As their actions continue to demonstrate, “Kids First” directors’ focus is NOT on the kids of DCSD. A judge agrees.
Estimated Read Time: 7 minutes
We finally have official resolution on whether or not laws were broken by the majority members of the Douglas County School District Board of Education.
It’s been almost 18 months since Douglas County resident Bob Marshall filed a lawsuit alleging that “Kids First” directors President Mike Peterson, Vice President Christy Williams, Treasurer Kaylee Winegar and Secretary Becky Myers violated Colorado Open Meetings Law (COML) in making a back channel decision to fire Corey Wise.
We finally have official resolution on whether or not laws were broken by the majority members of the Douglas County School District Board of Education.
It’s been almost 18 months since Douglas County resident Bob Marshall filed a lawsuit alleging that “Kids First” directors President Mike Peterson, Vice President Christy Williams, Treasurer Kaylee Winegar and Secretary Becky Myers violated Colorado Open Meetings Law (COML) in making a back channel decision to fire Corey Wise.
A trial (without a jury, as Marshall wasn’t seeking monetary damages, but attorneys for the “Kids First” directors failed to file the jury fee request by the deadline anyway) was held on June 12, 2023, and Judge Holmes ruled on June 16, 2023, that “Kids First” DCSD BoE directors violated COML by having private conversations about former Superintendent Wise, two at a time, before telling him to resign or be fired.
All the details are available in Judge Holmes’ ruling, Finding of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Orders, and we have intentionally written this blog to examine the most relevant pieces of the ruling for the Douglas County community.
The “Kids First” BoE Directors DID Violate Colorado Open Meetings Laws
Let’s start with the most important and damaging fact from Judge Holmes’ finding: “The court finds that the Plaintiff has proved that the Individual Defendants’ conduct was in violation of the COML.”
This is in direct contradiction to the narrative that the “Kids First” directors have been spinning for nearly a year and a half. It was even noted in the finding that at the BoE meeting on Feb. 4, 2022, Director Peterson said, “To respond, no laws were broken. Nothing was unethical.”
At the BoE Special Meeting on May 8, 2023, in which the BoE majority rejected to settle the lawsuit and admit wrongdoing, Director Williams asserted, “I have maintained for over a year now that I do not believe I did anything illegal.” According to Judge Holmes, she did.
Holmes supported his ruling with the manner in which the conversations occurred, and the importance of an issue like terminating a superintendent being a manner of public business.
“The evidence supports and the court finds that four members of the board discussed and collectively committed, outside of a public meeting, to terminate Wise’s employment.” He later added: “The hiring and firing of a school district’s superintendent is clearly a matter of public business.”
Additionally, Holmes found that the intentional absence of public comment at the BoE meeting on Feb. 4, when Wise was fired, was further evidence of wrongdoing: “The failure to permit public comment at the February 4th meeting is discussed in more detail below, but that failure is additional evidence of the Individual Defendants’ commitment to their course of action.”
The “Kids First” directors had argued that terminating Wise at a public meeting “cured” (righting any wrongdoing) any violations of COML. Judge Holmes disagreed. In his finding, “The court finds that the decision made at the February 4, 2022, meeting was a rubber stamping of the discharge discussion and decision that constituted the COML violation by the Individual Defendants and the violation, therefore, went uncured.”
Corey Wise WAS Given an Ultimatum
Another argument that has been repeated multiple times by Directors Peterson and Wiliams, is that Wise was not given a job ultimatum during the coffee house conversation on Jan, 28, 2022.
At a BoE meeting on June 21, 2022, Marshall (who has since been elected to the Colorado State House of Representatives — November 2022) publicly accused Directors Peterson and Williams of perjury. Citing conflicting statements that Peterson and Williams made about predetermining Wise’s employment prior to meeting with him, Marshall noted that the discrepancies between the transcript from the COML hearing (held Feb. 25, 2021) and a recording of the conversation Wise had with Peterson and Williams on Jan. 28, 2021, were evidence of perjury. This was also reported to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and the investigation was later dropped.
At the trial on June 12, 2023, Peterson testified that he and Williams did not give Wise a job ultimatum, stating “He could’ve come back and asked for more time, a performance plan, etc. It’s all hypothetical.” Also at the hearing, Winegar and Myers admitted to sharing their opinions about Wise with Peterson, but “stopped short of saying they’d made up their minds to fire Wise before the February 4th board meeting.”
In Judge Holmes’ finding, he wrote: “Though disguised as a choice, Wise was not given an opportunity to continue his employment. The only options presented were options about how his job would end.” He later added: “A decision had been made by four directors to end Wise’s involvement with the district either by resignation or by termination. That decision was then formalized at an official meeting on February 4th.”
Where Does This Leave Us Now?
As with other actions taken by the “Kids First” directors, we are seeing a profound negative effect on the community and are left with many questions.
Some are asking if there will be direct consequences to the “Kids First” directors. It appears that the only impact from the ruling is that they must follow COML, which they were already obligated to do as sworn elected officials.
Outside of tarnishing the reputation of the “Kids First” directors and challenging their level of competence to govern, it appears that the greatest burden will be placed on the district, teachers/staff, students, and community members.
Current estimates of the cost of this lawsuit have been reported to be upwards of $152,000, as the district’s insurer declined to cover the “Kids First” directors appeals. (This does not include the cost to pay out Wise’s contract nor his settlement.)
Will the district also be obligated to pay Marshall’s legal fees since the “Kids Firsts” directors were found to be in violation of the law?
Will the “Kids First” directors appeal this ruling too? They have been adamantly insisting that they did nothing wrong, even after Holmes’ initial temporary injunction. One of Peterson’s statements at the BoE meeting on May 8, 2023, was that there was “no precedent” for COML enforcement in the state of Colorado.
Will they appeal Holmes’ decision in an attempt to try to create precedent so they can continue to circumvent COML? And if there is an appeal, will the district and Douglas County taxpayers again be footing the bill?
What will the impact be on a potential MLO/Bond in November? Funding for the district is critical, and many community members are left without a sense of trust for how the BoE will spend taxpayer money after this waste of district resources.
We believe the “Kids First” directors must atone for their misdeeds. In order for any sort of trust to be rebuilt with this community, we recommend they deliver a sincere, on-the-record apology for their illegal actions and for wasting district resources and taxpayer dollars. If they are truly interested in the kids first, they will also submit their resignations immediately so that DCSD can get back to focusing on the business of educating them.
