Jeffco Public Schools recall, Colorado (2015)

• District 1
  • Incumbent, Julie Williams
  • Brad Rupert
• District 2
  • Incumbent, John Newkirk
  • Matt Dhieux
  • Susan Harmon
• District 3
  • Kim Johnson
  • Ali Lasell
• District 4
  • Tori Merritts
  • Amanda Stevens
• District 5
  • Incumbent, Ken Witt
  • Regan Benson
  • Ron Mitchell
  • Paula Noonan

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This page is about the 2015 school board recall election for Jeffco Public Schools in Colorado. For coverage on the district's two seats up for general election in 2015, click here.

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Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education recall
Officeholders
Julie Williams John Newkirk Ken Witt
Recall status
Recall approved
Recall election date
November 3, 2015
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2015 Recalls in Colorado Colorado recall laws School board recalls Recall reports

An effort to recall three members of the Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education in Colorado was on the ballot on November 3, 2015. The recall successfully ousted the majority bloc on the board, members Julie Williams, John Newkirk and Ken Witt from Districts 1, 2 and 5, respectively.

Ballotpedia's Senior Elections Analyst, Brittany Clingen, recaps the results of the historic Jeffco Public Schools elections and recall elections.

A total of six candidates filed to replace the three incumbents up for recall. Brad Rupert ran for the seat held by Williams. Matt Dhieux and Susan Harmon campaigned for Newkirk's seat, and Regan Benson, Ron Mitchell and Paula Noonan ran for Witt's seat. Rupert, Harmon and Mitchell ran together as a slate called "The Clean Slate." General election candidates Ali Lasell and Amanda Stevens were also part of that slate. All five members of the slate won election to the board. The new members were sworn into office on November 19, 2015.

The recall election shared the ballot with the general election for two seats on the school board. Neither incumbent filed to retain their seats in that election, guaranteeing that at least two new members would join the board. Because the recall for Williams, Newkirk and Witt was approved, the district saw all new members join board—something that has never before happened in the district. For more information on Jeffco's general election, check out our coverage here.

Jeffco Public Schools: 2015 Election Results
	District 1	District 2	District 3	District 4	District 5
Recall targets	Julie Williams	John Newkirk			Ken Witt
The Clean Slate	Brad Rupert	Susan Harmon	Ali Lasell	Amanda Stevens	Ron Mitchell
Non-slate candidates		Matt Dhieux	Kim Johnson	Tori Merritts	Regan Benson
				Paula Noonan
Pre-election board:	Julie Williams	John Newkirk	Jill Fellman	Lesley Dahlkemper	Ken Witt
Winners:	Brad Rupert	Susan Harmon	Ali Lasell	Amanda Stevens	Ron Mitchell

The recall petition was filed by Jeffco United for Action. The group accused Williams, Newkirk and Witt of attempting to censor AP U.S. history classes, pushing out over 700 district educators due to their new policies, wasting "millions of taxpayer dollars," violating open meeting laws, limiting public input at board meetings, bullying students and parents and releasing private student information without consent. In response, all three board members highlighted what they saw as positive changes they had helped bring about in the district, including raising teacher salaries, making union negotiations transparent, providing free full-day kindergarten to families in need and bringing greater equality in how the district funds its schools.

The recall was approved for the ballot after supporters led by the group Jeffco United for Action reportedly submitted twice as many signatures as needed. It was initially unclear if the recall would be able to be placed on the general election ballot, but the county clerk’s plan for the November date was ultimately approved by the state.

Williams recall (District 1)

Results

Julie Williams, Area 1 Board Member, Jeffco Public Schools
Result		Votes	Percentage
Recall		11,6789	64.32%
Retain		64,790	35.68%
Election results via: Jefferson County, "Official County Results," November 20, 2015

Successor candidate, Area 1 Board Member, Jeffco Public Schools
Result		Votes	Percentage
Brad Rupert		114550	100%
Election results via: Jefferson County, "Official County Results," November 20, 2015

Candidates

Julie Williams		Brad Rupert
	Incumbent Member since 2013 Healthcare professional		Graduate, Colorado State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder Attorney Member of candidate slate with Susan Harmon and Ron Mitchell

Newkirk recall (District 2)

Results

John Newkirk, Area 2 Board Member, Jeffco Public Schools
Result		Votes	Percentage
Recall		115080	63.63%
Retain		65770	36.37%
Election results via: Jefferson County, "Official County Results," November 20, 2015

Successor candidate, Area 2 Board Member, Jeffco Public Schools
Result		Votes	Percentage
Susan Harmon		96805	82.17%
Matt Dhieux		21002	17.83%
Election results via: Jefferson County, "Official County Results," November 20, 2015

Candidates

John Newkirk		Matt Dhieux		Susan Harmon
	Incumbent Member since 2013 Graduate, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Businessman		Business owner		Graduate, University of Boulder and the Santa Clara School of Law Member of candidate slate with Brad Rupert and Ron Mitchell

Witt recall (District 5)

Results

Ken Witt, Area 5 Board Member, Jeffco Public Schools
Result		Votes	Percentage
Recall		115936	64.25%
Retain		64497	35.75%
Election results via: Jefferson County, "Official County Results," November 20, 2015

Successor candidate, Area 5 Board Member, Jeffco Public Schools
Result		Votes	Percentage
Ron Mitchell		83571	69.64%
Paula Noonan		23782	19.82%
Regan Benson		12643	10.54%
Election results via: Jefferson County, "Official County Results," November 20, 2015

