Students across Douglas County School District streamed out of their classrooms 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 that took place across multiple schools, including Highlands Ranch High School.
Evelyn Wardell, a junior, was among hundreds of students outside of Highlands Ranch Monday afternoon. She said Superintendent Corey Wise was known for listening to students.
“The board itself didn’t do the best it could to respect its students,” she said.
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.
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.
Kevin Mohatt, Special to the Denver Post
Douglas County School Board Director, David Ray expresses frustration over the board’s decision to terminate the superintendent’s contract at a district meeting in Castle Rock on Feb. 4, 2022.
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.
Multiple students spoke in favor of the equity policy during the January school board meeting and described racism and sexism they and their peers have experienced in school, with one sophomore saying “kids are eating lunch in the bathroom because they don’t want to be tormented about their race, who they are, or what they believe in.”
The Douglas County school board’s move to change the equity policy was just a “warning of what was to come,” according to the Douglas County Federation, which is the teacher’s union.
“Now the current board majority has sent the ominous message that every district employee isn’t safe,” said Kevin DiPasquale, president of the teacher’s union in a statement. “Further, the message is that employee voices are not valued, and it clearly indicates that employees’ extraordinary efforts during the pandemic are long forgotten.”
The Douglas County school board also drew a rebuke from more than 50 current and former Colorado school board members, 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.”
