Category Archives: News

Congratulations WPHS class of 2024!

WPHS seniors celebrated the end of their public school journey last Saturday! A beautiful sunny day greeted them, and even the heavy wind didn’t cause many issues apart from a few flying hats and band music sheets. Honored staff Chris Becker, Kelly Schmidt, and Nate Owen joined keynote speakers Bill Brown and Michelle Eastman up at the stage, and honored students Dawson Tisdall and Lillian Urban spoke. The symphonic band, and madrigal singers, provided musical entertainment.

With the class motto being, “I’ve had enough nonsense, I’m going home” (from Alice in Wonderland), it seemed quite fitting that many students stood and turned their back on Ken Witt when it was his turn to speak (the picture below is from that part).

City Council debates sales tax

In the 5/16 council meeting, city council talked about sales tax, and Ken Witt and Mick Bates gave a short presentation and answered some questions (you can watch it here). The debate seems to be over whether or not City Council should trust the Woodland Park School District to spend the sales tax money in the manner agreed upon. Witt provided pie charts but little actual detail, something council members Geer and Baldwin both pointed out.

Here are some actions by the district and superintendent to consider when asking whether they can be trusted to spend sales tax money as agreed upon:

  • The district provides transportation services to Merit Academy without making them pay a proportionate share of the overall cost – and when public comment has brought this to light last year, Witt provided misleading answers.
  • The district spent about $100,000 to charter Merit Academy…money they could have asked that school to reimburse but instead had the other schools pay via their funds.
  • The district provides food service to Merit Academy at no cost to that school.
  • The board paid a $275,000 separation agreement to our previous superintendent, Dr. Mathew Neal (this was recorded in the FY’23 general ledger as “July 2022 Supplemental Payroll” with no comments added about who it was for).
  • The district redirected $270,155 of federal grant money without public notice nor board approval – the board had voted to spend this money on the five ‘traditional’ public schools, but it was instead sent to Merit Academy in secret.
  • The board voted to renew Ken Witt’s contract, giving him a raise and potential bonus in the process, without ever performing any job review.
  • In the 5/16/2024 city council meeting, Ken Witt appears to have lied to council, saying sales tax money was being used for ‘innovation’ by paying for the Capturing Kids Hearts program, when the facts show that program is funded by different sources.
  • District CFO Amy Ryan has barely lasted a year…a job posting shows she’s leaving the district already.

Ken Witt and the Woodland Park School District have not earned our trust with our sales tax money.

Parting words from the wife of a teacher leaving the district

The wife (Sharon) of Nate Owen, WPEA president and fantastic math/science high school teacher, posted this to Facebook today:

Dear WPSD community,

This week, our family begins saying goodbye to the Woodland Park School District. We’ve been part of WPSD for 12 years. A lot of our core memories have been tied to Woodland Park starting with Nate beginning to work for WPSD when our oldest child turned 1. All four of our children learned to walk in the halls of the high school. They had their first trick or treating experiences and Santa visits in this community. This district was our choice for our children’s education, and has seen them through first days of preschool, kindergarten, and middle school. We had looked forward to continuing to experience milestones with our WPSD family, like my husband giving our children their high school diplomas at their WPSD graduations, but this is no longer an option for our family. This community has shown their care through life’s toughest moments. They saw us through children being diagnosed with epilepsy, autism, and Weil-Marchesani Syndrome. The community rallied behind us when we had a kitchen fire and Nate broke his leg. Regardless of what life threw at us, we always knew we were surrounded by a caring community that has offered us support. Our children have grown up with this community as their family. They will always have memories of the high school students who walked them to and from Gateway, the amazing staff who played a part in their education, the high school teachers who welcomed them into their classrooms after school to draw or have a snack, and the high school admin who made sure they felt welcome in the high school. Woodland Park will always hold a special place in our family’s memories.

Sadly, we now need to leave this district due to a school board and superintendent, who appear to not care about the students or staff of the 5 traditional public schools. Their number one priority has been their extreme political agenda that will lead to the destruction of all educational choices. White washing history, discouraging civil discourse, ignoring research on best educational practices, refusing grants due to having “strings attached” and ignoring parent and staff concerns will not lead to a thriving school district. As this board has boasted their “Christian values”, the actions and beliefs of this school board and superintendent do not align with the teachings of Jesus I was taught growing up as a Pastor’s daughter and attending an accredited Christian university in Missouri.

Public schools are meant to meet the needs of all students. This means public schools are required to serve all students regardless of race, religion, political views, sexual orientation, disability, income, gender, etc. To the contrary of the actions of this board and superintendent, it is the job of the public schools to provide a learning environment that is safe, equitable and inclusive for all students. It doesn’t matter how a student differs from a teacher, admin, or school board member. It is expected for all the students to be treated with respect and be provided a fair and appropriate education. It appalled me to hear a board member’s recent statement on using a student’s chosen name. This left me to believe that he feels LGBTQ+ students don’t deserve the same level of respect as other students. Treating a student with respect doesn’t interrupt learning. Instead, it provides the student with a better capability to learn. I can’t have my children attending a school district where majority of the board members and the superintendent are fine with discrimination against any students. We can all hold different beliefs without losing the ability of treating others in a respectful manner.

