Theology of arrogance | Guest column

From the 2/21/2024 Courier:

Values guide our lives, both individually and inside a community. Generally, we agree that “strong” values are a good thing and should be promoted. However, defining values is both nebulous and easily misconstrued. We often hear about conservative values, liberal values, Christian values, or secular values. The problem is no one person defines these labels the same. We each have different backgrounds, different life experiences and different families that help us define such terms. I believe that how we express these values is what is important, not how we define them.

I have been thinking about the value of arrogance and how it appears to be displayed in this community. When one person or small group believes they have the right or mandate to dictate how a whole community should look, behave, think and educate, then it becomes a value system of arrogance. And arrogance leads to power and lending to an attempt of dominance by a few. It also can promote the idea that “the means can justify the end”. Name calling and false accusations from the pulpit and on podcasts are only some methods used. In other words, it doesn’t matter how one acts or states their aforementioned values, as any means to get to the end goal is justified. How can this be?

I propose that such a value of arrogance comes from the lack of respect for others. Often this arrogance is given in the name of Christianity, whereby anyone who disagrees is considered evil and therefore must be overtaken and destroyed. One’s politics becomes one’s religion and vice versa. I was raised in a strongly conservative Republican and staunchly Christian home. I spent K-12 in a Christian School and went on to receive a Bachelors in Bible and Religion from an accredited Christian College. In all of those experiences, I was taught the value of diversity both in communities and thought. I was taught that political ideas could differ because that is American democracy, but we are still family. I was taught humility. I was taught “…. if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have no love, I am nothing.” And so now, in Woodland Park, I am considered evil and not worthy of respect and a place at the table because I think differently and have a different life from those who want dominion over this community. Which “Christian” value is this really representing?

Darlene Schmurr-Stewart

Letters to the Editor — Feb. 21, 2024

From the 2/21/2024 Courier:

Discussion is overdue

I write to express my support for the recent discussions within the Woodland Park City Council concerning the allocation of sales tax revenue within the school district. Trust in governmental entities handling tax dollars is a delicate matter, and this discussion is long overdue.

Budgets should reflect realistic expectations, and adherence to them is crucial. The Woodland Park School District revised its fiscal year budget on Feb. 14, after an earlier revision in January. They’ve made significant errors, including overestimation of appropriations, which were reduced from $40,779,649 to $37,513,556. Questionable accounting practices involved charging expenses to old grant accounts without corresponding revenue or budget. The federal COVID relief funds budget, initially at $858,241, mysteriously decreased to $542,157, resulting in an overdrawn account. The recent budget discussion concluded with the admission that further revisions might be necessary, as not all changes could be explained during the board meeting.

Amidst this financial uncertainty, it is disconcerting that the board awarded superintendent Ken Witt a new contract (which included a raise and an annual bonus) without conducting a performance review. Trust is earned, especially when it comes to managing public funds, and the school district has yet to instill confidence in its financial stewardship.

I commend the efforts of the Woodland Park City Council in holding the school district accountable for the responsible allocation of our sales tax money. It is imperative that the community remains vigilant and engaged in ensuring fiscal transparency and accountability within our local institutions.

Matt Gawlowski, Woodland Park

’23-24 enrollment numbers

The CDE published enrollment data for the current ’23-24 school year on their website; Woodland Park RE-2 enrollment is down from 2122 last year to 2015 this year, a -5.04% decrease and loss of 107 students. 554 Woodland Park kids are choosing to go to school outside of this district, up from 473 last year. While most of those kids are opting in to Manitou Springs (173), another big winner was Ken Witt’s ERBOCES, which attracted 96 Woodland Park students (presumably, online school?). Woodland Park also saw more students opting IN to the district from other districts, up from 210 last year to 259 this year. The net loss of the district was 295 students, versus 263 the previous school year.

Federal Covid relief grant sharing in WPSD

Interestingly, in the last fiscal year (ending June 30, 2023), the district made a last-minute transfer of $270,155 of COVID relief funds to Merit Academy. Merit submitted the invoice on 6/30/2023, though it wasn’t processed and paid until August. I can’t find any mention of it in the FY23 budget…you’ll note other passthrough money, like the sales tax revenue, is noted as “Charter school allocation”. It’s not clear why the district didn’t do the same for this federal grant money.

Chief Academic Officer leaves for Elizabeth school district

UPDATE – Kimberly Moore’s resignation letter is dated February 5th, two days after the job opening was supposedly posted. Why it didn’t appear in the board packet for the 2/14 meeting is unclear.

Chief Academic Officer Kimberly Moore is leaving Woodland Park, to take a similar role in the Elizabeth school district. News first broke on February 3rd of her departure, though the rumor mill pegged her for a principal position in Elizabeth. While that position didn’t pan out, the destination proved correct and she’ll be starting there after spring break (according to an email from the Elizabeth superintendent to staff there).

One interesting thing to note is the job posting for her position was just posted a couple days ago (around 2/14), yet it’s dated February 3rd:

One local parent, in attempts to raise visibility to our understaffed SPED program, posts weekly updates on Facebook of the job openings in the district. In her post on Monday February 12th, this position was not listed:

Additionally, Moore’s resignation is not noted in the board packet from the February 14th school board meeting as would be typically done.