Candidates

Ken Witt		Regan Benson
	Incumbent Member since 2013 Graduate, University of Colorado at Denver Information technology professional		Nonprofit founder, Every Student Matters Project
Ron Mitchell		Paula Noonan
	Retired educator, Jeffco Public Schools Member of candidate slate with Brad Rupert and Susan Harmon		Jeffco school board member from 2009 to 2013 Graduate, Cornell University, University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Denver Owner and operator, Colorado Capitol Watch and Capitol Contact

Recall supporters

A group called Jeffco United for Action led the recall effort. They filed petitions with more than double the required signatures for each targeted school board member in June 2015. Before the petitions were filed, the 2014-2015 school year proved contentious. Students protested and teachers staged "sickouts" in response to new board policies on curriculum review and merit pay. For more information about these issues, check out our "Background" section.

Jeffco United for Action's petition listed additional accusations against the board, including paying the district's new superintendent more than necessary, violating open meeting laws, bullying parents and students, and pushing teachers out of the district due to the new merit pay system.

Arguments for recall

Ballot statement

The following statement appeared under the name of each board member targeted for recall on the ballot:

“

Restore ACCOUNTABILITY: The Board Majority wasted millions of taxpayer dollars, including hiring a novice Superintendent for $280,000--$80,000 more a year than the previous nationally recognized Superintendent of 12 years—and hiding $90,000 each year in legal expenses from the public. Restore TRANSPARENCY: They have repeatedly violated Colorado open meeting laws by secretly making major decisions behind closed doors. They have severely limited public comment at board meetings, bullied students and parents, and released a minor student’s private information in violation of state law. Restore RESPECT: They attempted to censor US History classes, leading thousands of students to walk out of class in protest. Their unprofessional actions have pushed over 700 educators this past year to leave Jeffco schools, most to teach in other districts, because the educators believe the Board Majority’s policies hurt their ability to educate our students. In the interest of our children, community and schools, we need to send the message that our kids’ education and fiscal responsibility come before politics.

”

Colorado Commission on Higher Education member

Hereford Percy, a former Jeffco Public Schools school board member and a member of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, said he would support an entirely new board, despite knowing there is a learning curve for new members. "I have never supported a recall because it’s usually been a one-issue question with a single candidate. I support this recall because I think there has been damage done to the district and will continue to be done if this board isn’t taken back to a community-supportive board,” Percy said.

Recall opponents

• John Newkirk’s response
  • Newkirk's ballot statement
  • 9News statement by Newkirk
• Julie Williams’ response
  • Williams' ballot statement
• Ken Witt’s response
  • Witt's ballot statement
  • 9News statement by Witt
  • Ethics complaint
• Denver Post
• Charter school

Recall targets speak out with Evergreen Newspapers in September 2015.

Recall target responses

(L-R) Julie Williams, Ken Witt and John Newkirk were the targets of a recall effort in Jeffco Public Schools.

John Newkirk’s response

Newkirk's ballot statement

“	My wife and I received an excellent education in the Jefferson County Public Schools. Our three children have also learned and grown here, and together we now have over 30 combined years in Jeffco classrooms. Two years ago, my colleagues and I were elected to serve a four-year term on the Board of Education and to bring meaningful improvement to our public schools. Since then, the board’s accomplishments have been numerous. We have increased teacher compensation by $21 million. We are building a new school without debt. We’ve empowered local principals, ensured all students are funded equally, and openly worked with the union to rewrite a contract that’s better able to reward great teachers. And we did all of this while adding money to District reserves. Though some may find such commonsense improvements threatening, I’m proud to be part of a team that’s taking decisive action to move Jeffco schools forward. We’ve also taken bold steps to tackle long-neglected issues, such as the community-led educational initiatives in the struggling Jefferson and Alameda areas. We have made free full-day kindergarten available to all low-income families. We’ve targeted underachievement, established goals for gifted students, revitalized our building trades program, addressed overtesting and data privacy, and enhanced student safety. Graduation rates are up. Dropout rates are down. Teacher turnover is 12% below the state average. And after over a decade of declining enrollment, our student population is growing again. There is, however, still work to be done. As a proud and grateful graduate of the Jeffco schools, I will not be satisfied until Jefferson County leads the nation in public education. Let’s work together to continue our schools’ upward trajectory, keep power in the hands of parents and local staff, and tap into the enormous potential of our students and teachers.	”
—John Newkirk ballot statement (2015)

9News statement by Newkirk

John Newkirk

In an interview with 9News in June 2015, Newkirk gave the following statement:

“	The Board of Education has accomplished a great deal since we were elected 20 months ago. To cite just a few examples, for the first time in years we've raised teacher salaries, and union negotiations have been open to the public and streamed on the internet. For the first time ever, we've ensured each child will be equitably funded regardless of which public school they choose to attend. We've given our community and our principals greater autonomy within their schools, and academic achievement is improving while remediation rates are decreasing. We've also provided the opportunity for free full-day kindergarten to families who need it most, and have funded the construction of an $18 million K-6 school within our high-growth areas. I'm proud to say we've accomplished all of this without incurring debt to the taxpayer and have actually added money to District reserves. During the last election, our community strongly demanded new focus on improving academic achievement, fair funding, expansion of educational choices, and fiscal responsibility. A recall election could cost the District over half a million dollars, and it would be unfortunate to divert energy, resources, and limited funding outside the classroom and into the political arena. As a Jefferson County graduate myself, I will continue to work to ensure every Jeffco student has access to a world-class education.	”
—John Newkirk (2015)

