DENVER — School board directors across Colorado are sharing a letter in support of the now-former superintendent of Douglas County Schools.
Colorado's third largest school district fired superintendent Corey Wise Friday night. The newly elected conservative majority voted him out without giving a reason.
Dozens of current and former school board directors from across the state -- but mostly large Front Range counties -- signed off on the letter.
It said, "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."
The letter noted Wise's long career with Dougco Schools, where he worked for 26 years. He was hired as superintendent in April 2021 after serving in an interim role since October 2020.
"His endless service to educators, families, and students deserves to be celebrated," the letter says. "We can all empathize with the difficult challenges that former Superintendent Wise and the previous Board of Education faced as they had to govern through an unprecedented health crisis."
The letter calls for a transparent process that is in full compliance with the law as the board chooses the next superintendent, and expresses hope that the new board members will be able to bring together a divided community.
As of Saturday evening, more than 18,000 people have signed a Change.org petition calling for a recall effort against the board's four conservative members, who were elected in November.
Being an online petition, it can be signed by anyone anywhere and is not a legal document. State law requires a real paper petition with real signatures from registered voters in the county. And the rules say the board members cannot be recalled until they're at least six months into their terms.
Anyone petitioning a recall would have to get their petition approved by the county clerk, then would have 60 days to collect 15,000 signatures for every board member they seek to recall.
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