Page 27 - The Castle Pnes Connection OCT 2008

Voters to Decide on New Library for CPN (Continued from page 1)
American Academy
(Continued from page 3)
former 1.25 mills. For Colorado taxpayers, that means $7.96 per year on each $100,000 of home value.
Libraries have not seen an increase in operations fund- ing since 1996, and are now seeking help from Douglas County residents. According to LaRue, the two kinds of people generally opposed to the increase in taxes are thosewhoalreadyhavealibrarynearby,andthosewho vote “no” to tax increases of any kind. What these people are not considering is that the increase amounts to less than $2 a month, or $23 a year. For compari- son, one best-selling book at a bookstore often costs nearly $26.
“A library offers a central point to a community,”stated Warren Lynge, Chairman of the CPN efforts to obtain a local library. Currently, the Philip S. Miller library, and other county libraries offer places for young people to gather for gaming and writing workshops, as well as band competitions, mother-daughter book clubs, paja- mastory-times,meetingplaces,andothervariouscom- munity-friendly opportunities. A Castle Pines library, and expansions in the Parker and Lone Tree Libraries would mean offers of such unifying activities as well.
The group plans to increase awareness of the library initiative with meetings and story-telling mornings. It also included its presence at the Market in the Pines events, a booth in Castle Rock’s September Art Fest event, lawn signage, postcards, and door hangers.
Mayor Maureen Shul has been very supportive of the g r o u p ’s e f f o r t s , a n d i s a c t i v e l y p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n s p r e a d i n g the word. Their message is simple: “Say ‘yes’ to librar- ies.”
The CPN library committee hosted a “Walk for the Library” event on September 20. Supporters of all
ages walked from Market in the Pines at Village Square Shopping Center to CC-20, the proposed spot for a Castle Pines neighborhood library on the corner of Castle Pines Parkway and Monarch Boulevard. Also in the works are recognition plaques for local businesses that contribute to the efforts of procuring a library.
In the Philip S. Miller library children’s section, a glowing jack-o-lantern’s grin contained the following: “Please limit yourselves to 3 holiday books so that others may share.” This could be a sign of county- wide service cutbacks to come if the vote does not pass. A “no” vote would mean CPN and The Village would continue with the service of the Bookmobile for another four to five years.
For more information about volunteer opportunities or upcoming informational meetings, please contact Warren Lynge at library@cpnhoa.org or 720-381-7550.
OnSaturday,September20,morethan85CPNresidents showedtheirsupportforanewlibraryinCPNandtookpart in CPN’s “Walk for the Library.” Participants signed the eventbanner(picturedabove),whichwillonedayhanginthenew library.TheeventwascoordinatedbytheCPNLibraryCommit- tee. (photo by Tim Gamble)
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www.cpnhoa.org
American Academy currently has 533 students enrolled inkindergartenthrougheighthgrade. Itisopening180 additional spots in the fall of 2009, for a total 2009-10 enrollment of 675 students. The school plans to grow to more than 750 students by the 2011 school year.
American Academy was started in 2004 by a grassroots effort of Castle Pines North parents who wanted to create an additional educational option with a strong emphasisinscience,technology,engineeringandmath- ematics for local children. American Academy opened its doors in August, 2005 in a leased temporary home with the intention of building a permanent facility in CPN. Four years later, that dream is finally becoming a reality.
“Getting back home to Castle Pines North has taken longer and been more complicated than any of us ever imagined,” said American Academy Board President and CPN resident Erin Kane. “We are so happy and grateful to finally be moving forward with our new building.”
American Academy has been a recipient of the John Irwin School of Excellence award every year since 2005 and continues to be one of the top performing aca- demic schools in Douglas County and the state.
Families wanting to learn more about American Academy are invited to attend parent information meetings. The dates currently scheduled include: Tuesday, Nov. 6 - 8:30 a.m.; Thursday, Dec. 11 - 6:30 p.m.; Wednesday, Jan. 14 - 8:30 a.m.; Wednesday, Jan. 28 - 6:30 p.m. All meetings will be held upstairs in Studio 14 at the Word of Life Church, located next to the school at 8600 Park Meadows Drive in Lone Tree.
Learn more at www.americanacademyk8.org.