Category Archives: News

Witt plans to hire Aaron Salt as COO(rumor or fact?)

There’s been a rumor floating around that seems to be true – so take this for what it is, an confirmed rumor at this point – but it looks like Ken Witt is hiring Aaron Salt into a senior level position in the district. I’ve had more than one source confirm this, though there has been no district announcement yet. It’s not clear if that will be a new COO position, or the the existing vacancy created by Del Garrick’s departure (Executive Director of Business Operations). But let’s ignore the title for a minute…who is Aaron Salt?

Let’s start with his LinkedIn Bio. He labels himself as a consultant who will ‘help you solve employee turnover problems.’ Sadly, that seems applicable to our district (though I don’t think we need a consultant to tell us how to retain employees here).

Salt goes on to describe his focus on what I think we could summarize as restructuring an organization. All this is sounding very business like and potentially even beneficial to any organization. But what motivates him…what is his focus? Let’s look at his volunteer work to gain some insight there.

Salt believes in parent choice, and that “what and how our students are taught” will determine the direction of the company. He was a founding board member for New Summit Charter Academy, and served as board chair until September 2021 (link).

About a year ago, in February of 2022, Salt was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) and is currently the president of that board. He was previously rejected due to not getting two thirds of the vote, but the new city council voted him in 6-3.

Salt told Council last fall, according to The Gazette, that he wanted to remove certain materials from the juvenile and children’s sections that he found objectionable.

https://www.csindy.com/news/council-appoints-two-conservatives-to-ppld-board/article_8c8b7d80-8ea9-11ec-8fbd-b34ca28380b2.html

Days after the vote on Salt, PPLD Chief Librarian and CEO John Spears resigned, and gave this statement to local media:

“The process surrounding how these appointments occurred was extremely contentious and pointed to the changes that are happening in our community such as the recent school board elections.  It is my hope that the values that define a library such as freedom of expression, freedom of thought, and freedom of speech will continue to be honored. I look forward to moving to a community where they are not under threat.”

https://www.csindy.com/news/local/updated-pikes-peak-library-district-chief-resigns/article_e4424658-90de-11ec-8f97-abfd676a0302.html

Also:

Councilor Nancy Henjum called the appointments “concerning” and may undermine the library’s core values of accessibility, inclusivity and First Amendment protections, she said.

https://www.csindy.com/news/local/updated-pikes-peak-library-district-chief-resigns/article_e4424658-90de-11ec-8f97-abfd676a0302.html

In 2021, in a school board election campaign that saw dramatic increases in ‘dark money’ donations, voters elected Salt to the District 20 (D20) school board. That link above mentions that, “Salt is against mandatory masks and vaccines, hiring an equity director, and CRT and other anti-american rhetoric/indoctrination.” In the spring of 2022, Salt attended the evangelical Christian ‘Hold the Line’ event in Colorado Springs. From an article linked to below:

Someone who attended the “Hold The Line” event, who wishes to remain anonymous, provided 13 Investigates with a video of what was said on stage. The video shows Salt being introduced as an Academy School District 20 Board Director before speaking, making it clear who he is in the community.  

In the video, Salt described his time on the D20 board as a fight to represent his own values and asked people to pray for board members trying to hold onto Christian values. 

“This is a spiritual battle,” Salt said. “Make sure that we’re covered in fairness, we go into fight for you and for your children.”

https://krdo.com/news/2022/05/27/d20-board-director-describes-tenure-on-school-board-as-a-spiritual-battle-at-christian-event/

Prior to that event, Salt triggered some complaints about the separation of church and state when he read this quote from Benjamin Franklin in a board meeting:

A Bible and newspaper in every house, a good school in every district – all studied and appreciated as they merit – are the principal support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty

Benjamin Franklin

And naturally…Aaron Salt is connected to Brad Miller, in this case through (at a minimum) their shared time at New Summit Charter Academy.

Lastly, Salt is connected to Charis and Wommack via the Truth and Liberty Coalition which helped back his D20 election campaign.

So there you have it. His start date is not yet known, but at least now you know a little more about Aaron Salt.

Merit Contract Amended to Reduce Their Costs

Ken Witt has amended the district’s contract with Merit, to shift some costs from Merit to the district. Section 8.1(I) used to read:

The District will provide charter liaison services by assigning these duties to an
employee or retaining an independent contractor to act as the liaison between
the District and the School. Such employee or independent contractor shall be
mutually agreed upon by the District and the School. The costs of the liaison
services shall be paid by the District’s authorized charter schools, including the
School, as a purchased service from the District.

