Tag Archives: WPEA

Woodland Park Education Association

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.

Woodland Park school board, union reach agreement on controversial policy | Education | gazette.com

“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/

Woodland Park School District drops unconstitutional gag order, union says

The Woodland Park School District has removed and replaced a school board policy that the local teachers union called unconstitutional because it prohibited educators from speaking to the press or posting on social media about district decisions without consent, the Woodland Park Education Association announced this week.

The teachers union sued the district and its Board of Education in federal court over the summer, alleging employees’ First Amendment rights were violated by the policy. The decision to replace the policy with a new one, which the union says “protects the First Amendment rights of educators,” was made during federal court mediation, according to a news release.

— Read on www.denverpost.com/2023/11/02/woodland-park-teachers-union-lawsuit-agreement/

Woodland Park School District teachers celebrate free speech policy change

Woodland Park School District teachers celebrate free speech policy change. Teachers say they can speak freely without fear of punishment.
— Read on www.koaa.com/news/covering-colorado/im-a-little-less-afraid-woodland-park-school-district-teachers-celebrate-free-speech-policy-change

You really MUST watch the video in that story linked above.  At 1:10, the reporter asks superintendent Ken Witt a question and his answer – or lack thereof – is so incredibly creepy and unprofessional.

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/

Updates on WPEA vs. WPSD lawsuit

Earlier this month, the Woodland Park Education Association (a local affiliate of the Colorado Education Association…more commonly referred to as ‘the union’ though there are some subtle differences) filed a lawsuit in district court against the Woodland Park school district, alleging violations of teachers’ first amendment rights to free speech and free association, mostly related to district policy KDDA (what some refer to as the ‘gag order’). If you’re not already familiar with this lawsuit, catch up quick by reading the CPR article.

From the KRDO article:

The lawsuit is asking the U.S. District Court of Colorado for several resolutions, including removing the policy that “punishes school-based employees if they speak publicly as private citizens about matters of public concern regarding the school district, declare that no employee who makes statements about their employment as private citizens on matters of public concern can be disciplined, terminated or retaliated against and declare that attempting to compel members to join PACE is unconstitutional and an unlawful use of taxpayer money.”

link

You can read the entire court filing here if interested.

On August 16th, lawyers filed for a preliminary injunction against the district, asking for:

Specifically, WPEA seeks a preliminary injunction as follows:

  1. Enjoin enforcement of current School District policy KDDA.
  2. Revise School District Policy KDDA to the policy language in effect prior to
    February 2023.
  3. Prohibit the School District from forcing employees of the School District to become
    members of PACE.

One interesting detail in that request for preliminary injunction is on the last page…the attorneys this is being served to include of course Brad Miller, but notably, there’s a new attorney listed working on this case for this district. It’s Matt Werner of Alpern Myers Stuart. His website lists his practice areas as:

Defense of Persons Accused of Serious Felonies, Sex Assaults, Domestic Violence and DUI; Juvenile Defense; School Expulsion and Discipline Defense; Complex Civil Litigation and Personal Injury; Administrative Hearings.

Including him in a first amendment lawsuit does not appear to align with his advertised specialties and is a curious move. With the earlier addition of Scott Gessler to handle the appeal on the CORA lawsuit, this makes at least three law firms now working for the Woodland Park school district and board of directors.

Who is PACE, and why should we care?

Today, we need to talk about PACE – the Professional Association of Colorado Educators (PACE). PACE is a state chapter of the Association of American Educators (AAE) – an organization which supports school vouchers and is funded in part by the Independence Institute and the Walton Family, Jacquelin Hume, and the Bradley Foundation. These donors, and PACE, are, quite simply, not supporters of traditional public education and are actively working to weaken public education. PACE itself is marketed as an alternative to groups such as the Woodland Park Education Association, the Pikes Peak Education Association, and the Colorado Education Association. Or what the board likes to refer to as ‘the union’.

