Denver Public School officials met with members of the Stapleton community last Tuesday to discuss where things are at in regards to the high school being built in Stapleton. Pretty early into the discussion, officials let community members know that the project was a tad over budget. “Right now, I would say our shortfall is a little over $15 million,” said Scott Jackson, one of the DPS officials attending the meeting. “So, I guess, first things first, anyone have $15 million dollars?” Community members were outraged. “So, we passed a bond in 2012 to pay for this thing,” said Allie Miller. “And now, one month before groundbreaking, we find out we are $15 million short? How in the hell does that happen?” Miller was not the only person confused. “I own a construction company,” said community member Keith Heller. “I would like to know a lot more about your process. Of course, our company has had budget issues before, but you guys must have a significantly different process in regards to bidding out projects than the rest of the construction world.” DPS officials quickly attempted to deflect and diffuse the situation. “Before we get too far off track, we want to reign everyone back in,” said DPS official David Erickson. “What we want to do here today, is look at some other design options that we think will fit the needs of the community.” Erickson then dimmed the lights and began showing a brief slide show of some of the options. Options included some one-room school houses, rural schools fit for less than 500 students, and even a series of giant circus tents. “We feel that any of these options could be tweaked to fit perfectly with the needs of the Stapleton community,” said Erickson. “So, we want to schedule another meeting the day before the groundbreaking to go over the final plans. This concludes this meeting, and we are looking forward to your feedback at the March 31st meeting.” Community members were less than enthused about how the meeting went and the proposed next steps of DPS. “This was nuts,” said Victoria Bidler. “This is not a plan. Something needs to be done. They were just shoving new designs down our throats without asking for any real feedback.” Other community members agreed. “I knew the proposed design was not going to come out exactly as planned,” said Steve Moellering. “But, we went from 60 to 0 in 1 second here. There has to be something else that can be done.” If something is to be done, it needs to happen very, very quickly. ]]>

This month’s Front Porch has a great article on how Stapleton is developed and all of the entities involved. There were, however, a few pieces and parties left out, which The Stapletonion covers with the information below. [Read more…] about Developing Stapleton: Sifting Through the Bureaucracy

In a recent meeting with Denver Public Schools, the “intense” parents who actually want their kids to have a high school to attend discovered there is a $15 million shortfall in school building budget. To offset this budget crisis, DPS has decided that it would be a good experience for the Stapleton kids to build the high school themselves. [Read more…] about New Stapleton High School to Have Experiential Learning Focus

It didn’t take long for former Miami Dolphin Richie Incognito to land on his feet after being let go by the Dolphins. The NFL cast away was given an opportunity by a Stapleton family. “We have a seven year old boy and a 10 year old boy,” said Stapleton parent John Gibbs. “I have been trying to toughen my kids up, but I feel like they need a little bump in the right direction. I figured no one would be better than Richie at bullying my kids to put a few callouses on their souls.” [Read more…] about Stapleton Family Hires Former Dolphin Incognito to Toughen Up Kids

When DPS announced the budget shortfall for the soon to be built high school in Stapleton, the ripples spread quickly through the community. It wasn’t long before community members were demanding meetings and looking for solutions. “We live in a very proactive community,” said Kimberly Gaies. “Plus, people here want to be very involved in their children’s educations. It’s only natural that when DPS drops a bombshell like this people, get up in arms.” Stapleton residents are already organizing and working towards next steps to figure out a solution. “It’s great how quickly people in this community come together,” said Gaies. “With the efforts and energy of the people here, something will be figured out before the school is slated to open. What concerns me is that there is a more urgent issue falling through the cracks. The school isn’t supposed to be completed for a year, but the groundbreaking is in one month. Where are they getting the money for the groundbreaking ceremony? It needs to be done right. It is, after all, the first sign of the new school.” [Read more…] about Stapleton Bake Sale to Help Pay for High School Groundbreaking Ceremony

2014 has been a year where Americans have really had to look at our history of bigotry and hate, and decide whether we are okay staying with the status quo or if we are ready to move forward as progressive thinkers. Of course, gay rights and gay marriage have come out big winners so far in 2014, with several states legalizing gay marriage within the last year (Iowa was the second state to do this in 2009—yes, Iowa. More recently, professional basketball player Jason Collins and SEC defensive player of the year Michael Sams have admitted to being homosexual, with little to no backlash from past, present, or future teammates. So, maybe mainstream America is over the whole “gay thing” and we are finally moving beyond discriminating against someone for their sexuality. Glad to see that’s over. [Read more…] about Stapletonians Easily Relate to 2014’s Stories of Bigotry and Triumph

Many people were inspired by SEC defensive player of the year Michael Sam’s announcement that he is gay. If (when) he is drafted, Sam will become the NFL’s first openly gay player. This type of courage inspired millions, but no one may have been more inspired than Stapleton 12 year old Andy Bukatz. “He is a hero of mine,” said Bukatz. “It gave me the courage to talk to my parents about who I am, and then of course, my coaches.” Bukatz is a hard-working athlete like many of his friends. “I play lots of sports, including football, baseball, and basketball,” says Bukatz. “But, my favorite sport, and where I do the best, is ice skating.” Bukatz works with a coach and team of ice skaters in Castle Rock. “We have practice four days a week, and it is almost 15 hours a week of practice,” said Bukatz. “But it is what I love.” It is not necessarily unique that Bukatz enjoys ice dancing, what makes him unique is that unlike other male ice dancers, Bukatz is heterosexual. [Read more…] about Stapleton Pre-Teen Aspires to Be First Hetero Male Olympic Figure Skater

A recent hot topic on the Stapleton Mom’s Yahoo! group was in regards to the positive and negative effects of kids drinking at an early age. Some people feel that allowing children to drink wine in the house as kids will make it so the kids do not overindulge when they get into their teens and twenties. “You look at Europeans, and they don’t have the issues we have,” says Brenda Potter. “It’s because they drink at an early age, and therefore, don’t view alcohol as something rebellious. As Americans, we should really change to this type of system.” [Read more…] about Stapleton Mom’s Yahoo! Group Finds Something New to “Wine” About