“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/
Author Archives: Matt G
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
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.
Woodland Park teachers win their fight to restore First Amendment rights after policy ban | Colorado Public Radio
Woodland Park educators have won their fight to strike down what they argued was an unconstitutional school district policy that prohibited them from speaking to journalists or on social media about district matters, according to the local teacher’s union. The union said the federal court-mediated agreement to replace the policy was reached Tuesday.
“This is a huge win for Woodland Park educators,” said Nate Owen, president of Woodland Park Education Association and a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “We’re overjoyed that teachers and other employees can finally speak on matters of public concern without fear of retaliation for simply exercising their right to free speech.”
— Read on www.cpr.org/2023/11/01/woodland-park-teachers-win-first-amendment-rights/
Garfield Re-2 community pushes back in denying American Birthright Standards curriculum | PostIndependent.com
A community social studies committee made up of teachers, parents and community members was established to review the social studies curriculum, study alternatives, survey the community on their preferences and make recommendations.
“We don’t want our community to be torn apart like Woodland Park, where vocal ideologues took over the school board, causing chaos where there used to be peace,” Willow Brotzman, a parent with two students in the Re-2 District, said in the release. “They’ve bulldozed their community to institute American Birthright despite community opposition, opposed school mental health programs and bullied educators by barring them from speaking publicly on school matters and firing those that did.”
— Read on www.postindependent.com/news/garfield-re-2-community-pushes-back-in-denying-american-birthright-standards-curriculum/
As Colorado school boards become more politicized, here are the district elections to watch this fall | Colorado Public Radio
Individual flyers for 30 school districts are paid for by the Truth & Liberty Coalition, the Woodland Park-based nonprofit, which has called for Christians to reclaim the “Seven Mountains” of societal influence — one of them being education. Its website states: “We seek to restore biblical truth and Godly morality into our country’s failing educational system.”
— Read on www.cpr.org/2023/10/18/as-colorado-school-boards-become-more-politicized-here-are-the-district-elections-to-watch-this-fall/
Woodland Park school board supporters, critics pack meeting after district says teachers’ union fosters ‘hatred of America’ | Education | gazette.com
After the Woodland Park School District accused a local teachers’ union of trying to foster “hatred of America” among students, both supporters and critics of recent school board policies came out in force during its regular meeting Wednesday evening.
— Read on gazette.com/content/tncms/live/
KOAA coverage of 10/11/2023 board meeting
Good reporting, with a classic Ken Witt quote at the end…“…those teachers union affiliates bent on fostering a hatred of America in our youth.”