Over the past several weeks, I have heard consistent concern from parents, staff, and community members. They want greater transparency and clearer communication from District 11 leadership. In a time of significant enrollment shifts, financial pressures, and operational change, public trust matters deeply. But transparency also requires a commitment to facts, context, and honest representation of district decisions, especially when complex issues are reduced to slogans, social media graphics, or incomplete narratives. 

This week, picketers outside District 11 schools distributed flyers accusing the district of sabotaging public education, abandoning students, and prioritizing politics and profit over children. The flyers painted District 11 as corrupt, reckless, and hostile to public education. Many of the claims ignore publicly available facts, board votes, Colorado law, and the actual work happening inside our schools. 

One flyer claimed charter schools are “occupying our public schools without board approval” and accused district leaders of redirecting taxpayer dollars to “for-profit charter schools.” Colorado charter schools are public schools operating under public oversight and state academic standards. Schools operating within District 11 facilities were approved through public processes and board action. Colorado law also prohibits for-profit charter schools. 

Critics have also suggested D11 is dismantling public education through cuts to arts, music, PE, recess, and support staff. The reality is that arts, music, PE, and recess remain part of the D11 student experience, while the district has intentionally concentrated reductions in central administration to protect classroom-facing roles and services. D11’s budget is debated publicly, audited independently, and approved through open board meetings. Over the past three years, the district has reduced nearly $10 million from central administration and redirected resources toward schools and student-facing services. 

The narrative also frames enrollment adjustments and school consolidation discussions as evidence that D11 is “closing public schools.” What it ignores is that District 11 has lost thousands of students over the last decade. Every district facing declining enrollment must confront difficult questions about facilities, staffing, and sustainability. Responsible stewardship means addressing those realities transparently through public meetings, community input, and board votes. 

I’m not opposed to criticism of D11. Public institutions should face scrutiny. Accountability matters, but lately, many public conversations have shifted toward assuming malicious intent behind difficult decisions. If a district shares underutilized space, it is accused of privatization. If it restructures support systems, it is accused of abandoning children. If it expands school choice, it is dismantling public education. 

Rhetoric may generate outrage, but outrage is not a governance strategy. In fact, I wish the flyers said, “Let’s find a solution: Our students are only 38% proficient in reading,” or “How can we work together to help students who are only 29% proficient in math?” This is what we should be shouting from the rooftops. Rather than arguing past each other, let’s focus on real, measurable interventions that we, as a community, can execute to raise the academic bar for every child across District 11.  

The district already has meaningful work underway. The Middle School Accountability System (MSAS) gives us a stronger framework for tracking progress and intervention. We are also developing a K-3 early warning system to identify struggling students earlier, before small learning gaps become long-term barriers. Students succeed when teachers, parents, schools, and the community work together around measurable goals and genuine interventions. Every decision we make should answer a simple question: How will this help students learn, grow, and succeed? 

Real transparency means honest conversations about student performance, financial realities, enrollment trends, school safety, school choice, and the effectiveness of the decisions we make on behalf of children. District 11 is not perfect. No large public institution is. But our community deserves conversations grounded in evidence, context, and intellectual honesty. We can debate policy without demonizing one another. We can advocate passionately without abandoning facts.  

We can be transparent and truthful.  

Our community has enough passion to fill sidewalks with protest signs. Imagine what could happen if we brought that same energy to improving literacy, strengthening math achievement, developing and supporting teachers, and helping every child in District 11 succeed.  

Dr. Michelle Ruehl is a veteran, educator, and mother.  She waselected to the Colorado Springs District 11 Board of Education in 2025.