News 5 received a tip that sources say Harrison School District 2 plans to make changes to several elementary schools like Turman, Bricker, and Oak Creek, potentially taking on new purposes next school year.
Weve been looking into the potential changes since receiving a tip. We called the district last week but did not get a response. After following up by email this week, the district confirmed it plans to announce changes to several schools Wednesday evening.
For parents like Carah Bacus, whose daughter just started second grade at Turman, the news could mean another adjustment for her family.
"I'm actually quite shocked because I didn't know about that." Bacus said.
Bacus said Turman's close location has made the transition to a new school easier for her family.
"What will happen to my kid, and options? When it's gonna start?" Bacus said.
The district will announce its proposed plans to parents and students Wednesday. I've requested an interview with Superintendent Dr. Wendy Birhanzel to get more answers about what the changes could mean for students and families.
Colorado voters will decide this November whether to add a new identification requirement for mail ballots.
Amendment 84 would require mail voters to write the last 4 digits of their Social Security number or driver's license number on the outside of their ballot envelope.
The measure would apply to federal and statewide elections and would keep the existing signature requirement. Amendment 84 needs 55 percent of the vote to pass. The measure does not change identification requirements for people voting in person.
Supporters say the change adds another layer of verification.
"Signatures used to be the gold standard, and now everything that you see that has security attached to it is a two-factor authentication and one of those factors is always going to be something that's subjective, said Suzanne Taheri one of the initiative's proponents.
She says signatures can change, particularly among younger and older voters.
For older people, it's because I think their writing styles sometimes change as they get older. For younger people you don't sign that many documents," Taheri said.
Some voters say they may be open to the idea.
"As long as it's private, you know, not the whole world to see it. Yes, I'm OK with it," Princella Carvin said.
But opponents say Colorado already has a system for checking those signatures.
"I've worked as an election judge, it's been proven to be a reliable way to make sure these are valid ballots, said Jessica Delos Reyes the executive director of Citizens Project. She says the added requirement could create another way for a legitimate ballot to be rejected.
The thing is if you don't provide that information, your vote will not be counted, this is just going to keep more people away from voting and stoke even more distrust in a system that's actually very secure," Delos Reyes said.
Other voters say they see value in having another way to verify who's casting a ballot.
"Having something to show 'OK this is who I am and this is how I'm voting I was here today' uh just makes sense to me," Meg Provencher said.
For some, the concern is whether voters need to provide more personal information.
"We have already got our Social Security in the system as far as they know who we are, I feel like how many ways do we need to have our identifying name address phone number all the other things that we have?" Heidi Marquess said.
A new aerospace manufacturing facility is coming to southeast Colorado Springs, bringing more than $68 million in investment, 123 new jobs and average annual wages of more than $90,000 according to Sam Arnold, the city economic development specialist.
Accu-Precision, a Littleton-based company, plans to build a roughly 110,000-square-foot facility near Aerospace Boulevard, Drennan Road and Marksheffel Road. Company representatives, local elected officials and members of the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corporation gathered downtown Tuesday for the official announcement.
WATCH: New $68M aerospace manufacturing facility planned near southeast Colorado Springs, bringing over 100 jobs
New $68M aerospace manufacturing facility planned near southeast Colorado Springs, bringing over 100 jobs
"We want companies to know that El Paso County is a place where they can invest, grow, and build for the future," Senior Economic Development Analyst Sara Lobato said.
The company manufactures precision parts and assemblies for aerospace and industrial customers. Jobs will include manufacturing technicians, operators, engineers and supervisors.
"For us it means taking raw billets of steel and material and turning them into parts and assemblies that will be used for our customers," Michael McCue, president of Accu-Precision, said.
Company leaders said the location puts them close to the airport, Peterson Space Force Base and Fort Carson, which could help them recruit veterans and other workers.
"A lot of our positions need folks who are disciplined, will follow procedures, and will follow processes," McCue said.
For people who work and live nearby, it was the first time they had heard about the project.
"They're going to pay more and so we get better-paying jobs here. People can afford more housing. They can spend more money in the community and right, that's what it's all about," Sylvia Dorn said.
The state approved up to $1.7 million in performance-based tax credits, tied to the company meeting its job and salary commitments. Accu-Precision's expansion is also expected to qualify for El Paso County's 1.23% manufacturing sales and use tax exemption on capitalized manufacturing machinery.
Councilmember David Leinweber supports the project.
"As we bring more high paying jobs into our community, it's going to be distributed through our local economy through mom-and-pop retailers and other organizations," Leinweber said.
The company said it expects to begin hiring as early as next summer, with the facility expected to be operational in spring 2028.