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A controversial Colorado education group that launched a now-defunct “public Christian school” last year could soon dissolve after the state’s top education official urged the move this week and the group’s most crucial member considers leaving.
The 13-year-old group — Education reEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Educational Services, or ERBOCES — authorizes six online schools and a host of publicly funded programs for homeschool students. If the Monument-based co-op closes, some schools and programs might move to other authorizers, and some might permanently close.
In a Thursday letter to ERBOCES, Education Commissioner Susana Córdova pushed the group to dissolve, citing legal violations and questionable conduct. She suggested one of the group’s two member institutions never legally joined; that many of the group’s contracts are void because its board has been improperly constituted for years; and that it has misspent state money, including by funding private schools.
The 5-page letter represents the state’s most aggressive effort yet to hold ERBOCES accountable and reflects the extent to which the group has been a thorn in the education department’s side.
ERBOCES officials have long said their goal is to provide innovative education options to Colorado families, but critics argue that the co-op pushes the boundaries of — and in some cases breaks — state law.
Ken Witt, the executive director of ERBOCES, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
In her letter, Córdova ordered ERBOCES to repay the state by Tuesday for around $300,000 given to the “public Christian school,” Riverstone Academy, and provide the department with a host of documents. The demand for repayment is surprising because the state previously backpedaled on a suggestion that it could claw back the money given to Riverstone.
The rationale presented in the letter was a court ruling this week that invalidated a 2025 school board agreement that allowed Riverstone to open last summer.
Because the agreement “was null and void, ERBOCES was never authorized to submit” Riverstone students for state funding, Córdova wrote.
Riverstone received the state funding before it closed permanently in May.
Co-op has recently faced member defections
ERBOCES has spent much of the summer with its future in jeopardy — losing members and struggling to find new ones. State law requires such co-ops to have at least two member institutions, and one must be a school district.
Currently, ERBOCES’ two members are School District 49 in El Paso County and Pikes Peak State College. In June, the Elizabeth school district left the group. Pikes Peak announced around the same time that it would leave the group in mid-August, but as the exit date neared, college officials agreed to stay till next June.
The school board in District 49, which has been ERBOCES’ most stalwart member and its fiscal agent, also considered leaving ERBOCES this summer but opted to stay for another year.
That could change next week.
Superintendent Peter Hilts recommended the dissolution of ERBOCES to the school board Thursday evening, saying there’s no longer a legitimate, responsible path forward for the co-op.
He praised ERBOCES’ efforts to launch new schools and programs, then said, “but Icarus is coming back to Earth” — referring to a Greek myth in which a character flies too close to the sun and falls.
The board will hold a special meeting Monday to discuss the matter.
Board member Mike Heil, who led the charge to exit ERBOCES earlier this summer, said by email Friday that being part of ERBOCES is damaging the district’s reputation. He said the co-op has created some excellent programs, but that officials there have shown poor judgement.
He also noted ERBOCES’s inability to attract a new member this summer.
“I interpret the lack of suitors to be a collective, statewide referendum on ERBOCES, and their dissolution is therefore correct,” Heil said.
Board member Holly Withers said by phone she was stunned when Hilts suggested that ERBOCES should dissolve because he’s been a supporter of the group and because in June the board discussed the issue and decided to stay.
“I was willing to stay involved in ERBOCES on a probationary type level while they get their affairs in order,” she said.
Withers said she trusts Hilts’ recommendation that ERBOCES should dissolve, but she worries about the families that will be affected and hopes the co-op has a plan to help them.
Last year, ERBOCES online schools enrolled about 4,700 students and its homeschool enrichment programs enrolled more than 8,000 students. The future of many of those programs is up in the air due to state law changes.
Education chief’s letter cites numerous concerns
Córdova’s letter to ERBOCES cited numerous problems, some dating back years and some surfacing in the last month.
Among the concerns she cited are:
- That Pikes Peak State College was never a legitimate member of ERBOCES because there’s no documentation showing its governing board approved its membership as required by law.
- That ERBOCES’ board has not been properly constituted “for several years, possibly over a decade,” which means board decisions during that time are void.
- ERBOCES’ plan to loan $3 million to a charter school in Woodland Park. She said there’s “no legal reason a loan for the benefit of another district’s constituents can plausibly be considered a reasonable and necessary expense,” and therefore is invalid.
- ERBOCES’ payment of nearly $800,000 to a private Christian school last school year, which the department suspects is directly funding tuition for private school students.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
Ann Schimke 2026-08-14 21:40:55
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