The Woodland Park School District RE-2 Board of Education held a town hall meeting on Dec. 5 and a special meeting on Dec. 7, where they named Kenneth Witt as the sole finalist for the interim superintendent position.

Board President David Rusterholtz opened the meeting by asking for an amendment to the executive session declaration, adding two sections — seeking legal advice on the search process and the Open Meetings Law rules on confidentiality for applicants who aren’t chosen as finalists.

With the amendment approved, the board went into executive session. When they came back, board members approved a resolution to announce the finalists. Board Vice President David Illingworth II named Witt as his choice.

“We had 10 highly qualified applicants,” he said. “I spoke to Ken and some of the others, but Ken stood out. He has clear experience as the executive director of the Education reEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Education Services. He’s decisive and has vision.”

Illingworth also spoke of Witt’s experience in cybersecurity, as a former Jefferson County School District Board of Education president, and about his leadership abilities.

Directors Cassie Kimbrell and Suzanne Patterson echoed Illingworth’s comments. Rusterholtz, however, said he had been planning to name a different finalist. However, seeing that his choice would likely be outvoted, Rusterholtz refrained from naming another person because of privacy issues.

The board voted unanimously to name Witt as the finalist.

“This doesn’t mean this is a done deal,” Illingworth said. “There are several critical steps left for us to take. We still have the interview that will include members of the District Accountability Committee. There will be questions, and something might come out that will change our minds.

He added, “If we don’t hire Ken, we can start again in January. We have Tina and Del to fall back on,” referring to current Co-Interim Superintendents Tina Cassens and Del Garrick.

Rusterholtz took time to praise Cassens and Garrick for their hard work thus far this school year, rebuilding the district’s culture of trust and solving problems.

With the finalist named, the board moved on to declaring a board vacancy. As of Dec. 7, the board has 60 days to appoint someone to fill former board Secretary Chris Austin’s term, which would have ended next November. Austin submitted his resignation prior to the board’s Nov. 30 meeting. Illingworth and Kimbrell’s terms will also expire in November.

Residents residing in the district have until Jan. 13 to submit letters of intent to serve. The board must appoint a new at-large director by Feb. 5.

About Ken Witt

Witt, who is executive director for Education reEnvisioned BOCES in Colorado Springs, is a Colorado native. He and his wife, Deb, have four children. BOCES helped Merit Academy become a contract school when a previous WPSD board of education turned down its initial charter-school application.

According to Ballotpedia.org, Witt was elected to the Jeffco Board of Education in 2013 and served for two years. As board president, he faced a successful recall in 2015. Two other board members were also recalled at that time.

“The recall was sparked after Witt and fellow conservative members John Newkirk and Julie Williams attempted to change the district’s history curriculum. Critics say they wanted schools to teach a sanitized version of U.S. history that promoted patriotism and downplayed civil rights issues,” states an Oct. 8, 2015 article by Colorado Public Radio, “JeffCo School Board President Files Ethics Complaint Against Himself.” Recall proponents claimed Witt, Newkirk and Williams broke open meeting laws. “Witt said the accusations were ‘baseless,’” CPR reported.

According to his bio on the Education reEnvisioned Board of Cooperative Education Services website, Witt “led Newmont Mining’s global security and compliance office as Information Security Officer” and has held positions in other companies in security, technology development, and management.

The bio states Witt also “founded No Waitlists, an organization that brings charter schools the help they need (legal, marketing, applications, etc.) to have the best chance to get authorized and open in Colorado.”

According to Witt’s LinkedIn page, he has a bachelor’s degree in math from University of Colorado Denver and a bachelor’s in Christian Studies, Theology from Church on the Rock Bible Institute.

Town Hall comments

At the Dec. 5 town hall, commenters were asked to speak about the qualities they wanted to see in a superintendent. The qualities mentioned most often were integrity, courage and strength.

Matt Gawlowski asked the board to hire someone who has the courage to do what’s right and the strength to hold the board accountable.

“The superintendent is the last check and balance,” he said.

Kitten Walker said she wants a superintendent who understands that he or she is a board employee, and who won’t try to go ahead of the board. “The superintendent must have the ability to unify the staff and the strength to hold staff accountable for insubordination,” she said.

“The superintendent needs to have the courage to make necessary changes and the humility to seek knowledge about Woodland Park from staff and administrators.”

Gateway Elementary School parent Mary Wood said the board has already spent $275,000 to let former Superintendent Mathew Neal out of his contract.

“School is not a business — if you try to make a profit, we lose,” she said. “We need someone who will support teachers. … Is that too big to ask?”

Neal said the board has a good set of candidates and asked directors to take their time.

“Keep looking for longevity,” he said. “This partnership is a marathon, not a sprint.”

Kim Ehlers, dean of students at Summit Elementary School, said she wants someone who has experience in teaching and administration, someone with institutional knowledge.

“The new superintendent needs to continue to work with Co-Interim Superintendents Tina Cassens and Del Garrick,” she said. “We need someone who will continue to build an atmosphere of trust.”

Merit Academy Charter School founder and board member John Dill said the superintendent should continue to offer parents more choices. “Innovation expands our customer base,” he said. “We need to keep kids in the center of our decisions.”

Joseph Marney pointed out that the town hall was held after the application period closed.

He asked the board to keep Cassens and Garrick in place and seek a permanent superintendent.

“We need a protector of the marginalized,” he added.

Merit Academy Board President Nicole Waggoner asked for someone who will work with the academy, and who aligns with the RE-2 school board and its vision.

Ken Witt

Courtesy photo