Re: “,” July 1 editorial.
In your editorial, you write that “recall generally should be reserved for malfeasance, corruption or glaring incompetence.” We agree 100 percent.
We are the three Jefferson County parents who submitted the petitions to recall Jeffco school board majority members Ken Witt, Julie Williams and John Newkirk. Our parent group wants to recall these three for the exact reasons you listed: their malfeasance, their corruption and their glaring incompetence.
The Jeffco school board majority has repeatedly violated sunshine and open meeting laws. In fact, they secretly interviewed their own board attorney, Brad Miller, without informing the rest of the board or the public. That is a violation of state law and fits a pattern of dismissing transparency.
Members of the board majority clearly violated student privacy laws when, at the May 7 regular meeting of the Board of Education, Witt made a defamatory statement regarding a district student — a minor, no less.
Witt falsely accused the student of using racial epithets, and then directed district staff to post social media screenshots to identify, shame and intimidate the student.
The catalogue of incompetency goes on, and there are many more examples at .
The stakes are high: More than 700 Jeffco teachers have already left our school district and we expect many more to leave. This draining of talent due to the corruption and incompetence of this board majority hurts our students the most, which is why we can’t wait two more years until the next election.
The education quality for our schools and our students is at risk — and, unlike the board majority, we are not willing to sacrifice that quality at the hands of divisive political agendas.
Wendy R. McCord, a mother of three Jeffco students, is an attorney. Tina Gurdikian, a mother of two students, is an environmental compliance specialist. Michael Blanton, a father of two students, is an attorney.
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