grade classrooms out of Holm and relocated them to a neighboring middle school, shuttling students back and forth hourly for special programming.
Despite these changes, the area is in need of a new elementary or early childhood center to help ease pressure on existing elementary school facilities in the area. Funding for a new elementary school in SE Denver was included in the 2012 General Obligation Bond package approved by Denver voters last November. DPS staff conducted a search for a site that would allow for a school or ECE center that would help lessen the overcrowding. After an extensive search, DPS located the 11.7 acre site at Hampden Heights. DPS staff began conversations with the City in an effort to understand if it was possible to purchase the site.
Hey Now,
