A longtime education service provider that has been subject to recent public and government scrutiny is shutting down.

School District 49’s Board of Education approved the dissolution of the Education ReEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Education Services (ERBOCES) during a special meeting Monday night. The meeting was called at D-49 Superintendent Peter Hilts’ recommendation during the Aug. 13 regular meeting, after consulting with legal counsel, ERBOCES leadership and the Colorado Department of Education.

The rationale given before the vote stated that “Legislative and regulatory developments have rendered the Education ReEnvisioned BOCES nonviable.” The board voted unanimously in favor of dissolving the BOCES.

For the 2026-27 school year, D-49 will partner with CDE to operate ERBOCES’ multidistrict online programs and absorb its institutional operations to facilitate the closure.

Since its founding in 2013, the BOCES has provided specialized education services like charter schools, contract schools, online schools and homeschool enrichment programs for D-49 and other partnering school districts in Colorado. For the 2025-26 school year, ERBOCES served about 13,500 students, according to state data.

The decision comes after ERBOCES and its programs have come under fire from state officials in recent weeks and months.

In an Aug. 7 letter penned to D-49 Superintendent Peter Hilts and ERBOCES’ Executive Director Ken Witt, CDE Commissioner Susana Córdova addressed the BOCES’ potential dissolution since D-49 was the only partnering district at that time and no new partners had been publicly announced. She also requested that the dissolution be communicated to enrolled families as soon as possible so they could explore alternatives.

Witt was not in attendance at the Monday night meeting and didn’t respond to a Gazette request for comment by email.

Colorado law requires that a BOCES have at least two partnering school districts or schools to serve multiple districts in need of specific services. Earlier this year, Elizabeth School District and Pikes Peak State College both ended their membership, leaving D-49 as ERBOCES’ sole member.  

In her letter, Córdova offered CDE resources to assist in transition services for affected families, including directing them to other online schools in the state and facilitating an expedited process to other districts interested in becoming partners.

“For District 49 and Superintendent Hilts, as the sole remaining member of this BOCES, we implore you to take immediate action to protect the fund balance and assets of the BOCES,” she wrote.

“The articles of incorporation for ERBOCES state that, if dissolved, the net assets will be distributed equally among the sponsoring entities of the BOCES. The public trust demands that you take an active role in the preservation of public funds here.”

The letter also requests that the funds allocated for ERBOCES’ 2026-27 budget be returned to the state education fund, since D-49 students account for a small portion of the BOCES’ reported enrollment.  

Last October, CDE officials challenged the school Riverstone Academy and its right to public funding because of its Christian-based instructional materials. ERBOCES attempted to sue the state over religious discrimination, but dropped the lawsuit in May.

In recent years, ERBOCES also expanded its portfolio of homeschool enrichment programs, which use public education dollars to supplement homeschooled students’ education. Changes to this year’s School Finance Act, however, created new parameters for what types of these programs can receive public funding. These changes resulted in many of the BOCES’ programs discontinuing or forming new partnerships with other school districts.

Many people who either ran one of these programs or had children who utilized them spoke during the meeting, expressing the benefits and specialized educational opportunities they brought to families and imploring the board to reconsider.

This was not the board’s first discussion on this matter. Board members weighed the district’s future with ERBOCES during its June regular meeting, with treasurer Mike Heil raising concerns over the recent controversies and potentially misusing public funds.

Along with revisiting many of the concerns expressed then, he noted that he presented the discussion to the board then to allow participating families the opportunity to explore alternatives well in advance of the new school year.

“And the sooner they knew what was happening to their schools, the better,” he said, ahead of the board’s vote. “So, I’m just really sorry that you guys (the meeting attendees) are experiencing this.”

Other board members like Lori Thompson, who also serves on ERBOCES’ board of directors, championed the programs and services it provided the district over the years. The board agreed then that the BOCES deserved a grace period to adjust to recent legislative changes.

With the grace period no longer an option, because of the new legislation, they collectively expressed that there was no other legal option besides dissolving the BOCES.  

“And as much as I want to help you, I feel like I can’t,” Board Vice President Holly Withers told attendees.