2026-05-08T12:13:48+00:00 2025-06-30 440160260 Forvis Mazars LLP 111 South Tejon Suite 800 Colorado Springs CO 809039848 990 2024-07-01 841602733 DENVER SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INC DENV 3035246324 730 COLORADO BOULEVARD UNIT 200 DENVER CO 80206 NELLA GARCIA-URBAN CEO 3035246324 2026-05-08 true Adam R Smith P00958966 7194714290 2026-05-15 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z NELLA GARCIA-URBAN 730 COLORADO BOULEVARD UNIT 200 DENVER CO 80206 137725549 false X WWW.DSSTPUBLICSCHOOLS.ORG X 2001 CO DSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS TRANSFORMS URBAN PUBLIC EDUCATION BY ELIMINATING EDUCATIONAL INEQUITY AND PREPARING ALL STUDENTS FOR SUCCESS IN COLLEGE AND THE 21ST CENTURY. 15 15 1333 175 0 16252306 19157717 105828396 117812638 69396 709714 4545 0 122154643 137680069 112708 95879 0 0 89563298 99869566 0 0 579019 33053636 32940756 122729642 132906201 -574999 4773868 68732180 74131916 26779890 27287990 41952290 46843926 DSST PUBLIC SCHOOLS TRANSFORMS URBAN PUBLIC EDUCATION BY ELIMINATING EDUCATIONAL INEQUITY AND PREPARING ALL STUDENTS FOR SUCCESS IN COLLEGE AND THE 21ST CENTURY. false false 130359658 95879 117812638 PROVIDING FUNDING AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND GROWTH OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. DSST CURRENTLY SERVES A STUDENT POPULATION OF 7,600 STUDENTS IN 16 SCHOOLS. AT FULL ENROLLMENT IN 2035, DSST WILL SERVE 8,850 STUDENTS IN 18 SCHOOLS ACROSS DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS. TO DATE, DSST HAS PREPARED 100% OF OUR GRADUATES TO ATTEND A FOUR YEAR COLLEGE. DSST SCHOOLS ARE RECOGNIZED AMONG THE TOP PERFORMING SCHOOLS IN COLORADO. 130359658 true true false false false false false false false true true false false true true true false true false false false false false false false false false true false true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true true true false false true 59 0 true 1333 true false false false false false false false false false false false false X 15 15 false false false false false false false true true false false false true true true true true true true true false false X NICHOLAS PLANTAN 3035246324 730 COLORADO BOULEVARD UNIT 200 DENVER CO 80206 Glenn Russo Board Chair 2.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 Jean Kutner Vice Chair 2.0 0.0 X X 0 0 0 Alyssa Whitehead-Bust Director 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Andrew Sinclair Director 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Billy Brown Director 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Brenda Allen Director 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 David Greenberg Director 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 David Suppes Director 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Deanna Campos Miller DIRECTOR (BEGIN 01/2025) 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Dominick Moreno Director 2.0 1.0 X 0 0 0 Fatima Rezaie Director 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Jim Taylor Director 2.0 1.0 X 0 0 0 Mary Haynes Director 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Medford Moorer Director 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Patrick O'Rourke Director 2.0 0.0 X 0 0 0 Aaron Griffen Chief Student Affairs Officer 40.0 0.0 X 172295 0 31306 Ashley Wiegner Chief People Officer (END 01/2025) 40.0 0.0 X 176057 0 15992 Bill Kurtz Former Chief Executive Officer (END 