Julie Williams’ response

Williams' ballot statement

Jullie Williams

“	I ran for the Jeffco school board to fight for my two sons and kids like them, to be a voice for kids too often pushed aside. My son Randy is a special needs child with Autism who has been constantly bullied during his time in school. Ryan is academically gifted, and is constantly looking for new challenges. My experience as a mother of two very different boys has taught me that each child’s story is unique, and that we have a duty as adults to provide opportunities to every student. I promised during my campaign to ensure the needs of every child were being met. My work on the Jeffco school board has been guided by that promise. During my time on the school board, I voted to support academic opportunities for every child by allocating additional resources to both special needs kids like Randy and gifted kids like Ryan. I voted to respect parental decisions by funding all public school students fairly. I supported community members, teachers, and parents as they developed exciting new plans to help students in two of the district’s lowest-performing areas build brighter futures. I also voted to adopt new math and reading programs in elementary school, when kids who do not receive the help they need are most at risk of being left behind I am a proud Jefferson County native. I was born here, raised here, and educated here in Jefferson County Public Schools. It has been a distinct honor to serve the community to which I owe so much as a member of the Jefferson County Board of Education. Please vote No to let me continue working hard to meet the needs of Randy, Ryan, and the thousands of other unique children in Jefferson County.	”
—Julie Williams ballot statement (2015)

Ken Witt’s response

Witt's ballot statement

“	Jeffco students deserve leaders who will work toward meaningful change, even if that change is sometimes difficult. Under my leadership, the board directed public dollars to focus on students and classrooms as priorities, teacher compensation has grown by over 7%, schools have much more flexibility to make important spending decisions, and debt-free construction of a new school has been authorized. Meanwhile, budget reserves have grown and central administration costs have shrunk. As the father of Jeffco public school graduates, my commitment to our community’s students runs deep. Halfway into our elected four-year term, my fellow board majority members and I have focused relentlessly on improving student achievement for every Jeffco student. We're giving our district’s highest-risk kids a better chance to succeed with the community-led Alameda and Jefferson plans. We’ve respected families’ choices by funding all Jeffco Public Schools students fairly. We’ve provided free full-day kindergarten to all our low-income families. We have ended intrusive and unnecessary data gathering, and created a data privacy committee to suggest ongoing improvements to protect student information from misuse. Because our majority stood strong, we were able to reach a leaner, more flexible union agreement that gives educators the flexibility to better provide our children with a world-class education. Our new pay model is built on accountability and fairness, allowing us to recognize and reward great teachers while moving us closer to the goal of having an effective teacher in every classroom. I believe lifelong learning is key to success. I continue to learn and grow on this Board, yet my support stands as strong as ever for directing more money to our classrooms, raising the bar for staff and students, and giving families quality options. My driving focus is to propel more Jeffco students to successful futures. Together, let’s keep aiming higher.	”
—Ken Witt ballot statement (2015)

9News statement by Witt

Ken Witt

In June 2015, Ken Witt told 9NEWS that he would welcome a recall election and saw it as an opportunity to have open dialogue about the district's future. He went on to say that despite the recall effort, the current board had increased teacher pay, elevated board meeting transparency and equalized funding in the district.

“	I am proud of the work that we have done on the Jeffco Board, including bringing greater equality to education funding, giving teachers $21 million in raises, opening meetings to the public, bringing free full day kindergarten to every child eligible for free and reduced lunch, and giving the community and principals greater control in their schools, among other achievements. While change is difficult, our students deserve a great education. In the last election, our community loudly demanded a focus on improving academic achievement, fairly funding all public students, and expanding choice. We continue to be committed to those goals and to helping every Jeffco student realize their full academic and personal potential.	”
—Ken Witt (2015)

Ethics complaint

On October 8, 2015, Witt filed an ethics complaint against himself with the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission. He said he wanted an advisory opinion on whether or not the board had violated open meeting laws, as the recall supporters maintained. "I'm calling their bluff," Witt told reporters at a press conference.

Recall supporters called Witt's announcement a "political stunt." A Jeffco United for Action spokesperson said the open meeting law violation was one of many reasons they sought a recall against Witt, Newkirk and Williams.

Witt's request was ignored by the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission, as his request for an advisory opinion did not fall under the commission's jurisdiction. When he was told nothing would come of his complaint, Witt said he wanted to "shine light on the baseless claims by Jeffco United for Action," according to ABC 7.

