Education

Seven staff members at Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen were laid off last week as the school works to balance its budget and deal with a decline in enrollment.

The furloughed staff members are two deans, a kindergarten teacher, an in-house substitute teacher and three aides. In addition, an unfilled position was eliminated when the school’s math specialist also took on the position of middle-school math teacher.

Less than a week after voters rejected ballot measures to recall two Platte Canyon school board members, board President Chet Lawrence has resigned his position and will serve out the remainder of his term as a general board member.

At the school board's monthly meeting Monday, Lawrence said a desire to focus his time elsewhere motivated his decision to resign.

Parents of students affected by the turmoil at Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen — and all parents whose children are going through change — should watch for signs that the children aren’t handling the change well, mental health experts say.

They say communication is key, and parents should especially be good listeners as students might express their anger or frustration with changes they are experiencing.

In short, it’s been a tumultuous few weeks for some RMAE students.

The school board at Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen on Wednesday night decided unanimously to fire executive director Roberta Harrell, and voted 4-3 to reinstate the six faculty members who were fired last week.

The board’s actions came after three hours of closed meetings to discuss legal and personnel issues. There was no public discussion regarding Harrell’s termination.