Re: “,” Oct. 14 editorial.
I am saddened to write this submission to The Denver Post, but feel I have no choice following the publication of the misguided editorial about the Jefferson County school board recall election.
The Post and those supporting the board majority have continually attacked the teachers union and stated outright that Jefferson County teachers put themselves above the needs of the children. Yet, it was these same teachers who voluntarily agreed to forgo a raise for five years to keep classes small when the economy was suffering.
The Post and others argue that teachers are leaving because they want to take advantage of a “better hiring market.” However, two of the highest-achieving school districts in Colorado, Cherry Creek and Boulder, are not losing teachers to other districts. In fact, experienced teachers from Jefferson County are applying to Boulder and Cherry Creek because of the positive support they receive as educators.
Our board should be asking, “Why are experienced employees leaving and how can we reverse this trend so we are not losing our most valuable assets?” Since Ken Witt, John Newkirk and Julie Williams took office, nearly 1,000 experienced teachers and administrators have left Jeffco. This exodus reflects the low morale, lack of trust, and hostile environment created not just by the board majority’s decisions, but the way their decisions are made.
When Witt, Newkirk and Williams campaigned for their current positions, they promised increased transparency. However, it has been their ongoing practice to present new agenda items just prior to board meetings and demand that the other board members make spontaneous decisions. Anyone attending these meetings realizes that the majority has met without consulting the other board members, as was the case when they hired an attorney to represent only the three of them.
Another important issue The Post failed to address is the use of outside money to influence this election. Why is an organization located in Arlington, Va. — Americans for Prosperity — pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into television ads and mass mailings trying to defeat the recall? A vital trait of any effective school board should be local control, not outside influence.
For these reasons, I strongly disagree with The Post’s arguments in opposition to the recall.
Frank DeAngelis was principal of Columbine High School from 1996 to 2014.
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