From the 10/30/2024 Courier:

2A Retail TaxThe Merit BOE consistently puts in effort for their school and has been promoting the Woodland Park School Coalition. Meanwhile, the WPSD BOE and Ken Witt have been unresponsive. Parents have requested town halls, community meetings, and other forms of communication, yet no answers have been given. There is a lack of transparency around the allocation of the retail tax-how is it distributed? Is it based on enrollment, or is there a formula the district uses? The IGA mentions charters and contract schools but there is no clarity. Witt has only stated that nothing will happen with Gateway this year, but what are the districts plans? Are they considering bringing in more brick and mortar schools under ErBOCES or another management company? Are any of these contract schools online and if so, will our local taxes support students outside of our district?

Why have only the charter school and Charis been vocal in support of the retail tax that would allow for more contract schools? Why aren’t we hearing from parents across WPSD? A table was even set up at the Charis event on 10/18, and Charis students are being given class credit to campaign for 2A. This raises important questions : How many more contract schools can WPSD afford?

The community deserves transparency and clear answers from WPSD BOE and Ken Witt about the impact of these changes.

Jeralee Gonzalez, Woodland Park