Dear WPHS Class of 2023

The Board of Education extends our heartfelt congratulations to each and every one of you on your remarkable achievement—graduating from high school. This is a significant milestone in your lives, and we are immensely proud of your accomplishments and dedication.

We had the privilege of attending your graduation ceremony, and it was an absolute honor to witness your achievements and celebrate this momentous occasion alongside you. Seeing the joy, excitement, and sense of accomplishment on your faces as you received your diplomas was genuinely inspiring.

Your graduation ceremony served as a testament to the dedication of our teachers, staff, administrators, and the entire school community. We are grateful for the commitment and passion that each member of the education team demonstrated in supporting your academic growth and progress.

We also want to express our deepest gratitude to your families, guardians, and friends who have supported your education. Their presence at the graduation ceremony was a reflection of the love, encouragement, and sacrifices they have made to help you reach this milestone.

As you move forward into the next phase of your lives, we encourage you to reflect on the knowledge, experiences, and relationships you gained while in WPSD. Carry on the lessons learned, the friendships made, and the memories created.

Congratulations, Class of 2023! We are honored to have been a part of your educational journey, and we wish you all the success and happiness in your future endeavors.

WPSD Board of Education

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Short Term Rentals, Woodland Park, Citizens Initiative

Walk outside and look around. Any single family house you see could become a Short-Term Rental. City Council is doing everything possible to make sure that happens.

Let Woodland Park Voters decide where investor owned STRs (lodging businesses) are allowed, not the personal interests or opinions of a few City Council members.

837 Voters stopped City Council from allowing Lodging Businesses in any house in Woodland Park via the first successful Referendum Petition in recent history.

It’s time for the Citizens to have their voices heard again. We need 1,018 Voters to sign the Petition by August 21st. The Citizens should decide how to solve our STR problem.

If you do not want STR lodging businesses operating in our residential neighborhoods, sign the Citizens Initiative Petition and have your vote heard in an upcoming Special Election.

You can link to Our Common Sense Ordinance via pncwp.org.

Petitioners are covering neighborhoods, but to make sure you have a chance to sign, our Walk-In Signing Location is Woodland Professional Building, Suite 160C, 400 W Midland Avenue, large building between Café Leo and Fiesta Mexicana. Enter the Main Door, turn right down the hall, then left, last office on the right, Suite 160C.

Walk-In Signing hours are M-F, 10am-1pm and Saturdays from 10am — noon, or contact us via phone at 719-398-1872 or email, info@pncwp.org; we will bring the Petition to you or just answer any questions you might have to help decide where STR businesses should be allowed to operate.

Jerry Penland, Woodland Park

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Tax grab needs to stop

Real residential property tax reform is long overdue. Property tax should be based on what I paid for my home and not linked to what someone else paid for a home. We all know how inflated prices and bidding wars have contributed to this problem. The only increases to my valuation would be for instance I added a room or swimming pool.

Buyers and sellers would continue to determine what a house is sold for but it should not mean money out of my pocket.

I am contacting my state legislators again and am asking other homeowners to please, please, please do the same. I said contacting them again because I previously contacted 14 of them by email and letters and received no response of any kind.

This open-ended tax grab needs to stop!!

John Olsen, Woodland Park

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Local teachers know and reflect the values of our community

In the May 31 Courier, an article titled “Colorado teachers union adopts anti-capitalist polemic” was included. Our local teachers association, WPEA, has a 40+ year history of working collaboratively with the school board for the betterment of both students and educators, amicably and productively. All our work is focused on local education issues, our local students, and Woodland Park teachers.

When CEA released its resolution regarding capitalism, WPEA members collaborated to release our own statement, May 9th: “Recently, the delegate assembly of the Colorado Education Association released a resolution regarding capitalism. The Woodland Park Education Association, which is made up solely of local teachers and school employees, is governed locally by its own elected board. WPEA does not support the CEA resolution as it does not reflect the values of our members or our local community. We support and benefit from our local economy. Our schools are supported through our local sales tax initiative, which was passed with strong support in 2016, and was the result of a collaborative effort between our school board, teachers, parents, and community. As an association, we are focused on working to create the best possible schools for our students and the educators who work tirelessly to support them.”

I encourage our community to talk directly with Woodland Park teachers to learn about this issue. Students, parents, teachers, and the school board working together, and listening and learning from each other, is the best hope we have for continued growth and success for our students.

Nate Owen, WPHS Teacher and WPEA President

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LETTERS POLICY: Letters are published on a space-available basis. Letters must be 250 words or less. Guest columns will be published, space allowing, with a firm limit of 500 words. Please email your submissions to Courier Editor Doug Fitzgerald at doug.fitzgerald@pikespeaknewspapers.com. The Courier reserves the right to edit or reject submissions, which should have the author’s name, address and phone number, for verification purposes. The 30-day rule applies in times of high-letter volume. It means that no one person will have more than one letter published in a month’s time.