AURORA | Five board of education members in the Aurora Public Schools district have signed a letter of support for Corey Wise, the Douglas County School District superintendent who was fired without cause last week.
Wise was fired 4-3 in a special meeting Friday evening, with the vote split between newly elected conservative board members and a remaining more progressive minority. During the meeting the majority did not articulate a clear reason for the firing, but said that they did not feel they could trust Wise or that they had his support.
Earlier in the week, the board minority held a meeting claiming that Wise had been given an ultimatum by the board’s new president and vice president that he resign or be fired. Hundreds of teachers held a “sick out” the day before the vote, and on Monday students from at least eight Douglas County high schools held a walkout in protest of his firing.
Board of education members from across the state are also criticizing the way the vote was handled, with an open letter signed by 65 current and former school board members calling for greater transparency from the Douglas County board.
“As elected School Board Directors our job is to prioritize the needs of students and staff across our districts and to put our communities first,” said the letter, which was posted on Medium by Denver Public Schools director Tay Anderson.
“Effective leadership is rooted in transparency and accountability and requires us to work across ideological divides to create strong and resilient schools. Removing an effective superintendent like Corey Wise without cause, without opportunity for public engagement, and despite strong and vocal pushback from teachers, students, and staff is a failure of governance.”
Aurora Public Schools board of education directors Stephanie Mason, Michael Carter, Nichelle Ortiz, Tramaine Duncan and Vicki Reinhard all signed the letter, along with former Cherry Creek board president Randy Perlis.
Yes, let’s listen to Tay Anderson. Seems to me this is a Douglas County situation, strictly. Am I wrong in thinking that this is not a School District problem that every school district in the World has a say in. Douglas County just elected these Director’s into office. This is a representative country, isn’t it?