Representatives of the Chavez Huerta K-12 Preparatory Academy were ready to apply for authorization outside of Pueblo School District 60, but Pueblo D60’s board directors prevented that from happening April 28.
The Pueblo D60 Board of Education made a 3-2 decision to prohibit Chavez Huerta from submitting an authorization application to the Charter School Institute (CSI). Brian Cisneros, Kathy DeNiro and Susan Pannunzio were the three board members voting in the majority.
Pueblo D60 voted in January not to renew Chavez Huerta’s charter contract that expires June 30, citing concerns about the school’s financial reporting and renewal application. However, Pueblo D60 continues to retain exclusive chartering authority over Chavez Huerta. This authority was addressed in an April 28 resolution.
“(Pueblo D60) highly values and cares deeply about maintaining that exclusivity, and with that, the authority to authorize, contract with, supervise and control charter schools operating within the boundaries of District 60 in order to assure quality educational programs and accountability of all charter schools within District 60 boundaries,” according to the resolution read by Cisneros on April 28.
Leading up to April 28, Chavez Huerta repeatedly asked to be released from Pueblo D60’s exclusive chartering authority. Students, staff and community members associated with the school notably did so during a demonstration outside the Pueblo D60 administration building at 315 West 11th St.
On April 30, Chavez Huerta attorney Richard Orona told the Chieftain that the charter school had “gone as far as we possibly can without being released” through the process of communicating with CSI about future authorization.
“(CSI is) just on standby to finish up where we are at,” Orona said. “One thing they’ve done is they’ve gone through our finances. Our bond people have gone through our finances. We’re looked at monthly by all these entities that have a financial interest in us, and they’ve never had problems with us.”
Chavez Huerta Board President Steven Trujillo told the Chieftain that an application intended for submission to CSI was sitting on the desk of Chavez Huerta Executive Director Fred Segura as recently as Monday.
Chavez Huerta Preparatory Academy students and staff held a demonstration at the Pueblo School District 60 administration building protesting the status of their charter relationship with the district on Tuesday, April 8, 2025.
Is Chavez Huerta closing? School taking solace in state report
While Chavez Huerta representatives may be disheartened by the April 28 vote, Orona told the Chieftain that the school takes ‘solace’ in an amicus brief submitted by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Senior Assistant Attorney General Joseph Peters.
“We take great solace in the fact that the state now has come in and their options do not include us closing,” Orona said. “They see there are other avenues besides closing”
The amicus brief, which was submitted in support of neither Chavez Huerta nor Pueblo D60, states that Chavez Huerta recently received over $30 million in Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grant funds for the construction of a new middle school and renovation of a high school building.
Due to the BEST grant funds being an “investment of taxpayers,” the amicus brief asserts that a scenario allowing Chavez Huerta’s facilities to remain in operation as public school buildings would be in the best interest of students, the school district and the community.
“And if the school closes, the likely outcome is the brand-new north campus sits mothballed until being sold in foreclosure at a substantial loss — with no net proceeds available to return to the district,” according to a copy of the amicus brief shared with the Chieftain by Orona’s law office, Orona Garcia & Galves, PC. “Both the buildings and the value of the investments may be lost to the public school system.”
The Chieftain confirmed with Peters, the assistant attorney general, that an amicus brief was submitted April 29 and shared with Orona and Pueblo D60 Counsel Elliott Hood.
Chavez Huerta is moving forward with an appeal to the Pueblo D60 board’s decision not to renew its contract. The appeal is scheduled to be heard by the Colorado State Board of Education on May 15.
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This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Chavez Huerta asked to be released from Pueblo D60. The board said no