The State Board of Education on Tuesday ordered Adams County School District 14 to begin a reorganization process that could lead to a dissolution, annexation or consolidation. 

The board voted 4-3 in favor of reorganization following the district’s presentation of its three-year turnaround plan. The vote also pulled the district’s accreditation for the second time.

Adams 14 is the only district to lose its accreditation. However, the move does not impact students or daily operations, said Robert Lundin, a spokesman for the district.

The district will remain open during the reorganization, which takes more than a year.

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Tuesday’s vote comes nearly a month after the board rejected a state panel’s recommendations to reorganize the district and close Adams City High School.

During that meeting, the board indicated it was open to allowing the district to operate with an external partner in partial capacity. However, on Tuesday, the board unanimously voted to impose its 2018 order that requires the district to hand over complete oversight to an external partner.

The managing partner will be The New Teacher Project, which applied to be the district’s partner through a public process.

Lundin said The New Teacher Project applied to be a partial manager and may not be interested in full oversight.

The Colorado Attorney General’s Office will prepare the written orders reflecting the board’s votes. However, Lundin said the district will challenge the full oversight order.

The district’s reorganization process will begin with the formation of an organization planning committee that will have representatives of each school district in Adams County.

The committee will consider reorganization options for the district and develop a plan.

The committee will host public hearings to gather community feedback, and voters will be given a chance to vote for or against the plan during an election.

The State Board of Education initially ordered Adams 14 to work in partnership with MGT Consulting after the district consistently received low ratings on the state’s accountability system.

Adams 14, a district of just over 6,000 students, terminated its agreement with MGT in February after a forensic audit revealed the company spent nearly $500,000 of the district’s money to pay for contractors for work the company was supposed to do itself. 

MGT has denied any wrongdoing.