Denver Post editorials

October 13, 2015

On October 13, 2015, The Denver Post Editorial Board published a second editorial regarding the recall:

“	The statement on Jefferson County's sample ballot urging the recall of three school board members elected two years ago starts off badly, with a falsehood. It says the board "wasted millions of dollars, including hiring a novice superintendent for $280,000—$80,000 more a year" than the previous superintendent. Except that the base salary of Superintendent Dan McMinimee is actually $220,000, less than a number of superintendents in the area. The alleged indictment doesn't get better, either. It also says—to cite one of several other examples—that the board's "actions have pushed over 700 educators this past year to leave Jeffco schools," even though the teacher turnover rate at a number of metro districts—including Denver, Aurora and Douglas County—is higher than Jeffco's, according to state data. Is everyone who leaves a district when the economy is growing and teachers enjoy a better hiring market being "pushed" out? We expressed our disappointment in this recall effort when it was launched, and the case for it has not improved. Recall activists have policy disagreements with the conservative majority and are misusing a process that should be reserved mainly for malfeasance and corruption, or when the official can't do the job. And we're not cherry-picking, either. Two years ago we also opposed what turned out to be successful recall campaigns against liberal lawmakers for their votes in favor of gun control. No doubt the targeted board members made mistakes, but the most highly publicized blunder was quickly buried without majority support: a proposal by board member Julie Williams to scrub the AP U.S. history curriculum of negative portrayals of the American past. This was a PR gift to critics, whose ongoing beef with the board often was over policies that actually made sense and most parents might well support. Among the most notable: • A pay plan for teachers that rewarded highly effective and effective teachers more than partially effective and ineffective teachers. Incredibly, this plan provoked an outcry by the teachers union and its allies. • A funding plan that gave charter schools for the first time an equal—which is to say a fair—share of district funding compared to other schools. Accomplishments such as these have been obscured by the relentlessly heated rhetoric that has afflicted board meetings for the past two years. But they do speak to the fact that this recall is over policy, and thus out of line.	”
—The Denver Post Editorial Board (October 13, 2015)

June 30, 2015

On June 30, 2015, The Denver Post Editorial Board published an editorial regarding the recall, calling it "wrongheaded" and "nakedly political." The editorial board said that, while they haven't "always cheered the board's handiwork or supported the majority's statements," the organizers at Jeffco United for Action have "taken the opposition a step too far."

Click [show] on the right to read the entire editorial.

“ Two years ago, we slammed what turned out to be successful recall campaigns against Democratic lawmakers for their votes in favor of gun control. Recall generally should be reserved for malfeasance, corruption or glaring incompetence. Otherwise, political campaigns will never end. Targeting officials over policy disagreements may be legal, but it's wrongheaded—because there's potentially no end to it. Policy disputes are debated at elections, and the losers are supposed to wait until the next election to push their case again. But now another group of impatient activists, this time on the left, is seeking to appropriate the recall process to target politicians whose political agenda they dislike. Jeffco United for Action is gearing up an effort to recall three Republican school board members in Jefferson County: Ken Witt, Julie Williams and John Newkirk. And the group's reasons, for the most part, are no less nakedly political than the campaigns targeting legislators for their gun votes. The Jeffco activists complain about how the superintendent was chosen and what he's paid, cite how much has been spent on legal assistance and communications, and object to certain comments by board members. This bill of indictment would make legitimate fodder for a regular election, but a special recall? Please. It's not close. There is probably not a major district in the metro area, starting with Denver and Douglas County, in which activists disenchanted with various policies could not compile a comparable list of complaints. That's not to say we've always cheered the board's handiwork or supported the majority's statements. We sharply criticized the initial wording of a proposed curriculum review committee crafted by Williams, for example, because of its potential to scrub American history of its warts. But that wording was quickly discarded. The board does have a right to review curriculum, by the way. It won an election, after all. It's important to remember the context of the education disputes in Jeffco. The union and its supporters, including two board members, were rattled by the unexpected victories of three conservatives in 2013 and the departure of longtime superintendent Cindy Stevenson. They deplore the board's initiatives on funding for teacher pay and charter schools, among other things. And that's their prerogative. But now Jeffco United for Action has taken the opposition a step too far. ” —The Denver Post Editorial Board (June 30, 2015)

Charter school email

The Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen was reprimanded by the Jeffco school district after its board president sent a letter to parents asking them to vote in the recall election. "Three of the current board members that voted in favor of additional charter school funding to balance out revenue are being recalled and we may be at risk of losing the additional funding we now have in place which could cause setbacks for our financial stability," Scheik said in the letter.

Jeffco Public Schools Attorney Craig Hess said the email violated a district policy that prohibits official communication from the district to be used to support or oppose a candidate. He said the email showed support for all three board members facing recall. Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen School Director Roberta Harrell did not agree with Hess. She said the email did not support a specific candidate and was only intended to educate parents about the election.

One of the founders of Jeffco United For Action filed a complaint against the email with the district.

Campaign finance

Candidates received a total of $158,896.35 and spent a total of $157,570.89 in the election, according to the Colorado Secretary of State.

There were also a number of political action committees and other organizations involved in fundraising for this election. These committees raised a total of $500,333.76 and spent a total of $486,178.08 in the election, according to the Colorado Secretary of State.

District 1

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Julie Williams	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Brad Rupert	$48,359.50	$48,359.50	$0.00

District 2

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
John Newkirk	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Matt Dhieux	$268.94	$95.00	$173.94
Susan Harmon	$47,371.25	$47,371.25	$0.00

District 5

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Ken Witt	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Regan Benson	$517.16	$300.00	$217.16
Ron Mitchell	$61,994.50	$61,439.89	$554.61
Paula Noonan	$385.00	$5.25	$379.75

PACs and organizations

Supporting recall

PAC	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Jeffco United For Action	$261,738.25	$261,196.21	$542.04
Jeffco United Forward	$34,034.00	$33,907.43	$126.57

Against recall

PAC	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
For Better Public Schools	$34,561.51	$34,561.51	$0.00
Kids Are First Jeffco	$170,000.00	$156,512.93	$13,487.07

Background

The Jeffco Public Schools recall election could have shaped education reform in the rest of the state, according to CBS Denver. Jefferson County is a "purple county," meaning it flips between Democratic and Republican majorities. In the preceding three presidential elections, the county voted twice for the Democratic candidate and once for the Republican candidate.