The National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the United States, and its state affiliates, have accused AAE and its state affiliates of being “pro-voucher” “anti-public education” and “anti-union.”[20][21] The NEA cites as evidence that major contributors to AAE Foundation have also contributed to school choice initiatives, which the NEA labels as “anti-public education” and “anti-union.”[21] The NEA has distributed a “toolkit” advising local members on how to respond to the AAE, including talking points and action plans. The NEA has labeled AAE “the leading anti-NEA organization.”[21] AAE and state affiliates have responded by highlighting that over 90% of their membership are public school teachers and the AAE has never taken a position supporting vouchers.[18][22][23] AAE has supported school choice, although their activities for National School Choice Week primarily involve public charter school teachers, never vouchers.[24] Also, the major funders cited by the NEA as proof of AAE’s agenda, have also given grants, albeit of much smaller value, to public school districts and universities. For example, the Walton Family Foundation donates heavily to public charter schools and groups focused on influencing policy toward school choice, including vouchers, but also granted some money to a few public school districts as well as Teach for America and the United Negro College Fund.[25][18] Counter to these claims to neutrality, organizations such as SourceWatch, citing documents obtained from some of AAE’s funders, continue to describe the association as a right-wing organization contributing to efforts to weaken unions and undermining their political objectives.[26]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_American_Educators

PACE, a Colorado-based organization, was originally incorporated in 2006 with Kim Shugart as the sole member on its Board of Directors. However, after a few years, Shugart seemed to have lost interest in the organization, causing it to fall out of compliance with the Colorado Secretary of State in 2010. In 2022, Shugart rectified this by bringing PACE back into compliance.

Interestingly, the original articles of incorporation made no mention of the parent organization AAE, suggesting that AAE’s involvement with PACE did not begin until 2022. Regardless, PACE’s current principal address is listed as the AAE office in California, and its legal representative in Colorado is attorney Robert Gardner in Colorado Springs. This information is readily available on the Colorado Secretary of State’s website.

While PACE’s website lists its address as 9800 Mount Pyramid Court, Suite 400 in Englewood, Colorado, it is worth noting that this space is currently available for lease as a coworking space. Therefore, it is uncertain whether PACE has a permanent office there. It is important to note that PACE differs from the CEA, which boasts 19 physical offices throughout Colorado.

What do the WPEA/PPEA/CEA offer that PACE doesn’t? Skilled legal protection, real professional development, and lobbyists providing teachers with a strong voice in government advocating for education and educators. Coloradans acting in support of teachers and staff statewide. PACE, on the other hand, has very few employees. The one staff member listed on their website is Ariel Elliott, their Regional Membership Director. The other name we see associated with PACE frequently is Tim Farmer, who at various times in PACE’s blog has been referred to as their Membership Director, Policy Director, Staffer, and Regional Director. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he currently works with the WPSD attorney Brad Miller as a partner in Miller Farmer Law.

Why does all this matter…why are we talking about PACE? The Woodland Park School District sent an email to teachers on May 1st, outline changes to their benefits for the upcoming school year. One benefit being added is membership in PACE for all school-based staff. We had previously reported about actions the district has taken to attack or weaken the WPEA in the district. such as not withholding union dues and introducing policy prohibiting union leadership from using district computers to contact members..now they’re actively working to replace the WPEA with PACE.

According to PACE’s website, membership costs $19.50 per month, or $234 annually. We counted 296 staff for the ’23-24 school year, so that’s a potential cost to the district of $69,264 – though it’s unclear at this point if staff would be automatically enrolled, and if they’d be allowed to opt-out if that were the case.

So, we have our school district implementing policies to weaken the WPEA, while at the same time promoting an organizing that our district’s attorney has close ties to. Just another day in Woodland Park, Colorado.

Report: Colorado’s education system is in crisis, and teachers are feeling it | Colorado Public Radio

Colorado’s education system is in a state of crisis, leaving many teachers feeling overworked, underpaid, not respected and worried that large, systemic issues connected to underfunding are hurting their students.

That’s according to the annual State of Education report from the largest teacher’s union in the state, the Colorado Education Association.
— Read on www.cpr.org/2023/01/31/colorado-teachers-report/

It’s not a battlefield, it’s a school district | From the Editor

This article was originally published in March of 2022 but is worth bringing up again as it’s a reminder of what this district has been going through for the past year or so. Things have only gotten worse since this was published.

https://gazette.com/pikespeakcourier/its-not-a-battlefield-its-a-school-district-from-the-editor/article_be9d1514-a23a-11ec-a1ce-c7872ee20f33.html?fbclid=IwAR1AC-Bd9lY-Wph36vAELiL8Wc-0BjgUJVyo4zUBoG69FIoAu-7pjwBYvtQ