Hundreds of students streamed out of at least eight Douglas County School District schools Monday in protest of the school board’s Friday firing of the district’s superintendent.
The students left their school buildings at 1:10 p.m. in a coordinated action at schools including, Highlands Ranch High School, Cresthill Middle School, Ponderosa High School and Rock Canyon High School. The protests largely focused on supporting former Superintendent Corey Wise, but students also expressed their concerns with the school board’s recent vote to change the district’s equity policy.
“The core four (school board members) want it to be all about the parents and what the parents want but they aren’t the ones in school,” said 17-year-old Audrey Yakubovich, a junior at Highlands Ranch High School and whose mother teaches in the district.
“I’ve seen what Corey has done for these teachers,” she added. “He stood up for the teachers.”
Hundreds of students from the high school & nearby middle school are out protesting against recent decisions by the school board
“Justice for Corey” they chanted in reaction to the firing of Superintendent Corey Wise pic.twitter.com/h5xrEGEdGd
— Jessica Seaman (@jessicaseaman) February 7, 2022
Monday’s walkout is the second demonstration to take place in a matter of days over the leadership of Douglas County School District. Hundreds of teachers called out sick Thursday, forcing the district to cancel classes, and rallied to support Wise and demand transparency from the school board.
National debates over COVID-19 and race have been playing out in Douglas County school board meetings since before the four new conservative members were elected in November. Since the new members’ arrival, the board has been split on issues such as lifting mask requirements for schools and changing the district’s equity policy – and that division was never more apparent than it was last week.
The board fired Wise without cause on Friday during a contentious meeting that was as much about the deep mistrust among members as it was about his future with the district. Board president Mike Peterson said during the meeting that he was “worried” about having a person selected by the three minority members leading the district.
“This is not retaliation at all,” he said during the meeting. “This is my ability to trust that we’re not going to get sucker-punched by (the) other three folks that are going to come in when we are trying to work through an issue.”
Wise worked in the district for almost three decades, including as a teacher, and was in his first year as superintendent. He previously served as interim superintendent before he was chosen for the role in April.
The school district has to pay Wise his annual salary — $247,500 — plus any unpaid benefits and expenses that he had accrued at the time he was fired, according to his contract.
Last week’s school board meeting was called after the three minority members held a public Zoom call in which they alleged that Peterson and Christy Williams, the board’s vice president, privately told Wise to resign or be voted out.
The members – Elizabeth Hanson, Susan Meek and David Ray – revealed that they learned on Jan. 28 about the ultimatum given to Wise. There had been no vote, meeting, or notice, given in advance of the meeting held with Wise, which they said violated Colorado’s open-meeting laws.
The board drew a rebuke from more than 50 current and former Colorado school board members over the weekend, who signed a letter in support of Wise and called his termination a “failure of governance.”
“(W)e echo the call by those in the minority on the Douglas County School Board for a transparent process that is in full compliance with the law as they select the next leader for Douglas County Schools,” states the Feb. 5 letter. “We also hope that the new majority recognizes the need for unity as they will be charged with bringing together a divided community.”
A “warning of what was to come”
The allegations that the school board majority’s members were planning to oust Wise added further fuel to teachers and staff members already upset at the board for directing the superintendent to recommend changes to the equity policy, prompting about 1,000 people to protest outside the district’s offices in Castle Rock last week.
The previous school board passed the equity policy in March 2021, directing the district to fix inequitable practices and create an equity advisory committee.
The policy drew critiques from people who thought it would lead Douglas County schools to teach critical race theory, which examines how racism influences public policy and institutions, such as health care.
At Monday’s walkout, students felt Wise supported the district’s equity policy and now they fear that without him the district will disband the equity advisory committee, said Mia Warren, 18, who served on the student board that helped select the former superintendent to lead the district.
“All their voices went into the trash,” the Highlands Ranch High senior said. “We wanted somebody who did believe in equity. It’s just really sad to see it go away so fast.”
During the protest at Highlands Ranch High, students chanted “Equity for All” and carried signs that read “Love is Love. DCSD Supports Equality, Keep it That Way.”
A lawsuit over open-meeting laws
A Highlands Ranch resident named Robert Marshall filed a lawsuit Friday against the four majority members over the allegations they violated open-meeting laws.
If at least three (or fewer if it means a quorum) school board members meet to discuss public business, then the public and other board members must be notified and the meeting made public — no matter if it occurs in person or via phone, email or text — per state law.
It’s not entirely clear if such laws were violated. Douglas County school board members debated during Friday’s meeting on the conversation members initially had with Wise, including whether an ultimatum was given.
There are no fines or penalties for violating open meeting laws, however, a judge could invalidate a meeting and any action taken during it, said Jeff Roberts, executive director of Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.
The two factions of the board responded differently to the student walkout Monday.
“I recognize this is an emotional time for our community and want you to know I am committed to restoring peace and unity to our school district with a continued focus on educating our children,” Peterson said in a statement.
Ray said he has suggested the district send its crisis teams to schools to “ensure that the mental health needs of our students and staff are being met.”
“Ultimately, I trust our teachers and leaders to help our students through these most challenging times in our district,” he said.
Updated 10 a.m. Feb. 28, 2022: This story has been updated to correct the relationship of the plaintiff in the lawsuit against the four school board members. Robert Marshall does not currently have children attending school in Douglas County School District. The assertion he was a Douglas County School District parent was erroneously included in the initial complaint filed against the board members, Marshall said.