When my husband and I discussed him taking on the role of WPEA president, I knew the sacrifices our family would need to make to allow him to take this position. I knew the countless hours that Nate would need to commit to this position, the stress, and the risk of retaliation. Being WPEA president in a district in crisis is much different than in a healthy district where the district works with the staff. In the end, I knew Nate needed to take on this position because WPSD is worth fighting for, and we knew he could put the target on his back for all staff, not just WPEA members. Over the last 2 years, I have heard lies told about my husband and his coworkers. If any of the board members and superintendent took the time to actually work with him, they would have seen the man I have come to know and love. He’s a man who thinks of others before himself. He has the students’ best interests at the forefront of his mind because his job is to teach and prepare them for life outside of the school district’s walls. If the board and superintendent would have been willing to work with him, he would have helped them build the much needed bridge between themselves and the staff. Overall, he wanted what is best for all members of this community. Instead of working with my husband to bring peace and strengthen the district, the board and superintendent have been filled with hate and disrespect towards him and the staff of WPSD. They put on blinders to the fact that WPEA is filled with staff who, ultimately, are human, have families, and care about their students’ success.

It pains me to have to say goodbye to the district we have been part of for the last 12 years, but my family needs to go where students and staff will be respected and prioritized. The time has come for us to prioritize our family’s needs over WPSD. As more teachers leave, I ask everyone to give them respect for their decision because the decision to leave is difficult. They don’t want to leave your students in this situation or leave the district they have loved, but they are reaching a point where they cannot stay and continue to be the amazing and effective teachers that you have come to love. The toxicity that is being created by the superintendent and the board will continue to have a negative impact on the teachers even more than it already has. When someone has decided they have reached their limits, we need to respect their decision to leave and show them support.

I want to thank this community for surrounding my family with support during these last 12 years and specifically the past 2 years. Thank you for realizing who my husband truly is and recognizing that he wants this school district to succeed and flourish. I want to thank all of the staff who have helped shape my children into the people they are today, kept them safe, and have become trusted adults in their lives. Thank you, Keegan, for stepping up to try to bring balance to a board who have become consumed by false national narratives and extreme political agendas. We may be leaving the district, but we will continue to advocate for the students and staff of Woodland Park.

WPSD addresses HB24-1039, pertaining to student name changes

HB24-1039, recently signed into law by Governor Polis, requires schools to abide by a student’s wish to be called a name which may be different from their legal name but reflects their gender identity. Or to look at it another way, it advances LGBTQ+ rights for students.

Not surprisingly, Ken Witt, Brad Miller, and their allies in the Woodland Park school board freaked out and at the 5/8 board meeting, issued a resolution which, well, doesn’t do much more than state the obvious, that they are required to draft a policy that complies with the law. Their resolution can be read below (I cut out the signature section just to save space here):

Note point 2 in the resolution though, notification of parents. This is similar to the unwritten currently policy, explained to staff last August by board attorney and conservative education reform activist Brad Miller. Board director Barkley asked some excellent questions in the board meeting about this point, expressing concern about how that information would be communicated and that it would be best done in person with a counselor present. It remains to be seen whether the policy ultimately includes this.

As the board discussed this resolution, director David Rusterholtz, not present but calling in remotely, launched into a pretty offensive tirade about parent and even teacher rights in these cases, totally dismissing the rights of the young adults facing these decisions (you can listen to that here).

Following the meeting, Superintendent Ken Witt sent an email to districts across the state, seeking to rally support for his bigoted anti-LGBTQ+ position:

Kudos to Summit School District superintendent Tony Byrd for this well written response:

District blocks the movie “Glory” from being shown to 8th graders

The district recently informed a teacher that the movie Glory, nominated for five academy awards and winner of three, may not be shown to their eighth grade class, as this message to parents explained:

I’ve never seen this movie, so did some research:. Here’s what Common Sense Media had to say (great website for parents to learn how movies might affect kids, by the way):

Overall, this movie is an unforgettable history lesson about soldiers who transcended the profound racism and ignorance of their time to find dignity, courage, valor, and self-respect when given the opportunity to prove their worth. 

IMDB has a great list to other reviews published about the movie if you’d like more perspectives.

