Monthly Archives: November 2023

Election Day!

It’s Election Day! In 2021, there were 7,233 votes cast for school board, out of 15,778 eligible to vote for that. I don’t know how many eligible voters are in the district this year but expect a similar number, and I expect higher turnout than 2021 (45.84%). But this is a sort of baseline, so as votes are announced starting at 7PM, you’ll have a sense of if most of the votes have been counted yet (nothing will be announced prior to 7PM).

Every 15 minutes after polls close, the Colorado Secretary of State’s website will be updating this file, assuming the county has provided new information. The SOS’ main election results page is here with additional links to statewide elections. Teller County’s election page is here, though already they’re not updating it with total votes counted (last update was Friday), so I think the Secretary of State’s website is likely to be the best source. Also note that Teller County’s website shows there are a total of 19,763 eligible voters – that’s in the entire county, but many of those do not live in the Woodland Park RE-2 school district (in 2021, there were 21,863 eligible voters, so 72% lived in RE-2).

The voting service center is open 7-7 today at the Woodland Park Library, for in person voting or ballot drop-off.

11/5/2023 Weekly Update

Last week:

Here’s what’s coming up this week:

  • VOTE! Ballots must be received by 7PM on November 7th. Do NOT mail them, it’s too late for that (except that military or overseas civilian mail ballots must be postmarked by November 7th, and received by November 15th).
    • Vote in-person at the Woodland Park Public Library. Open Monday 9AM-5PM, and Tuesday 7AM-7PM.
    • 24-hour drop boxes are located at:
      • Teller County Clerk and Recorder’s Branch Office, 800 Research Dr., Suite 200, Woodland Park, CO 80863
      • Teller County Courthouse (near sidewalk by parking lot), 101 W. Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek, CO 80813
      • Divide Marketplace (near right side of the entrance), 11115 Hwy 24, Divide, CO 80814
    • You can check on the status of your ballot by signing up on Ballottrax.
    • Teller County is publishing a list of names of people who have returned the first, incorrectly printed ballot, but have NOT yet returned a correctly printed ballot. If your name is on that list and you have questions about this, you can go to the in-person voting location at the library and the people there can help.
    • So far, 5,772 out of 19,763 ballots have been received so far. Not all of these are in the Woodland Park school district (I think roughly 3/4 are).
  • There is a regularly scheduled board meeting Wednesday, 6:00PM, in the district office conference room (the usual place). The new board, whatever that ends up being, will NOT be sworn in at this time as the vote needs to be certified.

GUEST COLUMN: A partisan divide in school board contests | Opinion | gazette.com

a growing number of parents, teachers, school leaders and board candidates are working for progress in a larger battle than the contest for board majorities. Using methods developed by the national organization Braver Angels, they’re trying to counter polarization, which they say is damaging schools, hurting children, dividing families and breaking up longtime friendships.
— Read on gazette.com/content/tncms/live/

Woodland Park school board, union reach agreement on controversial policy | Education | gazette.com

“The new Woodland Park School Board Policy KDDA no longer violates teachers’ First Amendment constitutional rights to free speech,” Nate Owen, president of the Woodland Park Education Association, said in a press release. “Not only does this restore the First Amendment rights of educators, but it ensures a clear path for educator voices now and into the future.”
— Read on gazette.com/content/tncms/live/

Woodland Park School District drops unconstitutional gag order, union says

The Woodland Park School District has removed and replaced a school board policy that the local teachers union called unconstitutional because it prohibited educators from speaking to the press or posting on social media about district decisions without consent, the Woodland Park Education Association announced this week.

The teachers union sued the district and its Board of Education in federal court over the summer, alleging employees’ First Amendment rights were violated by the policy. The decision to replace the policy with a new one, which the union says “protects the First Amendment rights of educators,” was made during federal court mediation, according to a news release.

— Read on www.denverpost.com/2023/11/02/woodland-park-teachers-union-lawsuit-agreement/

Letters to the Editor (Canon City)

Woodland Park school district has had a rough couple of years. Seeing similar efforts being made in districts across the state, I wrote this letter to the editor for the Daily Record down in Canon City:

School Board Elections Matter

I write to you as a concerned parent in the Woodland Part RE-2 school district.  I fear Cañon City may be on the brink of embarking on the same path we started on nearly two years ago.

In 2021, Woodland Park voted in what initially appeared to be normal school board elections.  Four candidates ran together as a slate, labeling themselves “the conservative choice,” and as you might expect for a conservative community like ours, those candidates won the election and assumed control of the board.  Their actions in the nearly two years since then have shocked residents regardless of political affiliation.

It soon became evident that this new board sought a complete restructuring of our school district, a vision taking us far beyond what any of us had imagined.  We observed a board operating in secrecy, being fiscally irresponsible, and fostering such a poor working environment that this past year, around 40% of staff left the district, with one of the schools losing two-thirds of their teachers.  The board consistently makes significant decisions without consulting the community.  Legal fees have skyrocketed and the district is battling multiple lawsuits.

The result is a shattered school district, a divided community, and an overwhelming bipartisan opposition to the current school board.  You’ll find plenty of information on the internet, as reporters at both the state and national levels have been captivated by our ordeal.

In this election, Woodland Park voters choose who will be tasked with rebuilding a shattered school district and mending our community.

When Cañon City residents vote, you’ll be voting on a path to take.  Don’t make that decision lightly.  Please don’t follow in our footsteps without fully understanding what awaits.  Don’t repeat the mistakes made in Woodland Park.

Matt Gawlowski,
Woodland Park

District revises policy KDDA in response to WPEA lawsuit

After being steered towards mediation by a judge overseeing the lawsuit between the WPEA and the WPSD (the judge said that portions of the policy “do have problems”, policy KDDA has been revised, and you can read the full document here. This revised policy no longer takes away teachers’ right to talk to the press about district decisions (read more about the previous policy here). It’s sad it took a lawsuit to get the district to respect their First Amendment rights to free speech, but at least in the end, those rights were preserved.

A district divided: Counting down to the Woodland Park School District elections

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/

Woodland Park School District teachers celebrate free speech policy change

Woodland Park School District teachers celebrate free speech policy change. Teachers say they can speak freely without fear of punishment.
— Read on www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/im-a-little-less-afraid-woodland-park-school-district-teachers-celebrate-free-speech-policy-change

You really MUST watch the video in that story linked above.  At 1:10, the reporter asks superintendent Ken Witt a question and his answer – or lack thereof – is so incredibly creepy and unprofessional.