(see page 37 of the original contract)

In February of 2023, Witt amended the contract to read:

The District will provide charter liaison services by assigning these duties to an
employee or retaining an independent contractor to act as the liaison between
the District and the School. Such employee or independent contractor shall be
mutually agreed upon by the District and the School.

(source)

Note the change – previously, the cost for this liaison was to be paid by the charter schools. Now, the district will shoulder that cost. A relatively minor change but a quiet one that would have gone unnoticed if not for one of our unrelated CORA requests.

Witt’s latest – firing staff, and violating CORA

Ken Witt’s latest efforts to destroy the Woodland Park school district include firing two people last Friday (Logan in IT, and Morgan in payroll), and watching on the sidelines as the district is in violation of the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA). Specifically, on that last point, the district is not complying with the mandatory three day response period for single-document inquiries, or up to 10 days for others. They’re violating both. Much of the their delays have been due to the board choosing to have Brad Miller’s office review all CORA results for redactions. Miller drags his feet, results get delayed, and the board doesn’t care.

The district is even facing a new lawsuit alleging violation of CORA, refusing to turn over records from December.

Despite having a backlog of overdue CORA requests, Witt decided that the position of the person responsible for managing this process (Logan) was unnecessary, and eliminated that position. No word yet on who will be taking up this role…but the sort of transparency provided by laws such as CORA has never been a priority for this board.

Is the Middle School overcrowded? A look at the numbers.

When discussing his decision to move sixth grade out of the Middle School, Ken Witt has consistently referred to overcrowding in that school. So let’s visit that point, and see what the facts say about space in the Middle School.

Last year, the board used a study from Cooperative Strategies to justify partitioning the Middle School into two schools, making room for Merit Academy. According to that report, the Merit Academy side of the school has capacity for 471 students, while the Middle School side has capacity for 432 students. These numbers do not take into account present or potential future modular buildings on the north side of the school build (Merit’s side).

The Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has data available on their website for attendance in all schools in the state. Merit Academy has 331 students, of which only 292 are onsite (the rest are homeschool enrichment); the Middle School has 391. The data shows Merit is at only 70% capacity; the Middle School is at 91% capacity (which is a bit below the 94% capacity the board predicted it would be at when it made the decision to split the building for Merit). The data does not show overcrowding at present.

Enrollment numbers for the ’23-24 school year are unknown, so nothing to base any decisions upon. However, we’ll look at what we know. Merit shows 27-41 students per grade. They are new to high school, and really only have a 9th grade this year. Assuming all their kids ‘bubble up’ into higher grades, they’d potentially be adding around 40 kids. Maybe they’d flush out some of the other grades closer to that 41 number. I consistently read that 90% facility usage is a nice target to shoot for, so let’s assume that (and ignore that our board wanted to put the Middle School at 94% capacity). Merit has a capacity of 423 students at 90% capacity, or an increase of 131 students (not counting the homeschool enrichment enrollment) – an increase of 45%! Perhaps they’ll hit that number, we just don’t know at this point.

I know the board is applauding Merit for ‘growth’ in the school district, but as page 17 of this presentation shows, 293 district students chose to go to ERBOCES (which Merit Academy was a part of at that time) in the ’21-22 school year – part an increase of 352 students opting out of the district compared to the previous school year. It’s clear, Merit pulled students from the district when they opened, then brought them ‘back’ into the district once the district absorbed Merit. This was not some radical growth in the district, it was just shuffling kids around, and to assume that Merit can now find 131 new students? Perhaps they’ll draw some from the Public Schools, but considering they’ve already been around for two years now, I question how many there left to get that haven’t already made that switch.

How does enrollment look for the Middle School? If we assume all current fifth graders move on to the Middle School, that’s 113 students being added, while 121 eighth graders leave for the High School. This bumps Middle School capacity down to 89%.

Actual attendance numbers for next year are unknown. What IS known is that the ‘overcrowding’ argument is based on very ambitious recruitment goals for Merit Academy; whether they’ll succeed is a bit question. If they needed more capacity, they do have existing modular structures on the north side, with space to add more. Perhaps they’ll need more space in the Middle School in the future, but for the ’23-24 school year, the data does not support any radical changes to the makeup of that building.

What this analysis is lacking – firsthand reports, that boots on the ground perspective that only the staff at the school can provide. Given the hostility Witt has shown towards them, I felt it best to not approach staff with questions and to just lay out the facts here instead. I also realize this doesn’t not take into account things like classroom size or number of rooms per grade, though when it comes to analyzing Merit, since they have control over those factors (they can limit enrollment, unlike the Middle School) I felt it OK to leave that part out.

Does Woodland Park have a bullying problem?