Political analyst Eric Sonderman called Jefferson County a "ground zero for all kinds of political wars," and he said the current political war was about education. “As Jefferson County goes so goes the state of Colorado that’s why the stakes are so high here is because it is a leading indicator or a bellwether,” said Sonderman.

The fate of the three board members up for recall was not the only issue in this election, according to Sonderman. He said the fate of teachers' unions, pay for performance systems and equal funding for charter schools were also up for a vote. “If these board members survive the recall it sends a message that you can be a reformer, even do that in an up-for-grabs purple district and live to tell about it,” said Sonderman.

Nonprofit Jeffco United fined for breaking state campaign laws

The nonprofit organization Jeffco United broke state law when it failed to disclose its donors, according to a ruling made by Colorado Administrative Court Judge Robert N. Spencer in December 2015. The organization was fined $1,000 and given 10 days to disclose its donors.

The ruling came after Colorado Government Watch, a watchdog group located in El Paso County filed complaints against Jeffco United as well as Support Jeffco Kids, another nonprofit organization. Colorado Government Watch accused the nonprofits of "improperly acting as financial pass-throughs for campaign funds while their nonprofit status protected them from disclosing donors," according to the Canyon Courier.

Both organizations supported the recall effort against Williams, Newkirk and Witt, but only Jeffco United was found in violation of the law. Under Colorado law, nonprofits are allowed to support political activities, and they are usually not required to disclose their donors. Spencer, however, found that Jeffco United's “major purpose” was to support the recall. In his ruling, Spencer said that there was no evidence to show that in its six-month existence Jeffco United had “ever engaged in any other activity, other than supporting the recall election and the election of new board members.”

Support Jeffco Kids was not fined as it had been around since 2014—before the recall effort started—and had participated in other campaigns and education issues.

When Jeffco United disclosed its donors in response to Spencer's ruling, it was revealed that teachers unions played a large role in the recall effort. They provided over $265,000 to Jeffco United. The National Education Association donated over half of that amount. Its total donation to Jeffco United totaled $150,000. The Colorado Education Association provided most of the rest, donating a total of $113,500.

Facebook threats against recalls supporters lead to police investigation

A man named Nate Marshall posted several threats against supporters of the Jeffco recall on Facebook on October 13, 2015. Teachers and parents who saw the posts contacted Jefferson County law enforcement officials, who began investigating the threats. One post said, "We need to target the recall scum. They should be forced to pay for this. Their children should be expelled. They should be executed.”

In response to the threats, Jefferson County Education Association President John Ford said, "Deep down, I know how political rhetoric goes. People get stirred up and say things. This is over the line."

After being contacted by local media, Marshall posted a formal apology for the threats. He explained that he battled Lou Gehrig's disease and alcoholism and that both had contributed to the post. In his apology, he promised to undergo positive changes in order to avoid such posts in the future.

Proposed curriculum review

Julie Williams proposed the creation of a nine-member "Board Committee for Curriculum Review" in a special meeting of the board on September 18, 2014. Her proposal described the purpose of the committee as follows:

“	The charge to the committee is to review curricular choices for conformity to JeffCo academic standards, accuracy and omissions, and to inform the board of any objectionable materials. The committee shall regularly review texts and curriculum according to priorities that it establishes, however, at any time, the Board may add items to the list for review. The committee shall report all comments (majority and minority) to the board in writing on a weekly basis as items are reviewed. Board members may move for discussion or action on items reported when matters warrant public discussion or action. The committee’s initial projects will be a review of the AP US History curriculum and elementary health curriculum. Review criteria shall include the following: instructional materials should present the most current factual information accurately and objectively. Theories should be distinguished from fact. Materials should promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights. Materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law. Instructional materials should present positive aspects of the United States and its heritage. Content pertaining to political and social movements in history should present balanced and factual treatment of the positions.	”
—Julie Williams (2014)

Williams also suggested that each board member be allowed to nominate three candidates for the committee, and that the board as a whole then vote on which nine people to appoint. In that same meeting, board member John Newkirk submitted a revised draft of the proposal reducing the number of nominees to two candidates per member, removing the elementary health curriculum as an initial project and eliminating the second paragraph of the original proposal. This limited the committee's initial projects to only a review of the Advanced Placement U.S. History curriculum.

The board tabled the initial proposals, which were later criticized as a plan to censor the history education received by students. In response to protests by students and teachers in the district, Board President Ken Witt criticized what he considered an effort "to use kids as pawns" and added, "I'm disappointed in the actors in this—the union message coming down through the teachers to get kids to deliberately get out and protest something they don't have any facts about whatsoever." Jefferson County Education Association President John Ford insisted that it was "insulting" for Witt to claim that students were being misled by their teachers on this debate. Ford also added that the board committee would be redundant due to the existence of the resource review committee, which included both residents and educators appointed by the district's chief academic officer.

