DENVER — Some prominent conservative voices in Colorado have called for the Douglas County School District (DCSD) to publish the names of teachers who called out on Thursday in protest of the school board.
George Brauchler, a Republican who is the former district attorney of the 18th Judicial District and a radio host on 710 KNUS, is also a Douglas County parent.
"The public ought to know who you are," Brauchler said Wednesday on his show. "My vote is the school board vote to publish online the names of every single teacher who bails on school tomorrow in support of their interests."
Brauchler proposed posting all the names to the school board website.
Another radio host, 630 KHOW's Dan Caplis, also suggested naming these teachers.
"Tomorrow, if you are truly sick and you're a teacher in Douglas County, it may be the wrong day to be sick, because somebody smart is going to get the names of everybody who’s once again abandoning the children, and every parent should know that, and everybody should remember, starting with the politicians, who abandoned the children," Caplis said on his show Wednesday.
"I think the names of every one of those teachers who abandon the kids tomorrow, they should be considered public record, and nobody should be threatened or abused or anything like that," he said at another point in the show. "None of that garbage. That’s weak and silly and awful.”
More than 1,000 teachers are set to call out on Thursday because of allegations that the conservative majority of the school board met privately to discuss getting rid of superintendent Corey Wise.
The threat to publish the names of teachers who protest the board has more weight in DCSD because teachers there don't have collective bargaining and the same protections as teachers in most districts in Colorado.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) countered calls to publish teachers' names, tweeting, "Public discussion and debate is healthy and important. But doxxing of elected officials, journalists, and now teachers is always wrong and dangerous."
Kevin DiPasquale is the president of the group representing teachers, the Douglas County Federation. In a statement to 9NEWS Wednesday, he said: "Without Due Process, how can any employee in DCSD feel safe and want to work here? Doxxing is not okay. Any community leader knows this and understands the danger in threatening or demeaning your child's kindergarten teacher or your neighbor."
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.