07/2024) 40.0 0.0 X 199976 0 18334 Danielle Felder Chief External Affairs Officer 40.0 0.0 X 171157 0 30350 Heather Koehler Chief Schools Officer 40.0 0.0 X 169977 0 9038 Nella Garcia Urban Chief Executive Officer 40.0 0.0 X 280372 0 25086 Nick Plantan Chief Operating Officer 38.0 2.0 X 167420 0 31575 Tamara Ghandour Chief People Officer 40.0 0.0 X 17033 0 574 Antwan Wilson DSST President 40.0 0.0 X 225433 0 19449 Carrie Ramsey Chief of Staff 40.0 0.0 X 147512 0 17760 Jake Firman Director of Software Development 40.0 0.0 X 126911 0 31553 Libby Brien Vice President of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum 40.0 0.0 X 149855 0 26795 Martin Pearson School Director 40.0 0.0 X 136322 0 14854 Natalie Lewis Vice President of Leader Development 40.0 0.0 X 150244 0 14861 2290564 0 287527 57 true true false DENVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS 1860 LINCOLN STREET DENVER CO 80203 ADMIN/SPED/SERVICES 12299374 AURORA PUBLIC SCHOOLS 15701 E 1ST AVE AURORA CO 80011 ADMIN/SPED/SERVICES 1596116 NICOLE FULBRIGHT 730 COLORADO BOULEVARD UNIT 200 DENVER CO 80206 STRATEGY CONSULTING 177074 LTB LLC 650 New Castle Drive Lake Forest IL 60045 Human Resources Support 147142 PEAK TECH CONSULTING LLC 415 North Tejon Street Colorado Springs CO 80903 DATA REPORTING CONSULTING 145700 3 0 0 0 10763377 8105105 289235 0 19157717 PER PUPIL REVENUE 611710 89263323 89263323 0 0 MILL LEVY 611710 27686974 27686974 0 0 STUDENT FEES 611710 862341 862341 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 117812638 743563 0 0 743563 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11631 0 0 45480 11631 -45480 -33849 0 0 -33849 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 137680069 117812638 0 709714 X 91879 91879 4000 4000 1876189 1701557 71925 102707 76024582 74881447 784362 358773 7808834 7614151 153094 41589 8680629 8479330 155291 46008 5479332 5320855 128535 29942 66547 66547 101527 101527 52020 52020 17110143 17110143 0 0 244704 244704 1126417 1126417 2175298 2175298 3035297 3035297 792538 792538 956153 956153 454223 454223 EDUCATIONAL SUPPLIES 3672567 3672567 DUES & FEES 3153322 3153322 0 0 0 0 132906201 130359658 1967524 579019 6975228 17789592 0 0 311000 67400 1126803 1509399 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 299460 269424 6845215 5001899 1157102 1843316 16146195 257969 0 0 0 0 42716392 52394816 68732180 74131916 9699762 8933728 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17080128 18354262 26779890 27287990 X 29312139 33164263 12640151 13679663 0 0 0 0 0 0 41952290 46843926 68732180 74131916 X 4773868 -2239 120007 X false true true false X 23015240 23025483 16002237 16318695 19157717 97519372 0 0 23015240 23025483 16002237 16318695 19157717 97519372 0 97519372 315742 360712 744687 1092323 743563 3257027 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100776399 471403355 0.96768 0.96220 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 244197 23238 2382 2502 262551 220235 28335 2072 2301 244197 212727 11376 3868 220235 230432 -13583 4122 212727 170239 64037 3844 230432 0.51 0.49 true false 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1355678 866068 489610 0 3995984 2891027 1104957 0 1493553 1244804 248749 1843316 PREPAID PENSION CERTIFICATES 542678 INTERFUND RECEIVABLE 46981428 subscription IT Asset 2857431 Lease assets 2013279 52394816 Federal Income Taxes NET PENSION LIABILITY 13441179 NET OPEB LIABILITY 238484 SUBSCRIPTION LIABILITIES 2568767 LEASE LIABILITIES 2105832 