Our little school district has been popping up in the news all over the place for the past couple years. If you’re new to all this though, I wanted to highlight some of the online articles that provide a more in-depth look into what’s going on here:
Continue reading →ACLU Takes Action Against School District’s Book Ban
Elizabeth isn’t the only public school district in Colorado which has been promoting far-right ideologies under the guidance of Brad Miller. The most prominent example lies in Woodland Park, outside of Colorado Springs. Woodland Park has become one of the most conservative school districts in the state, introducing measures like the American Birthright social studies standards – a set of curriculum aimed at promoting traditionally conservative social and political values – and canceling teachers’ union contracts.
— Read on coloradotimesrecorder.com/2025/03/aclu-takes-action-against-school-districts-book-ban/68509/
Woodland Park school board halts charter school sale talks | Pikes Peak Courier | gazette.com
Following a City Council decision that lost Woodland Park’s school district over $3 million in annual funding, talks to sell district property to Merit Academy are now being reconsidered. Woodland Park RE-2 Interim Superintendent Aaron Salt began his tenure by addressing public fervor and beginning efforts to navigate a budget shortfall during the Board of Education’s regular meeting Wednesday night. Salt was announced as the interim superintendent in a statement released March 7 announcing former Superintendent Ken Witt’s resignation.
Woodland Park city council kills school funding sales tax | Pikes Peak Courier | gazette.com
Woodland Park City Council voted to repeal the sales tax for its public schools. The action came on the heels of a vote during a meeting that suspended the ordinance indefinitely to repeal a 1.09% local sales tax earmarked for public schools. The emergency ordinance and special meeting Monday came after a leaked agenda item for this week’s Woodland Park RE-2 upcoming school board meeting.
— Read on gazette.com/pikespeakcourier/in-reversal-woodland-park-city-council-kills-sales-tax-for-public-schools/article_94ebbfaa-fe1b-11ef-9c39-033fa0b6a539.html
Woodland Park School District files lawsuit against city over open meetings law
The Woodland Park School District filed a lawsuit against the City of Woodland Park, claiming the city council did not follow the state’s Open Meetings Law during a council meeting this month.
— Read on www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/woodland-park-school-district-claims-city-council-violated-states-open-meetings-law-in-new-lawsuit
The Ending Education Deserts Act: A Closer Look | by Autumn Leopold | Mar, 2025 | Medium
Given the simultaneous push for Initiative 22 to give taxpayer money to private institutions, the possible creation of Innovation Schools that could be managed by outside nonprofits, Coloradans must carefully evaluate and question these efforts before deciding whether to support the “Ending Education Deserts Act.”
— Read on medium.com/@AutumnforCOPublicEd/the-ending-education-deserts-act-a-closer-look-804945886216
DAVIS: ‘Bleed it Dry, Then Get the Hell Out’ – The Fight for Tax Dollars in Woodland Park Schools
The last few days have been pretty crazy for those following the Woodland Park School District. I was going to write up a summary, but Colorado Times Recorder reporter Logan Davis just published a piece that is much better written than anything I could write!
The only thing I want to add to Logan’s piece though is that yesterday (March 11), the district announced that Ken Witt’s departure would be accelerated. Instead of his last day being April 15, it would be March 11, with Aaron Salt becoming interim superintendent for now. They’ve removed all discussion of the Merit Facility issue from the agenda for their March 12 board meeting and will tackle it in their April meeting instead.
Woodland Park City Council votes to repeal sales tax funding local school district
Woodland Park City Council has voted unanimously to repeal a sales tax supporting the local school district.
— Read on www.kktv.com/2025/03/11/woodland-park-city-council-votes-repeal-sales-tax-funding-local-school-district/
Woodland Park city council kills school funding sales tax | Pikes Peak Courier | gazette.com
The emergency ordinance and special meeting Monday came after a leaked agenda item for this week’s Woodland Park RE-2 school board meeting. The resolution focused on the possible sale of the Merit Academy charter school building. In the event that the sales tax were to be lost, the sale of the building would be finalized within 60 days.
— Read on gazette.com/pikespeakcourier/in-reversal-woodland-park-city-council-kills-sales-tax-for-public-schools/article_94ebbfaa-fe1b-11ef-9c39-033fa0b6a539.html
Woodland Park City Council votes to repeal sales tax that provides millions to school district each year | KRDO
the city said that it had come to the city council’s attention that “imminent action by the Woodland Park School Board is directly aimed at impairing the prerogative of this Council to act in the best interests of City voters with respect to the tax……all for the benefit of a single charter school in the district.”
— Read on krdo.com/news/2025/03/10/woodland-park-city-council-votes-to-repeal-sales-tax-that-provides-millions-to-school-district-each-year-2/
Woodland Park City Council votes unanimously to remove city sales tax
Council members said their decision was in response to several district actions they say have broken trust with the council and the community, including “insufficient” sales tax spending reports, closing and merging school buildings, and the recent consideration to sell the district’s charter school building to the charter school.
— Read on www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/woodland-park-city-council-changes-course-votes-unanimously-to-remove-city-sales-tax