It’s unclear why the district would advertise that the position was posted February 3rd, when all evidence suggests this is not the case.

Letter to the Editor: Colorado Christian Organization Responds to Column on Christian Nationalism

This letter was written by Richard Harris, Executive Director at the Truth & Liberty Coalition, in response to Logan Davis’ column, published by the Colorado Times Recorder on January 31, 2024, titled “Christian Nationalism is Turning Into Something Even Worse.” Davis’ response to the letter is included below.
— Read on coloradotimesrecorder.com/2024/02/letter-to-the-editor-colorado-christian-organization-responds-to-column-on-christian-nationalism/59765/

DAVIS: Christian Nationalism is Turning Into Something Even Worse

In the three years since the January 6th insurrection, “Christian nationalism” has become a buzzword, bandied-about with no clear definition. Some have dismissed it as nothing, or a smear against Christian conservatives. Others have asserted that it is the single biggest threat to religious freedom in America and the future of the republic. Having spent the first half of my life steeped in Christian nationalism, and a large portion of the second half studying, analyzing, and working against right-wing extremist groups, I side with the latter camp. Buzzword or not, Christian nationalism presents a clear and present danger to the preservation of American democracy –  not just because of what it is now, but because of what it’s on its way to becoming.
— Read on coloradotimesrecorder.com/2024/01/davis-christian-nationalism-is-turning-into-something-even-worse/59413/

Shortly after publishing this article, the author, Logan Davis, appeared at a community event in Woodland Park to discuss this topic with the community. You can watch that below.

https://youtu.be/a8JiUidoVzQ?si=0quqSn7T7XzTNpmH

Updates on Intergovernmental Agreement on use of sales tax revenue by the school district

In last Thursday’s city council meeting, the council discussed the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) regarding use of sales tax funds by the Woodland Park school district. You can watch it in the council meeting recording, starting about 1:26:40. They’ve been seeking to update the IGA since it’s been more than five years since it was last updated. Council felt like the district had stonewalled them on this issue, so is offering an ultimatum, where if an agreement on an updated IGA cannot be reached, the council would vote on whether to end the 1.09% sales tax dedicated to the schools.

Since that meeting, the school board has agreed to meet to discuss this issue, and that public meeting is scheduled for 5:00 on February 29th in the city council chambers. It will be live-streamed , but public comment is not planned.

The next city council meeting is scheduled for Thursday February 15th; I suspect they’ll be talking about this more as council had directed the city attorney to draft a resolution or ordinance regarding this, for the event where an agreement could not be reached.

With no public comment in the work session on the 29th, it’s important to get any comments to council ahead of that time. Contact info for the council members can be found on the city’s website.

WP District’s Superintendent Ken Witt, runaway train | Guest column

From the 2/7/2024 Courier

On Jan. 17th, the Woodland Park School Board voted to extend district superintendent Ken Witt’s contract with a vote of 3 to 2. Why would they want to continue with a superintendent who has caused so much turmoil? Why would they give him a substantial raise even though he is still working part time? Why would they renew a contract without reviewing his performance, as set forth by board policy?

During Witt’s term here, there have been numerous protests. There were two student-led protests against his hiring. Then, parents lined the streets protesting Witt’s order to move sixth grade down to the elementary schools. Also, after the unconstitutional gag order, 81 teachers and staff wrote an open letter to the community pleading for better leadership. Just last month, numerous citizens wrote letters to the board and there was a petition with 300+ signatures begging for a superintendent search. This obviously fell on deaf ears. His contract was signed, regardless.

What a contract it is! The average salary for a superintendent of our district size is $132,000 (full time), per the Colorado Department of Education website. Witt is now making $170,000 per year (part time), with a monthly $500 car allowance (you need that when you travel from Monument) and guaranteed yearly raises of at least 5% plus bonuses. He received this raise without any performance review, which goes against policy. Could you imagine what those extra dollars could do for our teachers and SPED department? At this point, Witt is just pilfering district resources from us taxpayers.

Not only is Witt wasting dollars from taxpayers, he is creating a hostile work environment. Yes, there have been numerous lawsuits due to bad attorney advice or unethical behavior. However, what’s more alarming is how he speaks about our teachers and staff. During the coverage of the teachers speaking out, Witt said our teachers are “bent on fostering a hatred of America.” If you’ve met our teachers you know this isn’t true. Or the time he was asked about mental health and social service resources he said, “we’re not the department of mental health.“ There’s been numerous news interviews where he just hangs up or stares blankly, apparently pleading the 5th, when questioned. So why do we renew his contract?

Renewing Witt’s contract without a review is against long-standing board policy and much less, common business sense. When checked by Director Barkley, it appeared Witt has never had a formal review done since he was hired. A proper review would show that we aren’t being fiscally conservative, that employee retention is down, student enrollment is declining, and overall morale has diminished. As a community, we need to be questioning why these actions are happening at such a fast pace. Why do we have an incompetent outsider promoting an extremist culture war on our once tight-knit community? Why didn’t we perform a search for $11,000 rather than giving Witt a $15,000 raise? We must stop this runaway train called Witt.

Bridget Curran