18354262 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Schedule D, Part V, Line 4 Intended uses of endowment funds THE ENDOWMENT FUND IS TO BE USED TO SUPPORT THE DENVER SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY'S 1:1 LAPTOP PROGRAM. INCOME FROM THE FUND WILL BE USED FOR ANNUAL COMPUTER AND COMPUTER-RELATED EQUIPMENT PURCHASES TO SUSTAIN 1:1 COMPUTING PROGRAMS FOR THE SCHOOLS. Schedule D, Part X, Line 2 FIN 48 (ASC 740) footnote DSST, INC., IS EXEMPT FROM FEDERAL INCOME TAX UNDER SECTION 501(C)(3) OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE CODE, QUALIFIES FOR THE CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION DEDUCTION UNDER SECTION 170(B)(1)(A)(VI), AND HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED AS AN ORGANIZATION OTHER THAN A PRIVATE FOUNDATION UNDER SECTION 509(A)(1). DSST, INC. IS ANNUALLY REQUIRED TO FILE A RETURN OF ORGANIZAITON EXEMPT FROM INCOME TAX (FORM 990) WITH THE IRS. IN ADDITION, DSST, INC. IS SUBJECT TO INCOME TAX ON NET INCOME THAT IS DERIVED FROM BUSINESS ACTIVITIES THAT ARE UNRELATED TO ITS EXEMPT PURPOSES. DSST, INC. HAS DETERMINED IT IS NOT SUBJECT TO UNRELATED BUSINESS INCOME TAX AND HAS NOT FILED AN EXEMPT ORGANIZATION BUSINESS INCOME TAX RETURN (FORM 990-T) WITH THE IRS. true DSST BUILDING CORPORATION 730 COLORADO BOULEVARD UNIT 200 DENVER CO 80206 861305649 501(C)(3) 91879 GENERAL SUPPORT 1 0 Schedule I, Part I, Line 2 Procedures for monitoring use of grant funds ORGANIZATION'S PROCEDURES FOR MONITORING USE OF GRANT FUNDS: DSST ONLY GRANTS FUNDS TO AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS WITH WHICH IT HAS A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP THAT ALLOWS MONITORING OF HOW GRANTED FUNDS ARE USED. THE BUILDING CORPORATION'S ACCOUNTING IS PERFORMED BY DSST'S FINANCE TEAM, ALLOWING COMPLETE OVERSIGHT OF HOW THE GRANT FUNDS WERE USED. X X X true false false false false false false true false Nella Garcia Urban Chief Executive Officer 226151 0 54000 0 221 0 11677 0 13409 0 305458 0 0 0 Bill Kurtz Former Chief Executive Officer (END 07/2024) 181009 0 18361 0 606 0 7125 0 11209 0 218310 0 0 0 Aaron Griffen Chief Student Affairs Officer 166051 0 5898 0 346 0 8757 0 22549 0 203601 0 0 0 Danielle Felder Chief External Affairs Officer 77770 0 548 0 92839 0 9179 0 21171 0 201507 0 0 0 Nick Plantan Chief Operating Officer 166721 0 548 0 151 0 8757 0 22818 0 198995 0 0 0 Ashley Wiegner Chief People Officer (END 01/2025) 175342 0 558 0 157 0 9019 0 6973 0 192049 0 0 0 Heather Koehler Chief Schools Officer 72491 0 541 0 96945 0 8737 0 301 0 179015 0 0 0 Antwan Wilson DSST President 224430 0 516 0 487 0 11312 0 8137 0 244882 0 0 0 Libby Brien Vice President of Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum 135092 0 14661 0 102 0 7219 0 19576 0 176650 0 0 0 Carrie Ramsey Chief of Staff 146839 0 548 0 125 0 7683 0 10077 0 165272 0 0 0 Natalie Lewis Vice President of Leader Development 145569 0 4558 0 117 0 7352 0 7509 0 165105 0 0 0 Jake Firman Director of Software Development 126274 0 541 0 96 0 6927 0 24626 0 158464 0 0 0 Martin Pearson School Director 128684 0 7404 0 234 0 6744 0 8110 0 151176 0 0 0 Schedule J, Part I, Line 4a Severance or change-of-control payment Severance payment or Change-Of-Control Payment: The following people received a qualifying payment: Danielle Felder - $92,694 Heather Koehler - $96,795 Schedule J, Part I, Line 7 Non-fixed payments THE ORGANIZATION ANNUALLY REVIEWS THE PERFORMANCES OF ITS