The Ute Pass BOCES (no relation to ERBOCES) is hosting a parents academy for special education information next Wednesday, November 15th, from 6-7PM in the Ute Pass Cultural Center. With SO many special education job openings in the district, parents with special needs kids should try to attend this. There is a call-in option for those who can’t attend in person, either via Google Meet or phone at 402-971-0167 and PIN: 779 445 855#.
The Florida Department of Education has approved screening videos that deny the Earth’s changing climate to schoolchildren in the state,
— Read on www.thecooldown.com/green-business/prageru-climate-denial-videos-florida-school/
coming soon to Woodland Park?
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/
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/
Yesterday’s election was tense. Most of us went to bed thinking the last update of the evening was that the three challengers all had small leads over the incumbents. A late night update at 11:06 flipped that though, showing Mick Bates leading Seth Bryant by 43 votes (4,596 to 4,553) and Cassie Kimbrell leading Mike Knott by 55 votes (4,596 to 4,541). Keegan Barkley maintains her lead over David Illingworth (4,683 to 4,444), though that lead has shrunk to 239 votes (see full results here). Teller County says, on their website, that “all eligible ballots have been received and counted.”
Given the small margins, the next step will be to wait for any ballots to be cured (like if they’re rejected due to signature mismatch). Then, as I understand the law, an automatic recount is triggered if the gap is .5% or less (Seth meets that threshold, Mike does not).
It’s Election Day! In 2021, there were 7,233 votes cast for school board, out of 15,778 eligible to vote for that. I don’t know how many eligible voters are in the district this year but expect a similar number, and I expect higher turnout than 2021 (45.84%). But this is a sort of baseline, so as votes are announced starting at 7PM, you’ll have a sense of if most of the votes have been counted yet (nothing will be announced prior to 7PM).
Every 15 minutes after polls close, the Colorado Secretary of State’s website will be updating this file, assuming the county has provided new information. The SOS’ main election results page is here with additional links to statewide elections. Teller County’s election page is here, though already they’re not updating it with total votes counted (last update was Friday), so I think the Secretary of State’s website is likely to be the best source. Also note that Teller County’s website shows there are a total of 19,763 eligible voters – that’s in the entire county, but many of those do not live in the Woodland Park RE-2 school district (in 2021, there were 21,863 eligible voters, so 72% lived in RE-2).
The voting service center is open 7-7 today at the Woodland Park Library, for in person voting or ballot drop-off.
My name is Ben Honeycutt. I became a teacher because I was driven to be someone who could be there every day for my students. I taught at Woodland Park Middle School (WPMS) for five years.
— Read on benhoneycutt.com/journals/on-the-eve-of-election-day
Last week:
Here’s what’s coming up this week:
a growing number of parents, teachers, school leaders and board candidates are working for progress in a larger battle than the contest for board majorities. Using methods developed by the national organization Braver Angels, they’re trying to counter polarization, which they say is damaging schools, hurting children, dividing families and breaking up longtime friendships.
— Read on gazette.com/content/tncms/live/
“The new Woodland Park School Board Policy KDDA no longer violates teachers’ First Amendment constitutional rights to free speech,” Nate Owen, president of the Woodland Park Education Association, said in a press release. “Not only does this restore the First Amendment rights of educators, but it ensures a clear path for educator voices now and into the future.”
— Read on gazette.com/content/tncms/live/