Williams, Newkirk and Witt ran together as a slate in the 2013 school board election. Together, they formed the governing majority of the five-member Jeffco Board of Education until they were recalled on November 3, 2015. In an interview with The Denver Post, fellow board member Lesley Dahlkemper labeled Williams' proposal "deeply troubling" and said, "It's unclear to me what problem this resolution is attempting to solve—other than pushing through a political agenda."

The controversy surrounding the changes to the AP U.S. history curriculum was not limited to Jeffco Public Schools. The New Hanover County Board of Education in North Carolina objected to the curriculum at an August 2014 board meeting. Additionally, criticism has been an issue for state boards of education in Texas, South Carolina and Alabama.

College Board response

The AP U.S. History curriculum was revised for the 2014-2015 school year by the College Board, which develops and administers the Advanced Placement exams. The College Board issued a statement criticizing the Jeffco Board of Education for its "blatant disregard for the facts" and insisted that "the most vocal critics have prioritized their own agenda above the best interests of teachers, students and their families." In a separate statement following the outbreak of student and teacher protests against the proposed curriculum review committee, the College Board said in support, "These students recognize that the social order can—and sometimes must—be disrupted in the pursuit of liberty and justice." Stanley Kurtz, a writer with the National Review Online, published an opinion piece denouncing the new AP U.S. History curriculum as "a radically revisionist approach to American history" and claiming that the curriculum makes American history about "our capacity for self-delusion, our endless attempts to justify raw power grabs with pretty fairy-tales about democracy."

Curriculum reviews revised

In a meeting on October 2, 2014, the board voted 3-2 to revise the district's procedures for handling curriculum reviews using a compromise proposal developed by Superintendent Dan McMinimee. Williams, Newkirk and Witt voted in favor of the proposal and both Dahlkemper and Fellman voted against it. The approved proposal did not specifically refer to the AP U.S. History course or order a review of its curriculum. According to The Denver Post, the plan "would reorganize existing curriculum review groups in the district to involve more student, teacher and community voices." Reporter John Aguilar noted that Dahlkemper and Fellman did not seem opposed to McMinimee's compromise itself, but that they still voted against it on the basis that they did not have sufficient time to review the proposal.

College Board makes changes to AP history curriculum

On July 30, 2015, the College Board announced that it had reviewed the AP history curriculum and made updates to the existing guidelines. The move was seen as vindication to the board's former majority members, particularly Julie Williams, who had suggested changes to the curriculum in 2014. According to the College Board, the resulting framework "is a clearer and more balanced approach to the teaching of American history that remains faithful to the requirements that colleges and universities set for academic credit." Board member Julie Williams raised concerns over the curricula in 2014, stating that the current framework focused on negative aspects of America's history and excluded important figures. “It’s our constitutional obligation to look at what we are teaching our kids,” Williams said. Her concerns prompted accusations that she was attempting to "whitewash American history." The College Board's initial response can be read above.

According to the College Board's website, the areas that received the greatest attention as a result of public commentary were as follows:

“	American national identity and unity American ideals of liberty, citizenship, and self-governance, and how those ideals play out in U.S. history American founding political leaders, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin Founding Documents – including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers – as reflected in a new recommended focus section Productive role of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation in shaping U.S. history U.S. role in the victories of WWI and WWII, particularly the contributions and sacrifices of American servicemen and women in those wars U.S. leadership in ending the Cold War	”
—College Board (July 30, 2015)

Williams told the local media outlet The Complete Colorado that she was pleased with the changes. "It shows what was missing and what needed to be added back," she said. The article said that multiple community members that had protested the changes, including Jefferson County Parent Teacher’s Association President Michelle Patterson, did not return a request for comment regarding the updates.

Student and teacher protests, merit pay implementation

Prior to Julie Williams' curriculum committee review proposal, district teachers were considering staging a "sickout" in protest of the district's teacher evaluation and merit pay systems. Negotiations between the school board and the Jefferson County Education Association over teacher salaries grew contentious earlier in 2014 after the board disregarded a review of the plan by a third party. The review criticized the teacher evaluation system and recommended that the district still give raises to teachers who are rated "partially effective," which the board did not do. The implemented plan grants a 4.2 percent raise to teachers who are rated "most effective" and a 2.4 percent raise to teachers who are rated "effective." Only two percent of district teachers did not receive a raise under this system.

On September 19, 2014, district teachers held a sickout that forced the closure of two high schools. A "sickout" is a form of protest that involves teachers calling in sick the night before a school day in order to make it more difficult for administrators to find substitute instructors. On September 22, 2014, Evergreen High School students protested Williams' proposal by staging a walkout from their classes. The next day, hundreds of district students from at least five different high schools staged similar walkouts. Jack Shefrin, one of the students involved in organizing the protest, insisted that the protests were entirely the work of students. An article by The Denver Post noted that several students attending the protests had been told by their teachers that they would not be punished for leaving their classes.

A second teacher sickout that occurred on September 29, 2014, also resulted in the closure of two schools, Golden High School and Jefferson High School. In response, Superintendent Dan McMinimee announced that he was considering disciplinary action for the teachers involved. McMinimee indicated that teachers were violating district policy and their collective bargaining agreement by not giving sufficient notice for their personal days. Although the exact form the discipline would take was not certain, he suggested that the teachers involved may lose a day's worth of pay.

