the Elizabeth School District, which shares many similarities to Woodland Park, where the school board’s policy changes earned national news coverage and sparked multiple lawsuits, is primed to become the state’s latest example of far-right ideology taking over public education.
— Read on coloradotimesrecorder.com/2023/12/is-the-elizabeth-school-district-the-next-woodland-park/58495/
Category Archives: Media
Garfield Re-2 Board President steps down over ‘political climate’ | PostIndependent.com
There has been a whirlwind of responses after ABS was proposed for Garfield Re-2, including a local effort to recall May from the board. The recall effort comes amid emails obtained through open records requests revealing Fletchall and May requested ABS guidance from the Woodland Park District. Woodland Park, northwest of Colorado Springs, voted to incorporate ABS and has since then seen 40% of its teachers resign in protest.
New Castle resident Steve Beaulieu said during public comment that Woodland Park’s ABS incorporation has turned into a “dumpster fire” that has become a “flaming disaster.”
— Read on www.postindependent.com/news/re-2-board-president-steps-down-over-political-climate/
Conservative LGBTQ+ group supports book removal from El Paso County schools | FOX21 News Colorado
(EL PASO COUNTY, Colo.) — Conservative groups have submitted a petition urging a criminal investigation into the El Paso and Teller County schools over the possession and promotion of what they term “obscene books.” This move has sparked a response from members of the LGBTQ+ community who advocate for the removal of these books from […]
— Read on www.fox21news.com/news/conservative-lgbtq-group-supports-book-removal-from-el-paso-county-schools/
Woodland Park School Board sees change as elected members are sworn in
The three members were sworn in during a ceremony at the District Administration Building Thursday afternoon. Barkley said her goal as a new member is to promote more board transparency.
“My biggest hope is to be able to make sure that the conversations are happening out in the open now. A lot of the feedback we were getting as I was campaigning was that so much of the decision-making was happening behind closed doors,” she said.
Letters to the Editor – 11/15/2023
From the 11/15/2023 Courier:
Close race should be a message
We were so proud to be a part of the campaign for Keegan, Mike and Seth. They ran a clean, honest campaign without negative false attacks on their opponents. We personally know them. They are good people of this community whose only concern is for a strong public school system that offers a valid academic curriculum with appropriate support structures in place.
Of course, the election did not completely go in the direction we had hoped. However, there is an important outcome that needs to be stated. The election results were close. Very close, which means almost 50% of the voters selected the above candidates. That 50% of voters included many traditional conservative voters who disregarded the false accusations against the candidates.
This election should never have been about politics. It should only have been about education. If the new board listens carefully to all of the voters, all the parents, all the taxpayers, they may be much more in line with the values of the whole community.
True leadership includes compromise, compassion and commitment to open conversation. It does not include bullying and closed-door deals or stacking meetings with young people who have no connection to the community other than the courses taken at the local bible school and being bused to the voter polls. The 50% of the community that voted against the present board are here to stay and are watching.
Michael Stewart and Darlene Schmurr-Stewart, Woodland Park
Outside influencers
As a fascinated outsider looking in, I believe that the two incumbents who won re-election surely must realize that their razor thin victories were due exclusively to Andrew Wommack and his Christian nationalist group known as the Truth and Liberty Coalition.
This should be a frightening wakeup call to the residents of Woodland Park and Teller County. Unless of course, in the not-too-distant future, you are at ease of living in a hierocracy with a religious autocrat in control.
Steve Plutt, Lake George
Can We Stop Pretending that Religious Conservatives Care About Parental Rights?
In a document in which she endorses Evanson, Darcy Schoening of Smart Choice Colorado makes clear that her aim is not to respect the rights and choices of all other parents. Rather, her aim is to “move school policy towards the Right, rather than further left.” she writes to those who share her views, “We must take control of our children’s education.” Even if that means taking control of the education of other parents’ children too.
— Read on coloradotimesrecorder.com/2023/11/can-we-stop-pretending-that-religious-conservatives-care-about-parental-rights/57910/
Leadership Institute Training: Action Items for Newly Conservative School Boards
This weekend, approximately 30 school board members, activists, and engaged citizens attended the Leadership Institute’s School Board and Education Policy
— Read on coloradotimesrecorder.com/2023/11/leadership-institute-training-action-items-for-newly-conservative-school-boards/57888/
Conservative school board candidates lose ground on culture war issues
Liberal and moderate school board candidates claimed victory in this week’s elections, wresting majority control from Republicans in some swing suburban districts.
— Read on www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/conservative-school-board-candidates-lose-ground-culture-war-rcna124299
DAVIS: A Split Decision in School Districts Statewide
The floor of the Ute Pass Cultural Center quaked in time with the bass drum on Tuesday night as hundreds of Woodland Park citizens crowded into the room
— Read on coloradotimesrecorder.com/2023/11/davis-a-split-decision-in-school-districts-statewide/57845/
Colorado school board races mostly a mixed bag, but teachers union says voters rejected extremism | Colorado Public Radio
Political consultant says no overriding narrative, but agrees that voters said they want politics out of the classroom.
— Read on www.cpr.org/2023/11/08/colorado-school-board-races-mostly-a-mixed-bag-but-teachers-union-says-voters-rejected-extremism/