D11 Board of Education responds to national article on former superintendent, equity department
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education, members of the district community, and more responded to a Washington Post article detailing what led up to three conservative board members being elected, the former superintendent leaving, and the dissolving of the district's equity department.
Thursday, the district provided KRDO with a statement. However, the comment didn't directly address anything stated in the article.
Rather, the Board of Education said they are "excited about the unified vision of the D11 Board of Education as it reflects our community needs and our combined commitment to ALL students!"
'Mutual separation'
It's been over three months since Dr. Michael Thomas left his position as the Superintendent of Schools.
In the article, Dr. Michael Thomas explains that he came to the conclusion to leave after witnessing the Douglas County School District vote to remove its superintendent in a heated, hours-long meeting.
During that meeting, one school board member said, "this decision was not about performance in any way and that this is politics in its ugliest and purest and most destructive form. This is an attack on public education. And I hope that it is something that will wake up our community, our state, and our country."
On March 2, nearly a month after former Douglas County Superintendent Corey Wise was forced out, D11 announced a "mutual separation" between the district and Thomas.
According to the statement, Thomas expressed a "desire to pursue a mutual, amicable separation that would benefit all parties and the broader community. Further discussions ensued resulting in a mutual separation agreement."
Accused of racism, COVID-19 misinformation
The article also brings up controversies surrounding one D11 board member accused of making racist comments and spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
In February, a Colorado Springs citizen accused D11 Board Member Al Loma of emailing Thomas, then superintendent, and saying he was going to "gangster slap" a group of African American board meeting attendees after public comment. 13 Investigates obtained that email and confirmed the exchange.
Loma, however, told KRDO his comment was to D11 Superintendent Michael Thomas in a private conversation days after the board meeting. He went on to say he was "addressing parental concerns" after an individual at the meeting allegedly said, "You're in bed with the devil, but we had the stick."
At that time, 13 Investigates found Loma's social media posts and comments didn't violate the District 11's Code of Ethics for employees and board members.
Response
Below is the full statement provided to KRDO by the D11 Board of Education:
We are excited about the unified vision of the D11 Board of Education as it reflects our community needs and our combined commitment to ALL students!
The top priority for the D11 Board of Education is student academic success for all children. We focus on improving all students' educational outcomes by empowering them to achieve their personal best while sustaining rigor and demonstrating evidence-based academic growth. We have promised our students in D11 that collaboratively, we will overcome achievement gaps that were widened by pandemic learning.
We are moving forward with bold, innovative plans and a new superintendent, Mr. Michael Gaal, who has a proven track record of helping ALL students improve. Mr. Gaal’s passion for public education and his collaborative approach to working with our staff to raise student achievement in D11 will guide our district and community forward so we may ALL exceed our learning potential together.
D11 Board of Education and the District
On June 3, the D11 Board of Education unanimously voted to select Michael Gaal as the next Superintendent of Schools. Pending contract negotiations, he's set to begin July 1, 2022.
Members of the group Neighbors for Education, comprised of mostly D11 parents and students, said they knew all along why Thomas was no longer with the district.
"I knew because I knew what the [conservative school board] candidates ran on. I knew the way they were blaming him," parent and Neighbors for Education member Jennifer Williamson said. "I knew this was not an ideal situation, this was not a happy change."
Fellow group member and D11 teacher Angelica Givler said that because of challenges related to the pandemic, and because of the change in the board, Thomas didn't even get a chance to implement his desired changes.
"We never even got the report from the audit because they dissolved the [committee] too quick," she said. Givler agrees there's work to be done to improve equity in the district.
At the time of publication, the Equity and Inclusion part of the district's website still stands. However, the Equity Policy, Strategic Plan, and entirety of the D11 Equity Audit Data information have been removed. Clicking on the provided links brings up an "Error 404" page.
Additionally, it appears that an image labeled "Picture of Equity" has been removed. A definition of educational equity does remain.
Equity in education is the process of removing barriers, allocating resources, providing training, and doing what is necessary to ensure that all children have access to the same outcomes.
D11 EQUITY AND INCLUSION DEPARTMENT
Thursday, 13 Investigates requested the 2021 Equity Audit.
