WOODLAND PARK, Colo. — For residents of the small community of Woodland Park, the spookiest Halloween decorations weren’t ghosts and ghouls but the school board election campaign posters decorating yards around town.

Neighbors typically display the signs in two distinct camps — incumbent board members Mick Bates, David Illingworth, and Cassie Kimbrell, and their challengers Keegan Barkley, Seth Bryant, and Mike Knott.

The school board, along with current Superintendent Ken Witt, have become divisive in Woodland Park. Witt and the board rolled back certain student mental health and special education programs across the district, introduced more conservative academic standards, and began to closely scrutinize the actions of teachers and staff. Parents, teachers, and students have all criticized the board’s direction. 

— Read on www.rmpbs.org/blogs/news/woodland-park-school-district-elections/