News
EDWARDS, Colorado — A national banking company is walking away from a loan to a local school that violates the Colorado Constitution.
Wells Fargo loaned Stone Creek Charter School $1.2 million on Aug. 10, 2006. Stone Creek has repaid Wells Fargo more than $800,000 on the loan, school officials said.
Because the loan spans several years, it violates Colorado's TABOR amendment, ruled Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. Stone Creek is a tax-funded public, independent charter school, and TABOR requires voter approval before tax-supported entities can take on more than one year's worth of debt.
Suthers issued his ruling last Thursday.
Wells Fargo announced Friday that it had reached an agreement with Stone Creek.
The Eagle County School District asked the president of the Colorado state Senate, Brandon Shaffer, to investigate the loan as a possible TABOR violation. Stone Creek is an independent charter school under Colorado's statewide Charter School Institute, and is separate from the Eagle County school district.
Shaffer sent the school district's request along to Suthers.
“CSI charter schools are districts subject to the requirements of TABOR,” Suthers wrote.
Paper trail
Stone Creek pointed out the TABOR violation in a July 27 letter to Wells Fargo, saying it had been advised by legal counsel to stop making payments on the loan.
In an Aug. 2 response, the bank called the accusation “misguided.”
If it had to go to court, Stone Creek would have asked for its money back, said Ron Wolfe, who sits on Stone Creek's board of directors.
Stone Creek owns three modular classrooms worth about $100,000. When they're sold, Wells Fargo gets the money, according to the terms of the agreement.
“Wells Fargo and Stone Creek have come to an agreement whereby Stone Creek may dispose of the buildings in a manner that it chooses. Should there be any net proceeds from a potential sale of the aforementioned buildings then those proceeds shall revert to Wells Fargo as settlement,” said Mitzi Forrester, who sits on the Stone Creek board of directors.
Stone Creek Charter School is reviewing bids for acquisition and/or disposal of the buildings to begin in March, Forrester said.
“We are happy to have come to a mutually beneficial agreement with Wells Fargo. We are also very happy to continue our focus on providing academic excellence to our students as well as future students for many years to come,” Forrester said.
Stone Creek is in line for a school site in Magnus Lindholm's Traer Creek subdivision in Avon, part of an out-of-court settlement Avon and Traer Creek are hammering out.
Increasing test scores
Stone Creek Charter School is holding classes in two locations, the Edwards Interfaith Chapel and up the road at Gracious Savior Lutheran Church in Edwards.
Enrollment dropped from around 200 students to 137 when the school was required to move from its site in Avon to Edwards. The enrollment decline meant a cut its state revenues. Last October the school laid off its music and art teachers, and cut its administrative staff in half.
The school is back on solid financial ground and is recruiting students for next year, Forrester said. It will be holding classes at its Edwards sites next year.
“We're going to be here and we'll be stronger than ever,” Forrester said.
The upheaval over the loan has not seemed to bother Stone Creek's students. The Stone Creek middle school students just won a John Irwin Award for being one of Colorado's best-performing schools.
Kristin Stolpa, CSI school performance director, analyzed Stone Creek's NWEA results between the fall 2011 and winter 2012.
Stone Creek is performing at a very high level when student achievement results from fall to winter are compared, Stolpa said.
“In all of my experience analyzing educational data between Chicago and Colorado schools, this is the first time I have seen a school demonstrate overall academic increases such as these during a time of declining enrollment. You are all to be congratulated!” Stolpa said.
Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 or rwyrick@vaildaily.com.
Wells Fargo loaned Stone Creek Charter School $1.2 million on Aug. 10, 2006. Stone Creek has repaid Wells Fargo more than $800,000 on the loan, school officials said.
Because the loan spans several years, it violates Colorado's TABOR amendment, ruled Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. Stone Creek is a tax-funded public, independent charter school, and TABOR requires voter approval before tax-supported entities can take on more than one year's worth of debt.
Suthers issued his ruling last Thursday.
Wells Fargo announced Friday that it had reached an agreement with Stone Creek.
The Eagle County School District asked the president of the Colorado state Senate, Brandon Shaffer, to investigate the loan as a possible TABOR violation. Stone Creek is an independent charter school under Colorado's statewide Charter School Institute, and is separate from the Eagle County school district.
Shaffer sent the school district's request along to Suthers.
“CSI charter schools are districts subject to the requirements of TABOR,” Suthers wrote.
Paper trail
Stone Creek pointed out the TABOR violation in a July 27 letter to Wells Fargo, saying it had been advised by legal counsel to stop making payments on the loan.
In an Aug. 2 response, the bank called the accusation “misguided.”
If it had to go to court, Stone Creek would have asked for its money back, said Ron Wolfe, who sits on Stone Creek's board of directors.
Stone Creek owns three modular classrooms worth about $100,000. When they're sold, Wells Fargo gets the money, according to the terms of the agreement.
“Wells Fargo and Stone Creek have come to an agreement whereby Stone Creek may dispose of the buildings in a manner that it chooses. Should there be any net proceeds from a potential sale of the aforementioned buildings then those proceeds shall revert to Wells Fargo as settlement,” said Mitzi Forrester, who sits on the Stone Creek board of directors.
Stone Creek Charter School is reviewing bids for acquisition and/or disposal of the buildings to begin in March, Forrester said.
“We are happy to have come to a mutually beneficial agreement with Wells Fargo. We are also very happy to continue our focus on providing academic excellence to our students as well as future students for many years to come,” Forrester said.
Stone Creek is in line for a school site in Magnus Lindholm's Traer Creek subdivision in Avon, part of an out-of-court settlement Avon and Traer Creek are hammering out.
Increasing test scores
Stone Creek Charter School is holding classes in two locations, the Edwards Interfaith Chapel and up the road at Gracious Savior Lutheran Church in Edwards.
Enrollment dropped from around 200 students to 137 when the school was required to move from its site in Avon to Edwards. The enrollment decline meant a cut its state revenues. Last October the school laid off its music and art teachers, and cut its administrative staff in half.
The school is back on solid financial ground and is recruiting students for next year, Forrester said. It will be holding classes at its Edwards sites next year.
“We're going to be here and we'll be stronger than ever,” Forrester said.
The upheaval over the loan has not seemed to bother Stone Creek's students. The Stone Creek middle school students just won a John Irwin Award for being one of Colorado's best-performing schools.
Kristin Stolpa, CSI school performance director, analyzed Stone Creek's NWEA results between the fall 2011 and winter 2012.
Stone Creek is performing at a very high level when student achievement results from fall to winter are compared, Stolpa said.
“In all of my experience analyzing educational data between Chicago and Colorado schools, this is the first time I have seen a school demonstrate overall academic increases such as these during a time of declining enrollment. You are all to be congratulated!” Stolpa said.
Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 or rwyrick@vaildaily.com.