Do the Woodland Park schools have a bullying problem? Let’s take a look at district policy JICDE, which states in part:

Bullying is the use of coercion or intimidation to obtain control over another person or to cause physical, mental, or emotional harm to another person.  Bullying can occur through written, verbal, or electronically transmitted expressions (i.e., cyberbullying) or by means of a physical act or gesture. 

https://z2.ctspublish.com/casb/browse/woodland-casb/woodland/z20000296

Given that definition, how would you characterize this email, from a manager to his employees?

This is coming from a guy that fired an educator at the Middle School, and eliminated the position of the high school librarian in retaliation for the protest her students organized in December.

Would you consider this bullying? Is our interim superintendent setting a good example for students?

School board and Ken Witt move to restrict free speech in Woodland Park

The Woodland Park school board, and interim superintendent Ken Witt, have made several moves to clamp down on the speech of teachers and other staff in the district.

First was last December…the board blamed Sara Lee, a teacher at the High School, for the student-led protests. After placing her on administrative leave for about a month, they finally just cut her position at the highs school and moved her to Gateway Elementary (but then had to hire someone to do the position she was cut from…).

In January, the board adopted the American Birthright Standards. The Colorado Sun reached out to social studies teachers to learn more about this; one Middle School teacher asked district administration if it’d be OK if he talked to the Sun about this and Witt used policy KDDA to prevent him from doing so. Later, Witt used the newly adopted American Birthright standards to ban a book from a high school elective class.

What does policy KDDA say? Or rather, what did it say in January (it later changed…)? Here’s the January copy:

Also in January, the board reduced the public comment section in regular board meetings from 60 minutes, to 30 minutes.

Next up was the news about moving sixth grade to the elementary schools. After the middle school teachers protested this by staging a sick day protest, following by a massive public protest the following morning, Witt took charge. First, he fired a Middle School staff member, again citing policy KDDA and seeming to point blame at her for the sick day protest:

Next, Witt sent an email to Middle School staff warning of further retaliation if staff were to do something like this again:

Finally, we received word that policy KDDA had been updated…or rather, expanded, to silence teachers from saying just about anything about the district. Here’s the latest copy (we’re not sure if the 2/28/23 revision date is accurate or was back-dated; no announcement of this policy change was made):

So if a teacher has a kid in the district…they can’t talk to the press about their own kid even.

Is this legal? There are, naturally, differing opinions on this topic. If you read about the Supreme Court’s decision in Pickering v. Board of Education, though it really makes this seem like an unconstitutional move on the part of the board and Witt. The Brechner Center studies this issue more in this link. It’ll be interesting to see if our board ends up in the courts over all this.

Update on Curriculum Review

With Tina Cassens leaving the district, it raised the question of, who will be reviewing the curriculum as dictated by our board to make it comply with the American Birthright Standards?

The answer is Lis Richards, who is charging us $4700 for this work. You can read the description of the work to be done in this proposal (note, only phase one has been authorized at this point). Or read the highlights here:

Attend an introductory and organizational meeting at the district in regard to
the curriculum alignment to the American Birthright Standards.
• K-6 Review – Evaluate the vertical alignment of curriculum to the American
Birthright Standards, their relation to the Colorado Academic Standards thus
assisting the District in demonstrating that they are following the prescribed
educational program approved and are meeting or exceeding state standards.
• 7-12 Review – Evaluate the vertical alignment of curriculum to the American
Birthright Standards (ABS), their relation to the Colorado Academic Standards
thus assisting the District in demonstrating that they are following the
prescribed educational program approved and are meeting or exceeding state
standards.
• Provide a report to the Superintendent which would include:

• Grade level report on social studies curriculum providing a matrix of
completion toward vertical alignment and any lacking content (Some content
may be covered in different grade levels and this may be noted.)
• Recommendations to the Leadership provided in writing.

This work is being done through Lis’ consulting company, Helping Schools Thrive.

But wait, there’s more!

Lis Richard is also the president of the board for ERBOCES, the company for which our interim Superintendent Ken Witt works for as Executive Director.

What’s going on?

  • Fiscal recklessness
  • Plummeting teacher morale; firings and reassignments
  • Attacks on traditional public education
  • Dismissing student concerns
  • Lack of communication and community involvement
  • Lack of professionalism within the school board

Click to learn more

Parents stand up for middle school staff

Thursday morning, around 80-100 parents, students, and concerned citizens showed their support for staff at the Middle School by lining the sidewalk as teachers arrived for a scheduled meeting with interim superintendent Ken Witt. This comes a day after nearly two dozen middle school staff members called in sick in protest of Witt’s decision to move the sixth grade classes back to the district elementary schools. This was NOT a decision the board had discussed with the public, though surveys in November did ask this question…with the answer (on page 5) clearly showing the public did NOT support the idea of splitting sixth grade off from the middle school like this. This was not a decision made in collaboration with staff at any of the schools, and elementary school staff has expressed uncertainty about how to fit the extra kids in place. There are also unanswered questions about less opportunity for sixth graders with this move, especially band and forensics.