EMPLOYEES TO DETERMINE IF ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION IN THE FORM OF BONUSES WILL BE PAID. DURING CALENDAR YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2024, THE ORGANIZATION AWARDED THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND THE SCHOOL DIRECTORS A BONUS BASED ON REVIEW OF THEIR PERFORMANCES AND SERVICES TO THE ORGANIZATION. Form 990, Part VI, Line 11b Review of form 990 by governing body THE FORM 990 IS PRESENTED TO EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND PRESENTED TO THE AUDIT COMMITTEE FIRST FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL THEN TO THE ENTIRE BOARD BEFORE OFFICIALLY FILING Form 990, Part VI, Line 12c Conflict of interest policy ALL BOARD MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT ANNUALLY. DETERMINATIONS OF CONFLICTS AND REVIEWS OF CONFLICTS ARE MADE BY THE ENTIRE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. IF A CONFLICT EXISTS, THE CONFLICTED PERSON(S) ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO VOTE ON THE MATTER(S) RELATED TO THE CONFLICT. Form 990, Part VI, Line 15a Process to establish compensation of top management official THE DSST BOARD OF DIRECTORS ANNUALLY DECIDES AND APPROVES ANY CHANGES IN PAY FOR THE CEO ALONG WITH ANY BONUSES. A COMPENSATION REVIEW OF ALL EMPLOYEES, INCLUDING KEY AND HIGHLY COMPENSATED EMPLOYEES, IS DONE BY THE CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER THAT INCLUDES BENCHMARKING SALARIES FOR SIMILAR POSITIONS WITHIN THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR OF THE DENVER METRO AREA. THE BENCHMARKS AND SUPPORT FOR THE COMPENSATION ADJUSTMENTS ARE DOCUMENTED AND KEPT BY THE HUMAN RESOURCE TEAM.ANNUAL RAISE PERCENTAGES ARE REVIEWED BY THE FINANCE AND COMMITTEE AND BOARD AS A PART OF THE BUDGET APPROVAL PROCESS. Form 990, Part VI, Line 15b Process to establish compensation of other employees DSST UNDERGOES A SALARY BENCHMARKING PROCESS FOR A SPECIFIC GROUP OF EMPLOYEES ON A ROTATING CYCLE. THIS PROCESS INCLUDES UTILIZATION OF SALARY DATA FROM THE ERI SALARY ASSESSOR TOOL AND OUTSIDE CONSULTANT WORK. THIS IS REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY A COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INCLUDING MEMBERS FROM THE DSST HR AND FINANCE TEAMS AS WELL AS THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM. Form 990, Part VI, Line 19 Required documents available to the public THE ORGANIZATION MAKES ITS GOVERNING DOCUMENTS, CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY, AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC UPON REQUEST. Form 990, Part IX, Line 11g Other Fees EDUCATIONAL SERVICES - Total Expense: 13927813, Program Service Expense: 13927813, Management and General Expenses: , Fundraising Expenses: ; OTHER CONSULTING - Total Expense: 3182330, Program Service Expense: 3182330, Management and General Expenses: , Fundraising Expenses: ; Form 990, Part XI, Line 9 Other changes in net assets or fund balances CHANGE IN PENSION AND OPED LIABILITY IN ACCORDANCE WITH GASB 68 AND 75 - 1039512; CAPITAL OUTLAY - -919505; Total - 120007; DSST BUILDING CORPORATION 730 COLORADO BOULEVARD UNIT 200 DENVER CO 80206 861305649 REAL ESTATE CO 501(c)(3) Type I DSST true false true true false false false false false false false true true false true true false false false false DSST BUILDING CORPORATION K 960030 ACTUAL VALUE DSST BUILDING CORPORATION B 91879 ACTUAL VALUE DSST BUILDING CORPORATION C 927084 ACTUAL VALUE