Michelle Malkin, a conservative columnist with the National Review Online, published an article on September 26, 2014, claiming that union officials angry about the implementation of pay-for-performance were using the censorship controversy as a way to raise a student and community backlash against the school board. Malkin labeled the censorship issue a "red herring" that union officials have grasped for the purpose of "misleading kids, spreading falsehoods in the classroom, and instigating walkouts."

A group of students responded to the accusations that Malkin's and others had made at the November 6, 2014, school board meeting. The students protested the curriculum review by interrupting the meeting. In addition to 12 students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, approximately 10 students stood up and read about prominent civil disobedience figures from history. According to Chalkbeat Colorado, the students made the following demands of the board: "a public apology from the school board’s conservative majority for referring to students as 'union pawns;' a reversal of an earlier decision to amend content review policies; proof from the board that they listen and act on community input instead of what students called an 'ideological' agenda; and more resources for classroom instruction." The students left together without any arrests being made.

Superintendent Dan McMinimee

Superintendent Dan McMinimee

Prior to his appointment, Superintendent Dan McMinimee served as an assistant superintendent with the Douglas County School District (DCSD) in Colorado. The board voted 3-2 in favor of his appointment in May 2014, with Williams, Newkirk and Witt in favor and Dahlkemper and Fellman opposed.

McMinimee's background with the DCSD, whose conservative school board implemented school choice and eliminated collective bargaining, proved controversial when he was hired. Jeffco StudentsFirst President Sheila Atwell, who supported the former conservative governing majority on the Jeffco Board of Education, acknowledged that McMinimee's affiliation with DCSD would make it more difficult to get support for his appointment from the entirety of the board.

At the time of his appointment, some community members voiced concerns that the new superintendent would bring reforms in the vein of DCSD to Jeffco Public Schools. John Newkirk defended McMinimee from these claims and insisted that "[t]he fact he was at Douglas County for years and then for years after this new board (was elected in Douglas County) demonstrates he can work with a wide variety of constituents."

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Colorado and Method of board member selection

In order for a recall to take place, supporters had to file a recall petition with the Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder, including a statement of at least 200 words explaining the grounds for recall. On June 26, 2015, the group Jeffco United for Action submitted such petition language.

After the county clerk approved the petition language, the group had 60 days to circulate its petition and gather 15,000 signatures for each recall target. The required signature total was 25 percent of the votes cast in the last election for each school board member being recalled. On July 26, 2015, 17 days after collection began, the group announced it had gathered 111,000 signatures, more than double the amount needed for a recall. The signatures were approved by the county clerk on August 18, 2015. The total amount of approved signatures were 34,188 for Newkirk, 33,900 for Williams and 33,942 for Witt. The group had to wait 15 calendar days to permit legal challenges to signatures on the petition.

Key Deadlines
Deadline	Event
June 26, 2015	Petition language submitted
June 26, 2015 - July 7, 2015	7 days for county to approve petition (dates are approximate)
July 8, 2015 - September 5, 2015	60 days to circulate petition (dates are approximate)
September 28, 2015	Filing deadline for successor candidates
November 3, 2015	Recall election

Community members had until September 3, 2015, to submit legal challenges to signatures on the petition. Wendy McCord, a parent who helped the recall organization efforts, asked that opponents of the recall not protest the signatures, stating that "opponents to the recall would cost the school district over half a million dollars, dollars that could otherwise be going to benefit our students." In response, Ken Witt said that while legal protest may be warranted as a result of "wildly inaccurate and inflammatory language" used by Jeffco United for Action, he would ask that no one challenge the petitions.

On September 3, 2015, the county clerk announced the recall would be on the November ballot. State officials initially questioned whether that could happen due to mail-in ballot deadlines. The official mail-in ballot had be sent to military members before the candidate filing deadline on September 28, 2015. The county clerk submitted a plan for the recall, and the state approved it, allowing the recall to continue onto the ballot on November 3, 2015. If the recall had not been approved for the general election ballot, the district would have had the option to fund its own special election, which, according to a report, would have cost more than $500,000.

Petition language

On June 26, 2015, the group Jeffco United for Action submitted petition language to the Jefferson County clerk. JeffCo School Board Watch published the statement of grounds for recall that was submitted with the petition. The main points of this petition language was included on the ballot.

“	Jeffco School Board President Ken Witt and the School Board Majority have failed Jeffco taxpayers, parents and students. A recall now will: Restore ACCOUNTABILITY: The Board Majority wasted millions of taxpayer dollars, including hiring a novice Superintendent for $280,000–$80,000 more a year than the previous nationally recognized Superintendent of 12 years—and hiding $90,000 each year in legal expenses from the public. Restore TRANSPARENCY: They have repeatedly violated Colorado open meeting laws by secretly making major decisions behind closed doors. They have severely limited public comment at board meetings, bullied students and parents, and released a minor student’s private information in violation of state law. Restore RESPECT: They attempted to censor US History classes, leading thousands of students to walk out of class in protest. Their unprofessional actions have pushed over 700 educators this past year to leave Jeffco schools, most to teach in other districts, because the educators believe the Board Majority’s policies hurt their ability to educate our students. In the interest of our children, community and schools, we need to send the message that our kids’ education and fiscal responsibility come before politics.	”
—Jeffco United For Action (June 26, 2015)

About the district

See also: Jeffco Public Schools, Colorado

Jeffco Public Schools is located in Jefferson County, Colo.

