Dear Mr. McMinimee,
You are about to have a new job with Jeffco Public Schools.
I wish we could welcome you under better circumstances. I see that you have
some experience with Jefferson County, so you know we value quality education
for our children.
I am not a teacher, but I see that you were one once. I hope
you have clung to the knowledge that being a teacher is very difficult and no
one teaches to get rich. Do you remember that teachers are not the enemy; they
are our hard-working friends and neighbors? They shape the lives of our children.
I’m afraid you are going to hear some mis-information from
the three board members who hired you. They are going to tell you that the
teachers’ union is the problem. They will say that only a handful of parents
are causing a ruckus. They will say the media has blown everything out of
proportion - - there is a PR problem. They will tell you they were elected by a
huge margin of voters. These are all lies.
The three people who hired you, Ken Witt, John Newkirk
and Julie Williams are the problem.
As you take on the job of superintendent, remember these
three people will be gone, hopefully sooner than later. Don’t burn any bridges.
Let me bring you up to speed from the point of view of a
community member:
-During the election, Witt, Newkirk and Williams (WNW) aligned themselves with former
board member Laura Boggs. Boggs, who was twice censured by her fellow board
members for her behavior, vowed to “rip this district apart.” They are working
hard to fulfill her wish. Boggs allegedly showed up with $3,000 in cash to pay for the room rental for Witt's recent "community forum." The forum was a rush-job only publicized by conservative anti-Jeffco school groups, like Jeffco Students First. It was a not a school district sponsored event. You connect the dots.
-During the election, Witt, Newkirk and Williams took
advantage of “gray” campaign contributions and support from anti-Jeffco school
groups like Jeffco Students First Action.
-Within days of being elected, WNW secretly began planning
to use taxpayer dollars (without public review), to hire an attorney to
represent them, and not the district. How does this help children?
WNW violated the Sunshine Law by meeting secretly to
negotiate a contract with lawyer Brad Miller. Miller has a well-known conflict
of interest since he represents charter schools in their bids to win contracts
from school boards. They pay him approx. 7,500 taxpayer dollars a month. How does this help children?
-WNW are about to violate promises made to the community
during the campaign for ballot measure 3A and 3B, by diverting budget money to
fund charter schools. As the new superintendent, you will likely need to go to
the community for additional voter-approved funding some time in the future.
Your new bosses are working hard to ensure the community can never trust the
school board and superintendent again.
Good luck with that.
-WNW have systematically changed the make-up of the
district’s parent advisory committees, loading the committees with their
supporters. These are people who don’t support Jeffco schools. WNW placed on
the technology committee a woman who cost the district millions of dollars and
support for elementary reading. They placed on the teacher evaluation committee
a woman who tries to videotape and humiliate teachers who voice opposition.
These are not the actions of people who truly support Jeffco schools.
-The district’s legally required parent advisory committee,
SPAC, worked for months to examine the district’s budget and operations in
order to provide the board their guidance and opinions. At the encouragement of Ken Witt, two
members of the SPAC caused so much dissent at SPAC meetings it was difficult for
members to be productive. An ally of Witt’s on the SPAC committee penned a report that
was so full of lies and questionable data that it was harmful to the district
and Jeffco students. WNW allowed
the report to be presented at a Board meeting, further angering community
members. WNW encourage disruption and dissent at all district meetings. These
are not the actions of people who truly support Jeffco schools.
-During legal proceedings regarding a piece of land the
district was deeded by the city of Lakewood, Witt disregarded legal advice and
stopped the proceedings. This action has the potential to cause Jeffco and
other school districts millions of dollars.(update, the City of Lakewood continues to state that the property belongs to the district, which gives the district the right to build a school on it)
-In a 3 to 2 vote, WNW pushed through additional funding and
extension of a loan repayment for a charter school. This charter school has
been flagged by auditors for not operating in a fiscally sound manner, causing
the community to question the board’s financial stewardship. It has now been
discovered that the school may have skewed data about its enrollment figures
and did not disclose information about a lawsuit.
-Ken Witt has violated the Board’s own Policy GP-04 by
attempting to run day-to-day operations of the district and give orders to
employees. This has been repeatedly questioned by board member Lesley Dahlkemper. District employees do not report to the board.
-Ken Witt’s rude behavior at board meetings has resulted in
thousands of letters being sent to the board of education office in protest.
-At recent board meetings regarding the budget, WNW have
demonstrated they do not support early childhood education. Despite the
community’s outcry, and sound research, they have said they do not see the
benefit in free full-day kindergarten and have moved money to support kindergarten to charter school funding, further dividing the community. Please read
this letter, it says it well: http://www.boarddocs.com/co/jeffco/Board.nsf/files/9JGNLR550DA6/$file/c14472O.pdf
I won’t go into the comments Mr. Witt, Mr. Newkirk and Mrs. Williams have
made demonstrating they do not support diversity. It’s just too painful.
So, you see Mr. McMinimee, the people who hired you are the
problem. Nothing in their actions says, “we support quality public
education.” Their actions have
angered the community and the community’s voice is getting louder every day.
WNW won’t be around Jeffco for long. Will you? Remember, WE ARE NOT DOUGCO!
UPDATE: Since this letter was written in May 2014, there have been many other moves by the Jeffco BOE that do not represent the will of the community, including, but not limited to:
-The conservative board members voted to take money from neighborhood schools and gave it to charter schools. Now, charter schools students are getting approx. $381 per student that was taken from neighorhood school students, many of them low income students. Witt, Newkirk and Williams are getting ready to grant a contract for a new charter school to one of their campaign contributors.
-WNW refused to bargin in good faith with teachers, refused a third-party review, that said the teacher evaluation system is so flawed it should not be used.
-Board member Julie Williams introduced a plan for a curriculum review committee that would censor the AP History curriculum and the health curriculum. She sought members for her committee such as this:
-The conservative board members voted to take money from neighborhood schools and gave it to charter schools. Now, charter schools students are getting approx. $381 per student that was taken from neighorhood school students, many of them low income students. Witt, Newkirk and Williams are getting ready to grant a contract for a new charter school to one of their campaign contributors.
-WNW refused to bargin in good faith with teachers, refused a third-party review, that said the teacher evaluation system is so flawed it should not be used.
-Board member Julie Williams introduced a plan for a curriculum review committee that would censor the AP History curriculum and the health curriculum. She sought members for her committee such as this:
