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By Ann Schimke, Chalkbeat
Leaders of Riverstone Academy, which backers have called “Colorado’s first public Christian school,” agreed on Friday to close the school’s building in Pueblo County “effective immediately.”
The decision, which affects about 30 kindergarten through fifth-grade students, came after county officials threatened to shut off the building’s utilities in a Friday letter to school officials. They cited ongoing health and safety concerns, including that the building lacks the proper fire safety systems.
Quin Friberg, a local pastor and Riverstone’s executive director, responded the same day, saying the building would close to students while school officials work to meet county requirements.
It’s unclear if the closure of Riverstone’s building marks the school’s demise or if its leaders will operate the school elsewhere until the problems are fixed. Regardless, the abrupt change represents a setback for the school, which has sparked controversy since an official involved in Riverstone’s creation announced its Christian affiliation at a public meeting in October.
The school’s founders opened Riverstone quickly and quietly last summer in leased space in an industrial area near concrete and marijuana businesses. They didn’t reveal the school’s religious affiliation in key start-up documents and emails obtained by Chalkbeat indicate Riverstone was created to produce a test case in the courts over whether public money can be spent on religious schools. The U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked on a similar case out of Oklahoma last spring.
Riverstone is currently receiving public funding, but state officials have said the money could be clawed back if they determine the school is ineligible through an audit. The Colorado Department of Education confirmed on Friday that the school’s authorizer, Education reEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Educational Services, or ER BOCES, as well as School District 49, which is the BOCES’ fiscal agent, will be audited this year.
In a letter to county building officials late Friday afternoon, Friberg confirmed that Riverstone would comply with the county’s order to close its building at 1950 Aspen Circle.
He wrote, “Effective immediately, Riverstone Academy will not operate the building for use as a school while the administrative process continues. Students will not be present in the building for instructional purposes during this interim period.”
Friberg also said that Forging Education, the nonprofit that operates Riverstone and that he also heads, planned to appeal the county’s closure order. Lawyers for Forging Education submitted the appeal to county officials on Saturday.
On Monday, Friberg did not respond to Chalkbeat’s request for comment about whether Riverstone students are getting instruction since the building’s closure.
The person who answered the phone at Riverstone on Monday said she doesn’t answer questions from non-parents and hung up. Jenna Wolfe, whose LLC owns the Pueblo County property where Riverstone is located, couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.
The closure of Riverstone’s building comes after months of concern by county officials over building, zoning, health, and fire code violations, and more than three weeks after an attorney for Pueblo County first ordered the school to close its building.
Despite that order, school officials didn’t close the building to students in January. Through a lawyer, they pushed back, arguing they’d made a good faith effort to comply with county requirements and that closing the building would be disruptive to students and families.
Multiple documents and interviews with county officials show that Riverstone’s leaders didn’t follow routine procedures for seeking permits, inspections, and approvals from local officials. After the school’s existence came to light in October, the fire marshal ordered fire safety checks at the building every half hour.
The monthslong back-and-forth between Riverstone and county officials over health and safety violations at the school led to a hearing before Colorado District Court Judge Amiel Markenson on Jan. 28.
The hearing in Pueblo County was not livestreamed, but Anthony Mestas, a county spokesperson, said by email afterwards, “The Court did not order them to cease occupancy of the building but did not bar any enforcement action by the County including utility disconnection.”
Two days later, on Jan. 30, the county sent a “Notice of imminent enforcement action” to Riverstone officials. In it, officials warned that they would disconnect utilities at 8 a.m. Monday to “abate unsafe and unlawful occupancy.”
The notice cited a variety of violations, including that the building is not approved for occupancy by a school and that the building does not have the proper fire safety systems, such as alarms, lighting, and building features that would slow a fire’s spread.
“Occupying a building not approved or inspected for Education use places children at heightened and immediate risk in the event of fire, emergency, or evacuation,” the notice said.
Mestas said the county didn’t order utility disconnection at Riverstone’s building on Monday morning because school officials agreed on Friday to close the building to students.
Friberg’s Friday letter to county officials said access to the building would only be allowed for non-student uses, such as administrative, maintenance, and construction activities.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat. Contact Ann at [email protected].
