Audio By Carbonatix
On March 29, the conservative majority of the Douglas County Board of Education formally approved the contract for Erin Kane, a onetime interim superintendent for the Douglas County School District, to take the position permanently following the February 4 firing of Corey Wise. Kane, who’d been contacted about her interest in the job even before Wise’s dismissal, was chosen for the post on March 22 over Danny Winsor, the only other finalist.
But information obtained by the advocacy group DougCo Collective through a Colorado Open Records Act request reveals that Winsor was the overwhelming choice of community members who offered feedback during the abbreviated superintendent search process. As a result, the DougCo Collective charges that the “newly elected Board of Education directors” – board president Mike Peterson and colleagues Becky Myers, Christy Williams and Kaylee Winegar – “ignored community input when voting for a new superintendent.”
The events that led to Wise’s ouster and Kane’s hiring have been controversial from the start. In late January, veteran board members David Ray, Elizabeth Hanson and Susan Meek went public with the charge that Wise had been told he could either resign or be sacked by their colleagues; that revelation was followed by a staff sickout and student demonstrations, and prompted both a lawsuit alleging violations of Colorado Open Meetings Law (COML) and the subsequent granting of a preliminary injunction that prohibited determining policy through multiple one-on-one meetings outside of public view. Ray wound up boycotting the March 29 meeting to finalize Kane’s contract; he described the session as the “culmination of a series of unethical and unacceptable practices. These include the wrongful termination of the former superintendent, a deeply flawed selection process, and decisions/discussions that were made outside of the public eye.”
During the March 22 Board of Education meeting, Ray supported tapping Winsor as superintendent, in order to prove that the board was capable of working together and had considered input from a wide variety of sources. Along the way, he said that the majority of public comments received by the district backed Winsor.
The feedback obtained by the DougCo Collective, which describes itself as “a newly formed local nonprofit 501(c)4 focused on educating the community on public education issues that impact the district,” confirms this last claim. The information shows that many of the participants considered Winsor to be a legitimate candidate, as opposed to someone put forward simply to make it seem that the Peterson bloc hadn’t already decided on Kane, and were impressed by his performance during a public forum staged during the superintendent search.
Here’s how the DougCo Collective breaks down the more than 1,300 responses received:
Sample comments about Winsor: “So much heart! I could feel his passion and determination to do well in this job. He was very knowledgeable of many different systems/necessary action items. Completely impressed with his qualifications and successes. Very excited to hear more from him.” “He’s extremely knowledgeable in the inner workings of DCSD.” “He is qualified and could help bridge the divide. Winsor doesn’t appear to be following any national political agendas.”
Kane generated plenty of positive impressions, too, as evidenced by takes such as “Good speaker and knowledgeable of processes/systems,” “She is very well spoken and a lot more knowledgeable and qualified than I initially was told and knew” and “To be honest, I listed to her interview and did not want to like her based on rumors I’d heard, but wow, she was so well-spoken and knowledgeable about the school district. She really gets DCSD’s challenges and her passion for the staff, students and families came across. Definitely a strong candidate.”
But more than a third of the comments about Kane fell along these lines: “I believe Ms. Kane would be capable, yet I do not believe she is the best option for DCSD,” “Not suitable – follow the money,” “I did not have a positive impression,” “I don’t want this Erin Kane getting hired in this rigged…sham of a process as Superintendent!” and “Fake. Not qualified. Not trustworthy.”
The Douglas County School District hasn’t yet responded to Westword‘s request for comment on this data, but the home page of its website is currently dominated by a photo of Kane and a March 31 letter from her in which she attempts to convince critics to give her a chance. Here it is:
Dear DCSD Families,
Good morning. My name is Erin Kane, and beginning today I will be leading and serving as your Superintendent. I am truly honored to be back in the role of Superintendent, and am looking forward to connecting with each of you – those I have had the honor to get to know previously, and those who I haven’t met yet.
First, I want to sincerely thank Andy Abner and Danelle Hiatt for serving as the school district’s acting superintendents over the past couple of months. Andy and Danelle stepped up to fill a big need on short notice. I am extremely grateful that they were willing to share their expertise and I recognize the additional time they dedicated over the past six weeks. I look forward to working with Andy, Danelle, and the entire district leadership team.
Now a little bit about me. Both my husband and I are Colorado natives. We have lived in Douglas County for over 22 years and raised our three children, now all college-aged, in this community. I hold a master’s degree in public administration, along with a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics and computer science, from the University of Colorado. For the first 10 years of my adult life, I worked in the software industry (data science) in development and management. When my children were very young, I left my full-time job to stay home and during that time, driven by a passion for STEM (which wasn’t even an acronym yet) education in the early grades, I helped start a Douglas County public charter school, American Academy. That choice completely changed the course of my career and ignited in me a passion for education. I served as the Executive Director of American Academy for many years, ultimately growing it to serve almost 3,000 students across three campuses in preschool through eighth grade. I also had the great pleasure of serving as Interim Superintendent for our school district from 2016-2018. These experiences have made me a fierce advocate for our kids, our wonderful school district, and ALL of our awesome public schools.
I recognize that our students, families, teachers, staff, and leaders have been through a lot over the last two years – we have never seen challenges like this in public education and I know we are all exhausted. I am incredibly proud of how our schools, staff, and families persevered through it all, always keeping our kids in focus. I recognize that our community is still facing conflict and division. However, as I listen carefully to what everyone is saying, I truly believe that we are much closer together than we think. Each of us wants what is best for every one of our 64,000 students. We all want DCSD to be the very best place to work and go to school. While we may have differing ideas and viewpoints on how to get there – I truly believe if we start with that common ground we can, and will, come together.
I am committed to starting this journey by visiting with and listening to teachers, district leaders, staff, parents, students, and community members. I will visit as many schools, district workplaces, and community groups as I can and provide opportunities for me to listen to YOU – our DCSD community.
I will be sharing my 100-day plan with the Board of Education on April 12. My focus will be on the following priorities:
• Bridging the divide in our community and refocusing on what we all have in common – the desire to provide the brightest futures to each of our 64,000 students.
• Fostering a positive culture and stability for our staff, students, families, and community.
• Providing competitive pay to our teachers and to all of our staff. Securing additional funding will be a key component for this priority and something I will work tirelessly to do.
• Creating the best, brightest academic future for our students and taking care of their social emotional well-being. This includes focusing on the needs of all of our students and understanding that early literacy is key.
• Ensuring that every one of our students graduates high school with a pathway to success – not just for a job, but for a career. Whether that’s going to college, entering the military, or directly entering the workforce via the trades, high-tech, etc. via our Career and Technical Education and concurrent enrollment offerings.
I am very proud of this school district, and I am humbled and honored to serve all of you as Superintendent. I know that parents, building leaders, and teachers are all dedicated to ensuring our students have an incredible educational experience. I am confident that by working together we will ensure that our school district continues to be a model of high achievement and excellence in this state and the country.
Thank you in advance for your partnership and your support. I truly look forward to, once again, partnering with our families, staff and community members to ensure a bright future for all of our children.
Sincerely,
Erin Kane
Superintendent
Douglas County School District