Wednesday, in response to the staff’s sick day, Witt sent this following email threatening action if this were done again:

The teachers appreciated this show of public supported, though ultimately the day ended on a sour note as Witt fired one middle school staff member for alleged interactions with media, as explained (without much detail) in this letter below:

So, what’s next? Well, when the middle school was partitioned last spring, a feasibility study showed Merit being given a bit more than half the space when viewing student capacity…theoretical capacity of 471 students, vs. the Middle School’s theoretical capacity of 432 students. With 331 students enrolled this year, Merit did not seem to need more space. The middle school, at 391 students, was full but not quite capacity. So how does this change make sense? Especially since it will leave the Middle School at around 270 students (based on current 6-7th grade enrollment).

This screenshot shows the division of the school between Merit (top) and the Middle School (bottom):

Witt said this change was being made to provide more space for Merit…and looking at this map, it’s not clear what will change to accomplish that, easily. What we actually expect to happen next is 7-8 grades to be moved to the high school, and the entire Middle School building to be given to Merit.

And therein lies one of the biggest complaints about this school board…they are not up front about their plans. They are not telling the whole story here, there are blanks yet to be filled in, as their story about moving sixth grade to the elementary school buildings just doesn’t add up on its own.

Leading Education Groups (but not Woodland Park) Celebrate Public Schools Week, Feb. 27 – Mar. 3, 2023

Families, educators, school leaders, and public education advocates across the country are joining together in celebrating public schools, Feb. 27–Mar. 3; a week designated to highlight and show support for our local public schools.

Public Schools Week 2023 (#PSW23) is part of a larger  campaign—#HerefortheKids—one that brings together families, educators, and community members to shine a light on local public schools and share the stories of the positive things happening in classrooms and school buildings nationwide. The teaching and learning in our local K-12 public schools positively impacts students and families, the neighborhoods, and communities they live in, and our nation as a whole. With commitment, creativity, and critical thinking, educators and school leaders continue to provide welcoming and engaging learning opportunities for our children.

“Public Schools Week 2023 provides a much-needed opportunity to showcase success stories and public-school champions—those who have gone above and beyond to meet students’ social, emotional, and academic needs—particularly in these extraordinary times and circumstances,” said Richard Long, executive director of the Learning First Alliance.

The weeklong #PSW23 celebration includes two live webinars and a twitter chat. 

  • Live Webinar: Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2-3 pm ET “Advancing Teaching and Learning Post-Pandemic” 

This webinar features national education leaders in a discussion about how districts, schools and education professionals are creating conditions to advance teaching and learning. 

  • Twitter Chat: Wed., Mar. 1, 7-7:30 pm ET “Engaging Your Community” 

In this best practice exchange of ideas, join parents, educators, school and education professionals in an online conversation about promising approaches to strengthen family, school, and community engagement.

  • Live Webinar: Thurs., Mar. 2, 2-3 pm ET “Why Storytelling Matters”

In this webinar, education and communications experts share insights and tools to enhance your storytelling skills.

#PSW23 is supported by members of the Learning First Alliance; leading education groups, representing more than 10 million members, including American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; AASA: The School Superintendents Association; American Federation of Teachers; American School Counselor Association; Consortium for School Networking; Learning Forward; National Association of Elementary School Principals; National Association of Secondary School Principals; National Education Association; National PTA; National School Boards Association, and National School Public Relations Association. 

Joining the #PSW23 celebrations are Discovery Education, Association of School Business Officials International, and the Council of Administrators of Special Education. Visit this webpage for the complete list of supporters. 

About Public Schools Week, Feb. 27-Mar. 3

Visit www.publicschoolproud.org for more information about Public Schools Week and social media messages and graphics that you can use to show your support for your local public schools. 

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About the Learning First Alliance

The Learning First Alliance is a partnership of leading education organizations with more than 10 million members dedicated to improving student learning in America’s public schools. Alliance members include American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; AASA: The School Superintendents Association; American Federation of Teachers; American School Counselor Association; Consortium for School Networking; Learning Forward; National Association of Elementary School Principals; National Association of Secondary School Principals; National Education Association; National PTA; National School Boards Association, National School Public Relations Association, and PDK International.