Author: Sue Mcmillin

Wasson High School wants to survive and thrive. So it’s seeking approval from the Colorado Springs School District 11 board to break some of the bonds of district policies and state statutes and become a School of Innovation, a state-authorized designation that would give it the freedoms afforded to charter schools. The plan, unveiled Wednesday…

Plans for changes at Wasson High School and Trailblazer Elementary School will be unveiled Wednesday at a work session of the Colorado Springs School District 11 board. Few details were available Tuesday, but the seeds for change were planted a year ago when the district decided to close and consolidate numerous schools. Wasson was on…

The last of the old Benet Hill Monastery grounds and buildings have been sold to the Colorado Springs Charter Academy, and the school plans to convert the former chapel into a junior high school. The deal ends a years-long quest by Benet Hill to sell the property adjacent to Palmer Park and alleviates the school’s…

Spring break started a day early for many students in the Pikes Peak region — and elsewhere in the state — when a widespread winter storm caused some schools to shut down on Friday. There was little snow on the ground when the first “delayed start” decisions started rolling out about 4:15 a.m., but the…

The superintendent of Hanover School District 28 resigned this week after the board voted to combine his position with the secondary school principal job. Darryl Webb said Friday that he wasn’t interested in the combined position and would seek an administrative position elsewhere. He’s been superintendent for two years at the county’s smallest school district,…

Manitou Springs School District 14 no longer is searching for a new superintendent. About two weeks after Superintendent Ed Longfield resigned so he could return to Delta County School District 50J to take the top job there, he changed his mind. And D-14 board president Jennifer Farmer said the board is thrilled that he did.…

Another $2.58 milllion was cut from the preliminary 2010-11 budget for Colorado Springs School District 11 on Wednesday, but one thing won’t change: student parking fees. Board member Charlie Bobbitt objected to increasing the price of parking permits for high school students from $10 to $30, which would have added $20,000 to the budget. Four…

In tough budget times, an extra $3 million is like finding a pot of gold. Colorado Springs School District 11, which expects to cut $11 million to $16 million from its 2010-11 budget because of state funding reductions, has just such a pot tucked away. It’s about to be drawn into budget discussions, mostly behind…

On Wednesday, the Colorado Springs School District 11 board will take up another set of recommended budget cuts. The administration is recommending $2.6 million in changes that include some cuts and some places to increase revenue. They are:• $6,000 in mileage allowance reductions (a reduction of $5 a month for those who receive the allowance).•…