Board member Keegan Barkley cast the only no vote. She said the district is facing myriad issues, from school roof leaks, inadequate heating, water breaks and declining enrollment.
“Why now?” she asked her board colleagues. “There are so many other more important, more pressing issues hitting our school right now. Why is this the most important thing on your mind? …Why do we keep focusing on these nonsense issues instead of focusing on things that are actually going to help our students and our school?”
She said Colorado’s anti-discrimination laws, including the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, require that students have access to restrooms that match their gender identity.
“We would be opening ourselves up to lawsuits,” she said.
— Read on www.cpr.org/2025/01/30/woodland-park-school-board-passes-resolution-to-recognize-only-two-sexes-mirroring-trump-order-language/
Tag Archives: CPR
After 30 years, a new way to fund Colorado’s schools is ready for lawmakers’ eyes | Colorado Public Radio
The 60-page report aims to make school funding “simpler, less regressive, more adequate, understandable, transparent, equitable and student-centered.”
— Read on www.cpr.org/2024/02/01/new-recommendations-for-funding-colorado-schools/
DAVIS: A Split Decision in School Districts Statewide
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/
Colorado school board races mostly a mixed bag, but teachers union says voters rejected extremism | Colorado Public Radio
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/
Woodland Park teachers win their fight to restore First Amendment rights after policy ban | Colorado Public Radio
Woodland Park educators have won their fight to strike down what they argued was an unconstitutional school district policy that prohibited them from speaking to journalists or on social media about district matters, according to the local teacher’s union. The union said the federal court-mediated agreement to replace the policy was reached Tuesday.
“This is a huge win for Woodland Park educators,” said Nate Owen, president of Woodland Park Education Association and a plaintiff in the lawsuit. “We’re overjoyed that teachers and other employees can finally speak on matters of public concern without fear of retaliation for simply exercising their right to free speech.”
— Read on www.cpr.org/2023/11/01/woodland-park-teachers-win-first-amendment-rights/
Woodland Park teachers defy ban on speaking out publicly; allege district’s policies are harming students | Colorado Public Radio
Dozens of Woodland Park teachers spoke out at a press conference Thursday to ask district officials to restore mental health supports for children, reinstate state-approved social studies standards, and remove a gag order that prevents them from speaking about district matters publicly or risk losing their jobs.
— Read on www.cpr.org/2023/10/05/woodland-park-teachers-speak-out-against-district-policies/
Woodland Park school board treats teachers, students, taxpayers as the enemy
Woodland Park has become a testing ground for the Civics Alliance’s manifesto for whitewashing American history and demonizing teachers
— Read on coloradosun.com/2023/10/01/woodland-park-schools-opinion-carman/
Woodland Park school board has ‘chilled’ free speech and violated open meetings law, according to Colorado teachers union lawsuit | Colorado Public Radio
Colorado’s largest teachers union and its local affiliate have filed a federal lawsuit against the Woodland Park School District and the district’s board of education.
The lawsuit alleges the district and board have “chilled” teachers’ First Amendment rights to free speech and free association and violated state open meetings laws when it revised a district policy and effectively instituted a gag order against teachers.
— Read on www.cpr.org/2023/08/11/woodland-park-school-district-teachers-union-lawsuit/
ACLU sues Colorado school district after former employee was banned
The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado on Thursday sued Woodland Park School District leaders on behalf of a former district employee who they say was forced to leave a school board meeting after making a “brief and harmless” comment and was immediately banned from district property and events for more than a year.
— Read on coloradosun.com/2023/08/03/woodland-park-school-district-aclu-lawsuit/
Where school boards and politics meet | Colorado Public Radio
A small school district in Colorado has implemented a gag order on teachers, dropped most mental health support for next year, and adopted social studies standards previously rejected by the state board of education. It’s all happened in the past three months, and it’s caused upheaval in the community. But school board and district leaders say the path they’re on will lead to better academic outcomes. It’s an example of a somewhat new phenomenon in which politics and political issues become part of school boards. CPR education reporter Jenny Brundin takes a closer look.
— Read on www.cpr.org/show-segment/where-school-boards-and-politics-meet/