The amount of disinformation being published in the Courier is disturbing…and I’m not sure how best to counter that. For now, I’ll just use this blog to address some of what I’m reading. First there was David Illingworth’s letter to the editor (see my review here). This time, it’s Aaron Helstrom, one of the District Accountability Committee members hand-picked by this board last fall, writing his own Letter to the Editor. I’ll pick some of his comments to review, and include his entire letter at the end here.

The article also makes it seem as if the school board is pulling all mental health funding. Fortunately, in a recent interview, School Board Member David Illingworth mentioned the rejected grants had conditions attached that went against the school’s standards and parent’s desires for their children.

In ’22-23, the district received 30 grants; they’ve applied for only a few for ’23-24. The board has never given any examples of any conditions attached to any specific grants to explain the reason not to pursue them again.

…has slowly been adapting a new, and superior, set of standards, which they have been forthright in discussing publicly.

The board never discussed the American Birthright standard, they adopted it with little public input and the public only had about one day advanced notice due to my seeking clarification of a board agenda item.

They also omitted the fact that parents and others were offered the gymnasium as an overflow room (which they did not accept).

We were never offered the gymnasium. We were told we could seek shelter in the Commons Area. Those wishing to participate in public comment needed to stay close to the doors, in the rain, to see if their name was called.

…the board granted teachers the biggest pay raise in the district’s history

Yes, per-pupil funding and sales tax revenue have greatly increased the budget allowing for this, that has nothing to do with the board and it remains to be seen if this was a sustainable move. For example, per pupil funding next year is increasing about 8%; will the board pass along that increase to teachers in the form of another raise?

has helped to offer transportation services to students to attend classes

The board has extended transportation services to Merit Academy, without asking them to pay their fair share.

They have approved funding for meal services so any student in the district who needs a free meal is able to get one

The funding comes from the state, via the free lunch program funded by Proposition FF. The board did not approve funding. The board and superintendent vocally opposed this program, until presumably public opposition made them change their mind.

The board also started the first charter school in the district, giving parents greater choice.

Merit Academy was started by Ken Witt and Brad Miller, under the umbrella of ERBOCES in the ’21-22 school year. The board did not start the charter school, the transferred Merit from ERBOCES to WPSD.

Most notable, for the first time in over a decade, enrollment grew by an astounding 15%, placing Woodland Park district in the Top Five for student growth in Colorado.

This ignores the massive decrease in the district with Merit opened up under ERBOCES. If you count those students as always being in WPSD, the actual increase is around 3%. Considering the COVID trends of people moving to rural areas, it’s impossible to assign credit for that increase to any one factor. Read more here.

By now, most of us have read the recent online NBC article attacking the Woodland Park School Board. My first reaction to the writeup was disbelief. I know many of the board members personally, so to see their names highlighted in a national outlet was confusing and painted a picture of them I had never seen.

The article begins by discussing how Woodland Park is the first district to adopt the American Birthright social studies standard, which meets the state’s history and civic standards.

The standard focuses on a full representation of American history. It does not leave out, as NBC would have us believe, the ugly truths that are scattered throughout our past. American Birthright teaches students about Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as Jim Crowe Laws and American slavery. Unlike other standards, American Birthright standard focuses on American history in its entirety without ideological influence, assuring students receive an accurate account.

The article also makes it seem as if the school board is pulling all mental health funding. Fortunately, in a recent interview, School Board Member David Illingworth mentioned the rejected grants had conditions attached that went against the school’s standards and parent’s desires for their children. Most importantly, Illingworth assured us that student mental health is still a top priority for the board and that every school has a salaried counselor to meet any mental health needs.

Another common theme throughout the article pushed the idea that the board and superintendent were going behind parents backs to implement their own agenda. The board has been in place for 18 months and has slowly been adapting a new, and superior, set of standards, which they have been forthright in discussing publicly. NBC emphasized the 100 people who supposedly were kept out of the last school board meeting but failed to explain there was an occupancy limitation due to fire code. They also omitted the fact that parents and others were offered the gymnasium as an overflow room (which they did not accept).

Unsurprisingly, NBC didn’t mention a single positive thing this school board has done for WP schools. For example, the board granted teachers the biggest pay raise in the district’s history and has helped to offer transportation services to students to attend classes. They have approved funding for meal services so any student in the district who needs a free meal is able to get one. The board also started the first charter school in the district, giving parents greater choice. Most notable, for the first time in over a decade, enrollment grew by an astounding 15%, placing Woodland Park district in the Top Five for student growth in Colorado.

NBC tried its hardest to make the superintendent and school board seem like a group of fanatics, but the truth speaks. Parents are encouraged by the recent changes and are flooding to this district because they know their children will receive a comprehensive education.

I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of NBC, but I look forward to continuing to correct the record and make sure the truth is preserved.

Aaron Helstrom is the Woodland Park parent representative on the School District Accountability Committee.

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