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By Ann Schimke/Chalkbeat
Leaders of Riverstone Academy, which backers have called Colorado’s “first public Christian school,” won’t reveal where the school has been located since its original building was closed in late January over health and safety concerns.
Jeremy Dys, a lawyer for the school’s authorizer, said by email on Wednesday that the Pueblo County elementary school is operating at an “alternate location in the area for a few weeks until it is expected it will move back to its previous location.”
But a decision Wednesday night by the county planning commission dealt a blow to that plan. In a 5-4 vote, the commissioners rejected a recommendation for a special use permit that would allow certain kinds of schools on the property where Riverstone had been located.
The planning commission vote isn’t the final word on whether the controversial school can return to its original building in an industrial area, but it’s the latest stumbling block for founders who quietly opened Riverstone last summer without ensuring it met zoning, building, fire, and health codes.
The school, which is currently receiving state funding, describes itself on its website as a public elementary school offering a “Christian foundation.” Even though the school is tiny — serving about 30 kindergarten through fifth grade students — its existence is notable because if backers get their way, it could upend years of legal precedent barring public schools from providing religious education.
Emails obtained by Chalkbeat indicate Riverstone was created at the behest of a conservative law firm in order to spark a religious liberty lawsuit that could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Public religious schools have never existed in Colorado because the state constitution prohibits them.
Riverstone and its authorizer — Education ReEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Education Services, or ERBOCES — filed a lawsuit challenging the ban on Feb. 13.
Some planning commissioners expressed alarm at Wednesday’s meeting that Riverstone wants to locate in an industrial area where heavy trucks and machinery regularly travel.
Commission member Karim Ayoub said his worst fear is “a kid choosing to walk to school and then ending up underneath a cement truck.”
“I think that’s the exact wrong area for a school,” said Brad Lisac, the chair of the planning commission.
Not everyone agreed.
“The people who will be attending this school would be doing it by choice,” said Commission member John Wark. ”Parents can make decisions about the safety just as well and better than we can.”
The discussion also highlighted confusion about what kind of school Riverstone is. Some commissioners said a letter provided by the school suggested that it’s a vocational school that serves high school students learning skills like welding. They were surprised to learn it serves kids as young as kindergarten.
Planning Commissioner Robert Reinert described the news as “an enlightenment” and said of the original school site,“That is not an area for that age group.”
Riverstone is an elementary school that teaches reading, math, science, and social studies. The school also advertises trades-based electives. That includes building with Legos, making wooden Pinewood Derby cars, and go-karts, Quin Friberg, Riverstone’s executive director, told Chalkbeat last fall.
Friberg did not attend Wednesday’s meeting. Riverstone was represented by Chris Pasternak, a real estate agent, and architect Dave Weihrich.
While the planning commission rejected Riverstone’s bid for a special use permit on Wednesday, the three-member Pueblo Board of County Commissioners could make a different decision in March. School leaders are also appealing the cease and desist order from Pueblo County officials that led to the school building’s closure in January.
The closure came after months of concern by county officials over a host of code violations at the site. 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 before opening the school.
Reinert asked Pasternak at Wednesday’s meeting, “What are you going to do to convince us that you aren’t going to keep breaking the rules? You’ve done it consistently to this point.”
After a pause, Pasternak responded that the school had moved out of its original building.
“They’re aware of this process and everything that’s required of it,” he said.
In response to an open records request from Chalkbeat asking for any document showing the name or address of the school’s current location, Riverstone officials sent a screenshot of a short text that was sent to Riverstone parents after the school building closed that linked to an online form with more information
When asked for access to the form, school officials told Chalkbeat, “The form link is no longer active.” They said by email they have no records with the name or address of the school’s temporary location.
A spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Education said Riverstone has not updated its address with the state. Pueblo County officials said they hadn’t been alerted about Riverstone’s new location. It’s unclear if that location meets health and safety rules for schools.
Dys, who’s involved in Riverstone’s lawsuit against the state, questioned why the location where “30 vulnerable children” are attending school needs to be revealed.
Riverstone’s original location on Aspen Circle was posted on the school’s website and social media, the ERBOCES website, and was on file with the state.
Chalkbeat editor’s note: The original version of this story on Chalkbeat incorrectly stated that Jeremy Dys is a lawyer for Riverstone Academy. He is a lawyer for the group that authorizes Riverstone.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at [email protected].
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.
