Category Archives: News

Merit Academy Updates

The district has signed a contract with Merit Academy, and is currently working on a Facilities Usage Agreement (FUA) to give them the space they wanted in the Middle School. The contract was voted on in their 5/19 meeting (link to video); this followed their 5/18 “town hall” meeting (link to video) to take public comment…none of which led to any changes in the contract later adopted. As expected, the board ignored the process laid out in Colorado charter school law and even the district’s own website. They also never did have a clean vote on the MOU that was supposedly the foundation for this action…the preliminary injunction had found the original vote to be in violation of the Open Meetings Law, and the subsequent two ‘re-votes’ to be rubber-stamping which is also not allowed (link).

For the Facilities Usage Agreement (FUA), the board posted the draft Friday evening before Memorial Day weekend, with all public feedback required by Monday evening of that same holiday weekend. Thereby establishing that FUA also stands for, “Fuck U All” and showing that they really didn’t want public feedback. On Wednesday June 1st, the board met to ‘review’ to that feedback (link to video), and promptly instruct the Superintendent to proceed with the FUA with Merit without any changes to what was posted the prior week.

The district’s own financial analysis (link) of Merit was concerning, with their conclusion being:

A compressed analysis window, inconsistent financial reporting, and the lack of
a full-year of Merit Academy’s operational existence make thorough fiscal
analysis for adding a charter school to the Woodland Park School District
difficult. Much of the information included in this summary is based on projected
or estimated data and may be dramatically impacted by a host of variables
including changing economic, demographic and political circumstances. A more
effective analysis will be possible after a fiscal audit by a contracted, external
auditor.

Despite those financial concerns, the board granted Merit a significant portion of the sales tax revenue received by the school, something the law does not require. A more conservative board would have at least tied that sales tax money to specific milestones Merit must achieve, such as a satisfactory financial audit. But then, this board is all about doing what’s best for Merit, not the public schools.

Merit Contract draft finally posted!

The draft contract between WPSD and Merit Academy has finally been posted to the district’s website. You can download the full contract here, or the executive summary here. We’ll have our full analysis posted soon. The board will be taking public input in a meeting on Wednesday May 18th in the High School auditorium. They’ll also be taking questions via an online form that isn’t working at the moment, but when it does, the link is here.

Preliminary Injunction GRANTED!

A preliminary injunction has been granted against the school board regarding the OML (Open Meetings Law)!

“The Defendant shall comply with the OML by clearly, honestly, and forthrightly listing all future Agenda items regarding Merit Academy.”…”The Board is further enjoined from “rubber stamping” any Board decision that does not comply with the notice requirements of the OML.”

-It does NOT negate the MOU with Merit Academy.

-It does NOT prevent the Board from looking at and considering the Merit Contract.

-It does NOT prevent the Board from pursuing the Feasibility study and facility usage.

-It DOES state that they must diligently comply with all Open Meeting Laws. 

-It DOES enforce the rule that they must explicitly state what they will be discussing in a meeting on the Agenda. 

-It DOES support that our case has some legal justification and the judge saw fit to issue this until the time of a trial (based on my complaint/ lawsuit).

Let’s keep fighting for transparency in our school district! This is only the first step in this fight, a final hearing and ruling is yet to come. Please consider supporting this effort via the GoFundMe link above!

You can read the entire ruling here.

Regarding Racism – by Joseph Marney

Local parent Joseph Marney has written a response to Mr. Rusterholtz’s comments regarding what is being taught in our schools in the Maverick Observer to various media outlets; it’s too long to paste here but you can read the PDF at this link.

My favorite quote from this:

My children are strong. They are curious. They are vibrant and compassionate. They have already outgrown the small-minded prejudice that keeps you living in fear. Their world is big. You will not change them. They will change you.

Gary Brovetto submits resignation letter

This letter went out this afternoon:

“Greetings, Staff of the Woodland Park School District, 

We want to make you aware that yesterday afternoon, Director Gary Brovetto delivered his letter of resignation to the District office as it is his wish to resign from the Board of Education effective immediately. We wanted to take a moment as a leadership team to thank Mr. Brovetto for his efforts in leading on the WPSD board, hours of dedicated time, and his specific support of our exchange students over the years.

As we look ahead, Mr. Brovetto’s resignation will be presented to the Board of Education in a special meeting on the 20th of April. Following this meeting, a Resolution to Declare the Vacancy will need to be approved by the Board, which is anticipated in the coming weeks. 

Please continue to check back on the homepage of WPSD for any updates to this message. 

Sincerely, 

Dr. Mathew Neal     
Woodland Park Superintendent of Schools “

The board will be meeting April 20th to discuss this, along with presumably the Merit Contract in executive session (link to agenda).

School Board Looking to Share Middle School with Merit Academy

At the last board meeting, a MOU was agreed upon to pursue contract discussions with Merit. Well, that process seems like a formality and the board is giving appearances of having made up their mind. Read this announcement from Superintendent Neal that was sent out today:

Greetings, Members of the WPSD Community,

We are pleased to update you regarding quick-moving discussions about the usage of our facilities going into next school year.

Yesterday, Woodland Park School District Leadership engaged with Woodland Park Middle School staff and contacted a Merit Academy representative to explore sharing the Middle School facilities starting in the 2022-23 school year. While facilities usage remains a priority for our upcoming Master Facilities Planning Committee, the District recognized the timely need for a decision, especially as WPSD and Merit need to begin plans this spring to modify the building space. 

Additionally, the District feels confident that this plan will continue to meet the needs of our Middle School students and honor the value we hold for our community-based elementary schools. It is also important to mention that we will have the opportunity to expand and enhance our Middle School STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts Math) program and our Industrial Arts program as we configure the building through this planning process.

As we move forward, we want to remind our WPSD staff and community to remain focused on the learning and growth of our students. Our teams remain committed to our core values and mission of embracing a culture where all learners are empowered to pursue intellectual, personal, and collective excellence, a truly winning idea from our leadership team supporting our great students.

Further details of this plan will be shared at a future community meeting.

Have a great rest of the week!! 

Dr. Mathew Neal
Superintendent of Schools 
Woodland Park School District

WPSD Work Session – Presentation Request

This was emailed to the board today:

Board President Rusterholtz,


I would like to formally request an opportunity to present at a WPSD Board Work Session regarding facility usage. On February 24, 2022, there was a presentation given by a group calling themselves ‘The Taxpayers.’  In this presentation, the recommendation was to immediately surrender one of WPSD elementary schools to a charter school which hasn’t even officially been offered a contract by the district yet. I am appalled that the board would even consider this without proper data, a feasibility study, and a lengthy timeline for review.  

Woodland Park Community Education Coalition would like an opportunity to present factual data as well as another viewpoint, held by many people in this community. We would like the timeline of this presentation to precede any action item or vote taken by the board regarding building usage, reallocation of grade levels or determination of Merit Academy obtaining a building through WPSD. 


Please note that I have blind copied a group of approximately 60 individuals for both verification and in support of this request. I have also copied multiple media outlets so that they will remain aware of the ongoing situation in WPSD. 


Please confirm the date and time of the work session we can present at. We are looking forward to ensuring that you hear all of the facts before you make any decisions on building usage and related issues. Thank you.


Regards,

Erin O’Connell

Woodland Park Community Education Coalition