Aurora City Council Study Session – April 20, 2026

Mayor Kaufman presided over the Aurora City Council study session on April 20, 2026. Councilmembers were present for roll call. The council moved the consent calendar forward, heard an update from Aurora Public Schools, discussed a resolution concerning officer-involved shootings, and referred a proposal on municipal court criminal prosecutions to a future workshop. No public comment period was conducted.

Consent Calendar

• Items 2A through 2L were moved forward without objection.

Aurora Public Schools Update

• Superintendent Michael Giles and APS Board Member Dr. Ann Kiki presented the annual state of the district. Giles described APS as the state's most diverse district and the fifth largest, with about 38,000 students, more than 130 countries represented, 160 languages spoken, roughly 75% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, about 4,243 multilingual learners, and more than 5,000 staff. Kiki later said that almost 52% of APS students are English learners; the relationship between this figure and the multilingual-learner count was not reconciled during the presentation.
• They outlined the Destination APS strategic plan, with priorities including academic achievement and post-secondary readiness, inclusive community, safety, and quality talent.
• Kiki explained the board's student-outcome-focused governance model, including four current goals (early literacy; high school graduation; third-grade equity in math and literacy; ninth-grade equity in math and literacy) and guardrails requiring attention to diversity, equity, and inclusion; the whole child; stakeholder engagement; family and student climate; and staff retention. She said new goals and guardrails have been developed through community engagement and will replace the current set in June.
• Giles reported progress: schools on turnaround status fell from three in 2023 to one in 2025 (the remaining school is on turnaround only because of low test participation); performance-rated schools rose from 13 in 2023 to 19 in 2025; and the district moved from priority improvement (42.8% of points) in 2023 to improvement in 2025, nine percentage points below the highest performance rating.
• In work-based learning and college readiness, Giles cited growth in concurrent enrollment (from roughly 1,600 students and 4,900 courses in 2019-20 to 2,300 students and 7,600 courses in 2024-25), 107 associate degrees awarded to high school students last year, $24 million in scholarships, 72 military enlistments, 4,414 tier-one work-learning experiences through December 2025, 109 internships, and 16 apprenticeships.
• He also announced partnerships with CU Denver (direct admissions for qualifying juniors and seniors) and Colorado Mesa University, the opening of the district's first dual-language school (Escuela Bilingue Betty Benavides) and Cole Creek P-8, and a planned health science high school on the North Middle School campus with five pathways, developed with Community College of Aurora and UC Health.
• Giles described a new CTE hub-and-spoke model so each high school has a major hub with multiple pathways.
• Both Giles and Kiki urged the council to help resolve a land standstill delaying the planned Aurora Highlands high school. They also invited council members to the district's block party on May 2, which drew roughly 1,000 to 1,500 people when first held.
• In Q&A, Mayor Pro Tem Coombs asked how the board would respond if a policy conflicted with a guardrail; Kiki said the current guardrails came from the community and will sunset in June, and the board would go back to the community if needed. Councilmember Bergen asked about emergency authority; Giles distinguished emergencies from major decisions such as calendar or transportation changes. Coombs also asked about arts and humanities students; Giles cited Charles Burrell School of the Arts and a new common bell and transportation system with shuttles to allow students to take pathways at other schools.

Officer-Involved Shooting Resolution (Item 3A)

• Councilmember Andrews introduced a resolution to codify the city's existing position expressing sympathy to families in officer-involved shootings, saying it is not anti-police.
• Councilmember Bergen opposed the draft as one-sided, citing trauma experienced by officers and their families and noting a recent officer who was stabbed in the head. He said he would propose amendments to add balance.
• Councilmember Hancock spoke against the resolution, arguing it confuses the city's governing role, treats every shooting as morally equivalent, and would appease the loudest voices rather than address misconduct directly. He acknowledged that his earlier vote to move it out of committee was not a vote of support.
• Councilmember Lawson said many emails raised lack of balance and that Ward 5 residents support police, citing an incident in Heather Gardens.
• Mayor Pro Tem Coombs recommended pulling the item and returning with a clean version; staff noted a shorter deadline if it went to the first May council meeting.
• Councilmember Horton said the discussion must retain historical context, referencing the attorney general's report after Elijah McClain's death documenting disproportionate use of force against Black community members.
• Councilmember Medina, citing his own fire and EMS background, said the council should be supportive of both sides and should not be making such decisions; the courts decide.
• Mayor Pro Tem Coombs said the resolution as written does not disparage police and that social media campaigns were unfairly calling it anti-police. Councilmember Andrews agreed to work with colleagues on amendments and said a provision on indemnifying officers was unnecessary.
• The item moved forward without objection, with amendments to be drafted before it appears on a regular agenda.

Municipal Court Criminal Prosecutions (Item 5A)

• Councilmember Bergen proposed that, because the Colorado Supreme Court upheld state law preventing municipalities from imposing harsher penalties, the city should stop prosecuting criminal cases in municipal court, keeping only traffic, zoning, and animal cases (the Centennial model). He cited an estimated annual savings of about $7 million, based on a rough figure from City Manager Jason Bachelor, and proposed phasing in the change by May 1, 2027, with reductions through attrition.
• Councilmember Horton asked which line items would be cut; Bergen said the public defender's office and probation would be eliminated and prosecution and courtroom staffing would be significantly reduced. Horton confirmed the savings would be annual, not one-time.
• Councilmember Wiles raised victim-impact concerns, including longer travel to county courts and transportation barriers, and asked about bus passes or other support. Bergen agreed to move the proposal to a workshop for more discussion.
• Mayor Pro Tem Coombs said the workshop should examine municipal-only offenses, whether the city should repeal its criminal code, burden shifting to counties, and broader fiscal impacts.
• The council agreed to place Item 5A on the next quarterly workshop. The study session then recessed.

Key Outcomes

• Consent calendar (Items 2A–2L) moved forward with no objection.
• Item 3A moved forward; Councilmember Andrews will incorporate amendments to balance the resolution.
• Item 5A was referred to the next quarterly workshop for additional analysis.
• The APS request for assistance with Aurora Highlands high school land received no formal action but was presented to the council.