Laura Magnuson named social worker of the year in Colorado | Pikes Peak Courier | gazette.com

Laura Magnuson of Woodland Park has been named Social Worker of the Year by the Colorado Chapter of the National Association of Licensed Clinical Social Workers.
— Read on gazette.com/pikespeakcourier/laura-magnuson-named-social-worker-of-the-year-in-colorado/article_6539df64-fe9c-11ee-bc14-3b689b63a5c4.html

(Former WPSD mental health supervisor who resigned when Ken Witt announced abandoning $1.2 million in grant money)

After Woodland Park and Elizabeth, Brad Miller seeks to conquer Montrose next

After seizing control in Woodland Park and also Elizabeth, Brad Miller has set his sights on the western slope community of Montrose, Colorado, as his next target, it seems. He already represents the sole charter school there (Vista), and now a new charter is in the application process, Montrose Classical Academy. A quick peak at their articles of incorporation lists Joshua Miller as the attorney (and the same address as Miller Farmer Law, where he’s an associate attorney).

This is how Brad Miller entered Woodland Park, if you recall. He was the attorney for Merit Academy to help them get started, and once enough control of the school board flipped, he became the attorney for the district and proceeded to influence sweeping changes (here it in his own words here). Now the small town of Montrose is being targeted. Will he succeed?

Financial fraud in WPSD

In August of 2023, the WPSD cut a check to Merit Academy for $270,155 in money from the ESSER III grant the district received from the federal government (this was COVID relief funds). I believe this meets the definition of fraud, as I’ll outline below.

The WPSD budget for the 2022-2023 school year (fiscal year 23, or FY23) – allocated all ESSER money to be spent on the five ‘traditional’ public schools. None was allocated to go to Merit Academy.

Merit FY23 budget didn’t include any ESSER grant money (in fact, there’s only $15,273 in federal money listed)

Money moving from the WPSD to Merit Academy is documented in a monthly ‘flowthrough’ spreadsheet – these monthly spreadsheets never showed any ESSER grant money.

On 1/31/23, Merit headmaster Gwynn Pekron reached out to Del Garrick requesting ESSER grant money; she was told that all money had been allocated for FY23, and that Merit could request money in FY24 if they wished (click here to read the email exchange).

In early June, Merit Academy again reached out to the WPSD about ESSER grant money, requesting money from FY24 (as previously suggested by Del). However, the FY24 budget passed by the board on June 14th showed $858,241 in ESSER grant money, none of which was allocated to go to Merit Academy.

On June 30th, 2023, Merit Academy submitted an invoice to the WPSD requesting $270,155 in ESSER grant money. That invoice was processed and paid in August 2023 (presumably, the delay was due to the district being closed for summer break).

As Merit had not budgeted to receive any ESSER money, they created multiple ledger entries on 6/30/2023 to retroactively justify the expense of the ESSER grant money (click here).

One consequence of this process was that the WPSD started the year with an inflated grant balance, that caught up to the district in January. In January of 2024, middle school parents received an email that an after school academic assistance program was being cut immediately; we were told it was due to a lack of funds to continue the program (funds were quickly reallocated to continue this program). Data obtained from a CORA request showed the ESSER grant fund was already grossly overdrawn, and the budget for that had been slashed from the original $858,241, to now only $523,524 (that difference, $334,717, is greater than the $270,155 that went to Merit in August and is as yet unexplained).

When I asked the board of education about this, director Kimbrell told me, “We were required to include Merit in the allocation of ESSER funds but the prior staff did not include them in the FY22-23 budget even though it was against the law not to.” The CDE’s website does not support the claim that it’s against the law not to include Merit (scroll to the bottom of that link).

So in summary, the board never approved any ESSER grant money to go to Merit Academy, in either year. This substantial sum of money was allocated to be spent on the other schools. Instead of going through the proper channels of including this in a budget (which then allows the public to be aware of how this money is being spent), the district operated outside of board overview and negotiated this directly with Merit Academy. The board approved a budget for FY24 which had inaccurate fund balances as a result. The WPSD deceived the public about where this money was being spent, by not only never including it in any budget, but purposefully publishing a FY24 budget that showed money to be spent in the district that didn’t actually exist (I believe this can best be described as fraud).

There’s another side to this that warrants further investigation. Merit Academy started life as a contract school under ERBOCES, NOT the Woodland Park School District. ERBOCES awarded some ESSER grant money to Merit Academy for the previous fiscal year, FY22 (this is the $10,845.60 number you see in the general ledger screenshot linked above). The question I have is, how did the state and federal governments determine the amount of ESSER grant money to award to the WPSD? If they based this calculation on the number of pupils in the district, it’s clear that Merit Academy was not part of the district at the time of ESSER grant money calculation…did ERBOCES receive extra ESSER grant money that should have been transferred to WPSD when Merit Academy was absorbed into the district in the 2022-2023 school year?

Colorado’s budget stabilization factor to be eliminated, paving the way for fully-funded education | Education | coloradopolitics.com

Colorado lawmakers were happy to announce that the state’s education budget stabilization factor, known as the “BS factor,” will be eliminated this year, paving the way for schools to get $10 billion in the 2024-25 school year, an estimated increase of $400 more per student.
— Read on www.coloradopolitics.com/education/colorados-budget-stabilization-factor-to-be-eliminated-paving-the-way-for-fully-funded-education/article_44314dce-ec82-11ee-8548-bb7bf4791f60.html