DENVER—Teachers and other school employees will be able to stay at work Monday if Colorado Gov.
John Hickenlooper requests, but they won’t have to move to another state, state officials said.
State officials have been working on the plan, which is expected to be released soon, for months and have no timetable on when it would be implemented.
Hickenloopers office has indicated it is willing to negotiate a deal with Colorado schools, but has said it is not ready to commit to anything until it has more information.
“If we decide to move forward with it and the governor’s office has not made a decision, we will follow that,” said Denver School District Superintendent Chris Wilson, who is responsible for overseeing schools in the city.
District officials will stay in Denver through Monday.
Hodges said the state has not finalized the details of the plan and he did not have any comment on the new policy.
He added that the district will work with the state on issues such as how the state plans to respond to civil unrest.
State law currently allows school districts to hire and fire workers without regard to their race or ethnicity, but those policies do not apply to employees at Denver Public Schools.
Hoskins said Denver Public School officials will remain in Denver and will continue to work closely with the district on how to address the state’s emergency, including how to keep students safe.
“We’re in this together, and we’re going to do what we can to ensure the safety of our students and staff,” Hoskins said.
“I am confident that the state will continue working with the Denver Public schools to ensure that students and employees are safe and secure.”
The Denver School district has about 8,500 employees.
The city of Denver has about 9,300 employees.
Denver Public Schools officials have said they will use social media to communicate with students and parents during school hours to make sure they are well cared for.
The district announced last week that it will allow teachers and other staff to remain at work through Monday, but would have to leave by Tuesday morning.
The announcement was met with anger from students who took to social media, including one who said the school district’s move was “unacceptable.”
Hodgers said school district officials have offered to meet with parents and families and the school board will meet with them Monday night.
Huskins said the district was also working with Denver Public Public Schools to get a better understanding of the plans for how the district would deal with an emergency, and was committed to finding a solution to ensure all students are safe.
The Denver Public District has had a series of incidents in recent months, including the murder of a Denver teacher, and last week, the city of Jefferson announced that it would close all schools and reopen them later in the day.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock also released a statement on Monday night saying that the city is working with state officials to ensure its schools are safe, and that schools will continue operating as normal.
Hancock said the city has been working closely with state and federal officials to resolve concerns and that the administration is working closely on how the city can best support all Denver residents during this time of crisis.
He said Denver schools are already preparing for a possible influx of students and their families, and he said the number of students in the district’s district schools will rise over the next several days.
Hodi said Denver Schools will maintain normal operations throughout the day Monday.
