Douglas County schools ordered to turn over records request targeting teachers who walked-out
The name of the person who made a Colorado Open Records request for the names of Douglas County School District teachers who participated in a sick-out in February has been released by the district.
Mike Kane, a law partner of KHOW radio host Dan Caplis, made the request, he said, after he heard Caplis call for someone to find out the names.
The sick-out on Feb. 3 came as teachers attended a rally in support of embattled Superintendent Corey Wise, who was fired the next night by the school board.
In a statement, Kane said, “I submitted the open records request for my own use as a parent of children within the Douglas County School District. As a favor to and at the request of the District, I withdrew the submission and never received any of the names.”
Media outlets, including The Gazette, subsequently submitted a public records request to learn who made the request for the teachers’ names.
When Kane told the district to withhold his public records request, the school district denied media outlets’ request by saying the initial request is no longer a public record.
This week, a Douglas County judge rejected the district’s contention, forcing the immediate release of the requested information on Kane’s filing.
The judge’s ruling came after Kyle Clark, a news anchor at 9News in Denver, sued the district. He and other media representatives argued that their CORA request occurred before the district decided to withdraw Kane’s request.
This meant, First Amendment attorney Steven Zansberg argued in an April 29 hearing, that it could not be changed from a public record to no longer being a public record.
The school district issued a statement Thursday defending their argument that “a withdrawn CORA request is not a public record,” but added “that it is important to protect our teachers and staff who may have been absent on Feb. 3.”
Students begin to walk out of Highlands Ranch High School Monday afternoon during a staged protest of the firing of Douglas County’s superintendent Corey Wise. (Sara Hertwig/for The Denver Gazette)
Evelyn Wardell, 17, cheers along with fellow students during a walkout at Highlands Ranch High School Monday afternoon to protest the firing of Douglas County’s superintendent Corey Wise. (Sara Hertwig/for The Denver Gazette)
Students at Highlands Ranch High School cheer and scream as a car drives by, honking in support of their protest over the firing of Douglas County’s superintendent Corey Wise, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (Sara Hertwig/for The Denver Gazette)
Haley Allert, 18, holds a sign saying “Douglas County School District Deserves Better” during a walkout in February at Highlands Ranch High School.
Students at Highlands Ranch High School stage a walkout Monday afternoon in protest of the firing of Douglas County’s superintendent Corey Wise. (Sara Hertwig/for The Denver Gazette)
Students from Highlands Ranch High School and Cresthill Middle School shout “People over politics” during a walkout in protest of the firing of Douglas County’s superintendent Corey Wise, Monday, Feb. 7, 2022. (Sara Hertwig/for The Denver Gazette)