Jeffco Public Schools is located in Jefferson County in central Colorado. The county seat is Golden. The county was home to an estimated 558,503 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau. Jeffco Public Schools was the largest school district in Colorado during the 2012-2013 school year and served 85,542 students.

Demographics

Jefferson County outperformed the rest of Colorado in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 40.7 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 37.0 percent for the state as a whole. The median household income was $68,984 compared to $58,433 statewide. The poverty rate in Jefferson County was 8.6 percent compared to 13.2 percent for the entire state.

Racial Demographics, 2014
Race	Jefferson County (%)	Colorado (%)
White	92.2	87.7
Black or African American	1.3	4.5
American Indian and Alaska Native	1.2	1.6
Asian	2.8	3.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1	0.2
Two or More Races	2.3	2.9
Hispanic or Latino	15.2	21.2

Presidential Voting Pattern, Jefferson County
Year	Democratic vote	Republican vote	Other vote
2012	159,296	144,197	7,559
2008	158,158	131,628	7,055
2004	126,558	140,644	5,550

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Jeffco Public Schools' Colorado recall. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Jeffco Public Schools recall, Colorado (2015) - Google News

See also

Jeffco Public Schools	Colorado	School Boards	Recalls
Jeffco Public Schools elections (2015) Jeffco Public Schools elections (2013) List of school districts in Colorado	Colorado school board elections, 2015 Public education in Colorado Local ballot measures, Colorado	School board elections, 2015 List of school board elections in 2015 Candidate filing dates Campaign finance reporting	Recall campaigns in Colorado Political recall efforts, 2015 School board recalls

External links

Suggest a link

• Jeffco Public Schools
• Jefferson County Board of Elections
• Colorado Secretary of State

Recall supporters

• Jeffco United for Action
• Jeffco Students for Change Rally Facebook page
• Jeffco School Board Watch

Additional reading

District documents

• Jeffco Public Schools, "Board Committee for Curriculum Review (Newkirk thoughts on Williams’ Draft)," accessed October 1, 2014
• Jeffco Public Schools, "Board Committee for Curriculum Review," accessed October 1, 2014

Local media coverage

• Colorado Springs Gazette, "EDITORIAL: Disclosure ruling a win for the public," December 25, 2015
• The Denver Post, "Guest Commentary: Lessons from Jeffco school board recall," December 21, 2015
• Chalkbeat Colorado, "Libertarian think tank leads donations in Jefferson County school board recall, election," December 4, 2015
• Chalkbeat Colorado, "How things might change in Jeffco Public Schools after the recall," November 5, 2015
• The Denver Post, "Death threats, big money become part of Jeffco school board recall," October 29, 2015
• Chalkbeat Colorado, "Who gave to organizations for and against the 2015 Jefferson County recall?" October 28, 2015
• Chalkbeat Colorado, "Denver-based libertarian group adds $75,000 to fight Jefferson County school board recall," October 28, 2015
• 9News, "Balance of Power: Jeffco School Board race," October 25, 2015
• Chalkbeat Colorado, "Candidates in Jeffco school board recall, with help from teachers union, outpace targeted incumbents," October 21, 2015
• Colorado Public Radio, "In JeffCo, Recall Vote Brings Years Of Turmoil To A Head," October 19, 2015
• The Denver Post, "Jefferson County school board recall transparency claim difficult to check," October 16, 2015
• Lakewood Sentinel, "Jefferson County School Board elections could force imminent change," October 6, 2015
• The Denver Post, "Recall use on the rise, Jeffco school board effort is the latest," September 4, 2015
• CBS Denver, "In ‘Purple District,’ Jeffco School Board Recall Could Have Big Influence," August 26, 2015
• Westword, "Jeffco School Board: Parents Behind Recall Effort Turn in Petition Signatures," July 28, 2015
• Trib Live, "Backers of Colo. school board recall claim 90K signatures," July 28, 2015
• The Denver Post, "Jeffco students interrupt school board meeting, are escorted away," November 7, 2014
• Chalkbeat Colorado, "Jeffco students interrupt board meeting, leave peacefully," November 6, 2014
• Colorado Public Radio, "JeffCo students practice civil disobedience, interrupt board meeting," November 6, 2014
• The Denver Post, "Jeffco Students for Change rally, but delay recall drive," October 11, 2014
• 9News, "Questions remain after Jeffco curriculum review vote," October 3, 2014
• The Denver Post, "Jeffco school board OKs compromise plan in curriculum review showdown," October 2, 2014
• The Denver Post, "Jeffco students walk out of 5 high schools in school board protest," September 23, 2014
• The Denver Post, "Evergreen students protest proposed history change," September 22, 2014
• The Denver Post, "Jeffco students protest proposed "censorship" of history curriculum," September 22, 2014

National media coverage

• The Washington Post, "In Denver suburb, a school board race morphs into $1 million ‘proxy war,’" November 1, 2015
• National Review, "Coloradans Vote on Recall of Conservative School-Board Members," September 7, 2015
• The Progressive, "When Students Go On Strike For Their Schools," January 2, 2015
• National Review, "‘A’ Is for Agitation in Jefferson County, Colorado," September 26, 2014
• The Los Angeles Times, "Colorado students walk out to protest proposed curriculum changes," September 24, 2014
• The New York Times, "In Colorado, a Student Counterprotest to an Anti-Protest Curriculum," September 23, 2014

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