100+ Chavez Huerta Prep Academy students protest at D60 Administration Building

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - A tense showdown between School District 60 and Chavez Huerta Preparatory Academy on Tuesday in Pueblo took center stage in a very public way.

More than 100 students from the Chavez Huerta took buses to the D60 Admin Building on a school-sanctioned field trip to mount a protest. They said they want the district to officially end its charter agreement with Chavez Huerta

In January, the D60 School Board voted not to renew its charter agreement with Chavez Huerta, though the current agreement does not officially expire until June 30.

Those protesting Tuesday said they just want the school to be released so they can start planning for what comes next.

"We have wanted to separate from D60, especially now that they have not renewed our current charter contract. We want to expand our programming to online school and make a dual immersion program for our elementary. And they have specifically told us no, that we would be competition for them," said Shannon Behling.

Among the issues cited by the district for not renewing the charter are lagging enrollment, increasing debt, and a lack of fiscal transparency on the part of school administrators.

A D60 representative offered the following statement to KRDO13:

"The Board's decision on January 28th was appealed to the State Board of Educaiton on February 28th under the Charter Schools Act. The State Board of Education rules control the procedures and timeline and we are following that process. The State Board of Education is scheduled to have a hearing on May 15th. It is the Board of Education's policy that we do not comment on pending or contested matters."