Woodland Park school board appoints new member, community members hold protest

WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (KRDO) -- Woodland Park School District teachers and parents gathered outside the district building Wednesday to protest the school board's leadership.

The group gathered at 5:30 p.m., ahead of the 6:00 meeting where the school board interviewed three candidates publicly for an open board member meeting.

The three candidates up for the position were Don Zaleski, Seth Bryant, and Mick Bates. After the hours-long meeting, Mick Bates was appointed to the board.

The decision to appoint Bates sparked an outcry from parents and teachers who have been speaking out against the school board for months.

Two weeks ago, the school board approved the implementation of the "American Birthright" social studies standard.

Parents and community members gathered at the school board meeting to protest the change, but the Woodland Park school board passed it into action unanimously.

According to the Civics Alliance website, American Birthright is a "national coalition of organizations and citizens dedicated to preserving and improving America’s civics education and preventing the subornation of civics education to political recruitment tools.”

However, community members voiced concerns that this would impact student social studies curriculum and prevent students from participating in anti-racism conversations and activities.

Former Woodland Park High School teacher Sara Lee says that in her eyes, the newly implemented teaching standard and the school board's appointment of Ken Witt as the interim superintendent, are examples of the district's trajectory toward an increasingly conservative identity.