DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — An email from the Douglas County School District (DCSD) on Tuesday alerted staff members that someone requested information about the employees who did not work on Feb. 3, the day many chose to call out in protest of recent actions by the school board.
The names of staff members who requested an absence on that day will be made public Wednesday, according to the letter, which was sent to 9NEWS by multiple district employees.
The letter did not say who requested the information.
More than 1,000 district employees requested absences on Feb. 3 after the school board voted to fire now-former Superintendent Corey Wise without cause. Students at a few Douglas County schools also scheduled walk-outs in protest.
Critics of teachers who did not work that day, including local radio hosts George Brauchler and Dan Caplis, publicly called for these staff members to be named.
In 2016, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled the Jefferson County School District had to release the names of teachers who called in sick in 2014, protesting conservative school board policies. By that time, the board members had been recalled.
The full letter sent to DCSD staff said:
Dear ,
This email is being sent to your attention since the Douglas County School District’s records indicate that you requested to be absent from work on February 3, 2022. An individual has requested this information under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA). The specific request made appears below:
All documents, including but not limited to emails, absence request forms, paid time off requests and related correspondence from all Douglas County School District teachers and staff who submitted absence requests for February 3, 2022. Further, please provide a complete database and/or list of the names of Douglas County School District teachers and staff who submitted absence requests for February 3, 2022.
DCSD does have information responsive to this request which includes your name indicating that you submitted an absence request for February 3, 2022. This email is sent to notify you that the school district intends to respond to this request no later than close of business tomorrow, Wednesday, February 16, 2022, as required by CORA.
Sincerely,
Douglas County School District