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Douglas County School District in Turmoil
Teachers, parents and students of Douglas County, Colorado were out in force on a cold afternoon to protest what many described as a failure on the Board of Education and District Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Fagen to ensure students in Douglas County are receiving all the support they need to survive in the DCSD.
Douglas County Federation of Teachers President, Brenda Smith who represents over 2,000 certified and support staff for the Douglas County School District related that if the current policies of the Board of Education and Dr. Fagen continue she, many of the teachers and parents that were present on the corner of University Blvd and Highlands Ranch Pkwy fear that the future of the DCSD and their students will suffer.
Ms. Smith stated that since Dr. Fagen has taken over there has been a 42% increase in teacher turn over. A statistic she said is directly hurting the students. Ms. Smith also related that DCSD is currently sitting on an 83 million dollar fund balance. Yet school programs, like art and music, are being cut and one-on-one face time for High School students and teachers has been eliminated.
Some parents out protesting, who did not want their photographs taken or names mentioned for fear of retaliation against their children, wanted to know what is the School Board doing with all that money? One parent stated they keep increasing the administrations salaries and they keep cutting programs. If this keeps up they said Douglas County will have the highest paid School Superintendent and she will have no one to supervise.
Ms. Smith stated that last year her organization lost Collective Bargaining and with that teachers have lost the ability to add their input to school programs and curriculum. “We have lost the ability for our experience and creative input into the process, where will that leave our students?”
Douglas County Federation of Teachers President, Brenda Smith who represents over 2,000 certified and support staff for the Douglas County School District related that if the current policies of the Board of Education and Dr. Fagen continue she, many of the teachers and parents that were present on the corner of University Blvd and Highlands Ranch Pkwy fear that the future of the DCSD and their students will suffer.
Ms. Smith stated that since Dr. Fagen has taken over there has been a 42% increase in teacher turn over. A statistic she said is directly hurting the students. Ms. Smith also related that DCSD is currently sitting on an 83 million dollar fund balance. Yet school programs, like art and music, are being cut and one-on-one face time for High School students and teachers has been eliminated.
Some parents out protesting, who did not want their photographs taken or names mentioned for fear of retaliation against their children, wanted to know what is the School Board doing with all that money? One parent stated they keep increasing the administrations salaries and they keep cutting programs. If this keeps up they said Douglas County will have the highest paid School Superintendent and she will have no one to supervise.
Ms. Smith stated that last year her organization lost Collective Bargaining and with that teachers have lost the ability to add their input to school programs and curriculum. “We have lost the ability for our experience and creative input into the process, where will that leave our students?”
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