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The quiet takeover: What early oaths and a Friday ultimatum meant for Douglas County Schools
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

The quiet takeover: What early oaths and a Friday ultimatum meant for Douglas County Schools

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice Douglas County’s newly elected school board majority took office days early and outside public view after a week of private oaths, a Friday deadline, and a dispute over whether a policy on the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) should be added to the December 2 meeting agenda. Emails, texts, and public comments released since then show conflicting explanations from the incoming directors and intensifying concerns about transparency. A Sudden Shift in Board Composition Outgoing Board President Christy Williams said she first learned something was wrong on November 26. “I was notified by the superintendent that Tony Ryan had gone to get sworn in the day prior to that, and I said, ‘so what does that mean for Beck...
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More Colorado Teachers Opt Out of Union Dues and Politics
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The Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

More Colorado Teachers Opt Out of Union Dues and Politics

By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Gazette When a school district’s union speaks, it’s often billed as the voice of the teachers. Not so fast. Out of Colorado’s 179 school districts, fewer than 40 are formally “unionized” through collective-bargaining, or “master” agreements, in which unions negotiate pay, benefits and other matters on behalf of all teachers. Some districts agree to memorandums of understanding similar to collective bargaining. The majority of districts aren’t unionized at all. Sure, many districts have union affiliates, but they function more like clubs. And many teachers join because they’re led to believe they need the liability policies unions provide. It’s worth noting that comparable policies offered by the Professional Association of Colora...
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Ganahl’s “DougCo Dirty Dozen” puts union power on trial ahead of school board elections
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Local, Top Stories

Ganahl’s “DougCo Dirty Dozen” puts union power on trial ahead of school board elections

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice If the union were grading its own influence, the American Federation of Teachers would be giving itself an A+. Parents, on the other hand, are handing out detention slips—and Heidi Ganahl’s “DougCo Dirty Dozen” is the roll call. With ballots out and school board races underway, Heidi Ganahl has posted six “Douglas County Dirty Dozen” videos asking one question—who sets priorities inside local classrooms? Her focus is the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and four Douglas County candidates backed by $2,500 donations from AFT Colorado each—proof, she says, that national politics are steering local schools. “These aren’t local debates anymore,” Ganahl said. “The same union driving politics in Washington is writing the playbook for our school...
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Beyond the Rhetoric: Choosing Reason Over Ideology in Colorado’s School Elections
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Beyond the Rhetoric: Choosing Reason Over Ideology in Colorado’s School Elections

By Laureen Boll | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice If you’re reading this article with ease, consider yourself lucky. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 28% of adults in the US have low literacy skills, struggling with tasks like understanding complex texts or making inferences. Sadly, that’s a more favorable statistic than what we see in Colorado’s youth. Per the latest Colorado Department of Education statistics, 42% of 11th grade students have low literacy skills.  Our public education system is failing too many kids. School board elections in Colorado are happening November 4th, which begs the question: should we continue to fight for public education and its mission to prepare students for active citizenship, economic self-sufficiency, and pers...
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Overbeck: DougCo school board Conservative leadership delivers results – academic gains and parent power
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Approved, Commentary, Local, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Overbeck: DougCo school board Conservative leadership delivers results – academic gains and parent power

By Joy Overbeck | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice As soon as they were elected in 2021, the four new Conservative Douglas County School District (DCSD) directors were faced with the major issues of the time: the Covid pandemic, and the twisted woke movement to reduce parents’ influence by infecting students with leftist political ideologies.     They began honoring their campaign promises on day one by keeping the Douglas County schools open, knowing that in-person classes instead of ineffective online lessons would lead to solid improvements in student achievement.  They also ended the useless Covid masking and vaccines dictated by the previous leftist board, who had sued the health department to keep kids masked and schools closed.   ...
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Douglas Co. leaders weigh which three Highlands Ranch schools to close while prioritizing safety, continuity
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Douglas Co. leaders weigh which three Highlands Ranch schools to close while prioritizing safety, continuity

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun As Douglas County School District leaders and board members weigh closing three schools in Highlands Ranch, they’ll prioritize keeping together groups of students and staff from individual schools, ensuring student safety in traffic zones and analyzing current and future enrollment projections. Those are among the parameters the board approved Tuesday to guide them in determining which schools to close beginning in the 2026-27 school year from a list of 16 schools. READ THE FULL STORY AT THE COLORADO SUN
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U.S. Department of Justice investigates ‘seclusion and restraint’ of disabled students
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Approved, CBS Colorado, Local

U.S. Department of Justice investigates ‘seclusion and restraint’ of disabled students

By Olivia Young | CBS Colorado A sweeping federal investigation into the Douglas County School District has hundreds of unearthed allegations of systemic discrimination and mistreatment, with families and advocates calling for urgent reform to protect students from racial harassment and harmful practices like "seclusion" and "restraint." CBS News Colorado is learning more about the complaints that prompted a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the Douglas County School District. Investigators from the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department were in Colorado last week, looking into complaints against DCSD "regarding potential discrimination, harassment, or bullying on the basis of race, national origin, religion, or disability, and the district's use of seclusion ...
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Douglas County School District to close three schools in 2026 through consolidation plan
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Approved, denvergazette.com, Local

Douglas County School District to close three schools in 2026 through consolidation plan

By Noah Festenstein | Denver Gazette Amid a statewide decline in student enrollment and other Colorado school closures, the Douglas County School District plans to close up to three of its elementary schools in the near future, according to the district. The school district is considering "pairing" and "consolidating" six elementary schools within Highlands Ranch — a municipality with more than enough schools but not enough students, according to district officials. DCSD officials said a decision on what elementary school will close is to be made in April following community feedback and public meetings. Closures are slated to occur in August 2026. READ THE FIULL STORY AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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