douglas county school district
-
Douglas County School District employee arrested on child exploitation charges
—
by
Douglas County deputies arrested a new school district staff member for allegedly possessing child pornography. On Thursday, deputies arrested John Michael Beccia Jr., 35, of Highlands Ranch. He faces charges including aggravated incest, sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust and sexual exploitation of a child. Since November, Beccia…
-
Federal judge sides with Douglas County School District in ex-admin’s discrimination lawsuit
—
by
A federal judge concluded last week that a former high school administrator had not proven his claims of religious discrimination against the Douglas County School District. Corey McNellis had worked at Ponderosa High School since 2002 and served as the athletic director and assistant principal at the time of his termination in October 2020. According to…
-
Home rule, sports complex and school board elections: Here are the top stories in Douglas County in 2025
—
by
Douglas County this year failed to achieve home rule status, voters elected a progressive-leaning school board and officials completed a land transfer to build a massive regional sports complex. Home rule campaign fails Douglas County commissioners sought to become a home rule county, but voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposal. The three commissioners argued that home…
-
New-look Douglas County school board names returning director as president
—
by
After four new directors swore in earlier than expected, the new-look Douglas County school board met for the first time Tuesday night to elect a new board president and discuss issues addressed by the previous board. Douglas County voters in November elected a group of progressive-leaning directors, flipping the once conservative Douglas County School District…
-
Outgoing Douglas County school board members accuse incoming directors of swearing in ‘secretly’
—
by
Incoming members say previous members are trying to ‘delegitimize’ election The new members of the Douglas County school board have already assumed their seats — in “secret,” according to the outgoing president. The move by incoming directors effectively kicked out the four outgoing members early, said the outgoing board president, who accused the new members…
-
Douglas County teacher arrested on child sexual assault, internet exploitation charges
—
by
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office detectives are looking for any more victims after authorities Monday arrested a middle school teacher on sexual assault charges. Teresa Whalin, 28, of Centennial, has been employed by the Douglas County School District since July 2021. She is currently placed on administrative leave as an integrated wellness teacher teacher at Ranch…
-
Douglas County school board rejects charter school renewal proposal, tackles transgender policy
—
by
The outgoing members of the Douglas County School District board spent their final meeting on Tuesday debating a last-minute proposal to amend charter school contract renewal timelines. The current board also discussed – but took no action on a proposal dealing with transgender athletes. Progressive-leaning members are set to take over the conservative board in…
-
Douglas County school board to discuss policy on transgender athletes
—
by
The Douglas County School District’s governing body, currently made up of a conservative majority, is discussing sports policy as it applies to transgender athletes right before four new progressive-leaning school board members are set to take over in about two weeks. The board plans only to discuss – not act – on any policy, according…
-
Outgoing Douglas County School Board to vote on last-minute 10-year charter school extensions
—
by
Lame duck elected leaders do not get held accountable for their actions. They have already been voted out or have reached the end of their term limits. Four conservative Douglas County school board members, voted out in last week’s election, will meet Tuesday for one last meeting and decide a last-minute agenda item to extend…
-
Douglas County targets teen addiction, recovery in new campaign
—
by
A new campaign focused on youth in Douglas County aims to raise awareness against drug abuse, while also allocating dollars on treatment programs. The county said it plans to earmark millions of dollars in state opioid settlement dollars to address drug abuse, particularly around rehabilitation resources. “We launched a campaign not just against substance use…