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A southern Colorado school district could soon drop the law firm whose controversial lead lawyer helped launch what backers have called Colorado’s “first public Christian school.”
The Pueblo 70 school board will vote Tuesday on whether to issue a request for proposals for attorney services — a first step that could lead the district to replace attorney Brad Miller and his Colorado Springs-based firm, Miller Farmer Carlson Law.
At a board meeting earlier this month, two of four Pueblo 70 school board members raised concerns about Miller’s involvement in the district’s legal affairs. Board member Mark Emery suggested that Miller has an agenda shaped by religious and political leanings that’s created turmoil for the district.
“Let’s start with a clean slate, free of perception of impropriety and the shadow of conflict of interest,” said Emery, who broached the idea of shopping for new law firms on Jan. 13.
Board member Michelle Erickson, who like Emery was elected in November, agreed with his proposal, suggesting a switch to a well-qualified local firm could save the district money.
Two board members, President Ann Bennett and Vice President A.J. Wilson, pushed back.
Bennett, who was also elected in November, said, “In my limited interaction with him, he’s been very knowledgeable, very thorough, very careful to not offer opinions to just offer options and I’ve appreciated that.”
Wilson, who was elected in 2021, said Miller had done a good job for the district, citing a time when Miller’s recommendation about a bond issue helped save a significant amount of money.
Miller said by email Monday that he didn’t attend the Jan. 13 board meeting and was “not aware of any comments by board members regarding our role as legal counsel.”
The Pueblo 70 school board normally has five members, but one member, Anne Ochs, resigned abruptly in December after a district parent confronted her about misleading statements Ochs made related to the creation of the public Christian school, Riverstone Academy.
A fifth board member will be appointed in February, after the vote on whether to seek proposals from law firms but before any decision on whether to replace Miller’s firm.
Miller pushed to start Riverstone Academy, emails show
Miller and his firm have long represented a number of conservative-leaning Colorado school districts and charter schools, including several currently involved in high-profile legal fights over library book bans and rules for transgender athletes.
Last summer, Miller sought to launch Riverstone Academy in order to spark a lawsuit on the question of public funding for religious schools, according to emails obtained by Chalkbeat. Colorado’s constitution bars public religious schools.
In a June 4 email, Miller told the Pueblo 70 school board that a conservative law firm called Alliance Defending Freedom had approached him after the U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked on a similar case out of Oklahoma.
“ADF asked me if I could find a way for a parallel case to be initiated out of Colorado,” he said.
Miller went on to explain that Education reEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Educational Services, or ER BOCES, which he also represents, would create the school. The Pueblo 70 school board would then grant the BOCES “the right to operate such a school within the district’s boundaries for purposes of creating this test case,” he said in the email.
Riverstone was started quietly with key start-up documents omitting any reference to religion.
While the school is currently receiving public funding, state officials have said that the money could be clawed back if they determine the school is ineligible after an audit.
Ochs, who was board president when Miller sent the June 4 email, responded within minutes. Soon a vote on locating Riverstone in District 70 was added to the board’s agenda.
In late June, when Ochs voted to approve Riverstone’s location in Pueblo County, she didn’t mention she’d recently accepted a job with the BOCES. Hannah McDowell, the district parent who confronted Ochs in December, suggested that Miller also had a conflict of interest stemming from his work for both Education reEnvisioned BOCES and the Pueblo 70 district.
“I think that Mr. Miller representing and being paid by everyone involved while working to advocate for a third party is a problem,” she said.
“I ask the new board to look closely into Mr. Miller,” she said. “Seriously, just Google him.”
In a video of Miller posted in November by the Teacher Freedom Summit, an event put on by the anti-union group Teacher Freedom Alliance, he described himself as a “board whisperer.”
He said he tries “to help boards to facilitate in this nasty public sphere that they have to work in. Because they have to do everything transparently. They can’t really connive and be secretive and plan things.”
Board members disagree on Miller’s reputation
At the Jan. 13 meeting, Emery and Bennett offered contrasting views about how MIller is perceived by community members
Emery, who advocated for using a local attorney, described Miller as bringing “baggage” and creating distraction in the district.
“He is well-known throughout the state as causing issues in so many school districts,” Emery said.
“We must be talking to different people, Mark, because the feedback I’ve gotten regarding Mr. Miller has all been, not all, but mostly been very positive,” said Bennett. “What I’m hearing is that he commands a high level of respect.”
By the end, both had agreed that putting out a request for proposals made sense.
“It doesn’t hurt anything to do an RFP,” said Emery, “If Mr. Miller is the best candidate, well, then he remains.”
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat covering early childhood issues and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
