JHS votes to end charter project

At its Feb. 18 meeting, the Jefferson High School board voted to dissolve the Jefferson Academy Charter School, created a year ago to serve an anticipated 60 to 100 at-risk students from grades 5 to 12 in partnership with the Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch (YBGR). 

The academy, which would have been located on the YBGR residential campus in Boulder, is being dissolved due to low enrollment. “We only have between 8 to 10 students at YGBR, and we need at least 20,” said JHS superintendent Erik Wilkerson. JHS had hoped that at least 25 students on its campus would qualify for the charter, and eventually up to 40 students from YBGR. 

Jefferson’s plan for a charter school was approved by the state Board of Education in January, 2024 — one of 19 launched statewide — following the passage of a bill in the 2023 State Legislature that permitted public charter schools within the jurisdiction of existing school boards.