Douglas County Board of Education: An Overview

The Douglas County Board of Education plays a crucial role in shaping the educational landscape of Douglas County. This article provides an overview of the board, its functions, key events, and recent developments.

Formation and Structure

The Douglas County School District Re. was formed in 1958 through the consolidation of 17 smaller school districts, adding the designation "Re." to its name. The Douglas County School District Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. Four seats on the board are up for general election on November 4, 2025.

Superintendent Leadership

The superintendent serves as the chief executive officer of the Douglas County School District, responsible for the day-to-day administration and implementation of board policies. Several individuals have held this position in recent years:

Erin Kane: Appointed superintendent on March 22, 2022. She also served as interim superintendent from 2016 to 2018.
Corey Wise: Served as interim superintendent from October 9, 2020, and was appointed to the full position in April 2021. The board voted to terminate Wise's contract on February 4, 2022, in a 4-3 vote.
Thomas S. Tucker: Superintendent from 2018 to 2020.
Elizabeth Celania-Fagen: Superintendent from 2010 to 2016.

Key Issues and Controversies

The Douglas County School District has faced several significant issues and controversies in recent years:

School Board Politics and Elections

School board politics in Douglas County have been fractious. In 2021, conservatives gained a narrow 4-3 board majority and undertook controversial actions, including ousting Superintendent Corey Wise and revising the equity policy, sparking protests from teachers and students. In 2023, candidates endorsed by the Douglas County Democratic Party swept the school board races. None of the three remaining conservatives elected four years ago are seeking reelection to their seats in 2025.

Recall Attempt (2021)

An effort to recall four of the seven members of the Douglas County School District Board of Education in Colorado did not go to a vote in 2021. The recall effort started after the board voted in January 2021 to delay a return to in-person instruction for middle and high school students in the district. The district initially planned to move students to a hybrid model of both in-person and online instruction on January 25, 2021. All students in the district moved to online instruction on November 12, 2020, due to a rising number of cases of the coronavirus in the district.

Choice Scholarship Program (Voucher Program)

The Douglas County School District's Choice Scholarship Program, a voucher program that provided publicly-funded scholarships for students to attend private and religious schools, has been a subject of legal challenges and controversy.

The program was first blocked by the Denver District Court after Taxpayers for Public Education filed a lawsuit against its implementation. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Colorado also challenged the program.
The school district appealed the decision to the Colorado Supreme Court, which ruled the program unconstitutional due to the Blaine Amendment in the Colorado Constitution.
Supreme Court told the Colorado Supreme Court to reconsider its 2015 decision.
On June 26, 2017, however, it ruled in Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer that churches could not be excluded from state programs that were open to other charitable organizations when benefits met a secular need, such as repaving a playground.
The newcomers elected in the district's school board election on November 7, 2017, joined the former governing minority of the board to vote to end the voucher program on December 4, 2017. The motion also directed the school district to end the legal case.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Douglas County School District's Choice Scholarship Program violated the state constitution. The decision on June 29, 2015, overturned the Court of Appeals' 2013 ruling that public schools could use public funds to send students to private school.
On February 28, 2013, the Colorado Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's 2011 ruling that blocked Douglas County's Choice Scholarship Program. The court said the voucher program did not violate the state constitution.
On March 15, 2011, the Douglas County Board of Education unanimously approved the Choice Scholarship Program, a voucher pilot program that provided parents with a check from the school district to pay for participating private schools. The program took effect during the 2011-2012 school year. Under the pilot program, 500 students could receive up to 75 percent of per-student state funds, and Douglas County School District would keep the remaining 25 percent. This amounted to a maximum $4,575 per student for tuition at their choice of private schools.
Several organizations, including the ACLU and the parent group Taxpayers for Public Education, filed lawsuits against the program on June 21, 2011. The ACLU's lawsuit argued that the program violated the Colorado Constitution's religious liberty provision (at the time the suit was filed, 14 of the 19 private schools approved by the program were religious).
On August 12, 2011, a district court judge in Denver issued a permanent injunction that halted the voucher program while the lawsuits were argued. Judge Michael Martinez blocked the voucher program in August, saying it was a disservice to the public interest for taxpayers to pay tuition for religious schools. Martinez ruled the program violated the state's constitution and school-financing act.

Teacher Compensation and Labor Relations

Teacher compensation and labor relations have also been points of contention in the Douglas County School District:

On February 15, 2013, the Douglas County Federation of Teachers and four teachers filed a lawsuit against the district for closing a sick leave bank program that allowed teachers to donate one sick day a year to be used by other teachers with long-term illnesses that had run out of sick days. The program was closed in 2012 after the district and union were unable to reach a collective bargaining agreement and the standing agreement expired.
On April 21, 2020, the district announced that it would settle out of court, agreeing to pay $2.56 million to teachers and their lawyers.
In October 2012, the district implemented a pilot teacher pay program based on performance and merit. The new system was funded with $4 million supported by a voter referendum. Under the new plan, teachers' starting pay would be determined by the number of comparable applicants for a position and the number of openings. It also eliminated knowledge-level advancement, where teachers received raises for continuing education.
On September 5, 2012, the school board unanimously voted to change board policy, making it unlawful to collect union dues through teacher paychecks or to pay teachers for conducting union business. The board previously considered putting the decision up to voters through three ballot measures. The measures would have prohibited the district from collecting union dues from paychecks, paying teachers for conducting union business, and bargaining collectively with the union. The change in policy meant the district did not participate in further collective bargaining with the union. The previous agreement negotiated by the district and the Douglas County Federation of Teachers expired on June 30, 2012.

Restrictions on Media Access

The district has faced scrutiny regarding its policies on media access to board meetings:

Filmmaker Brian Malone was removed from a Board of Education meeting on August 7, 2012. Malone was told to leave after moving his camera and tripod out of a designated filming area and installing it where he had been allowed to film in the past. Malone, who was a district parent, was ordered to request permission to record audio and video on district property at least five days in advance.

Upcoming Elections (2025)

Four seats on the Douglas County School District Board of Education are up for general election on November 4, 2025. These elections are crucial for determining the future direction of the district.

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School District Information

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Douglas County School District had 3,588.93 full-time classroom teachers. The Douglas County School District operates 89 schools.

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