Doug Co School Board Public Comment 3-28-23

I am a 30 year veteran of teaching middle school, I understand the importance of

#inclusion and #diversity to a child’s well-being and #education. I’ll start by pushing

back against 3 words that have been twisted in education. First, WOKE simply

means caring and recognizing injustice. CRT is an example of a lie told oft enough

becomes the truth. The Nazi architect of useful misinformation utilized this

strategy to turn Germans against Jews. Yes, Nazis. The shouted lie of CRT has the

sole purpose of diminishing Black History. And last, the ugliest of all dog whistles,

is calling teachers groomers. Let’s remember that more children are groomed and

assaulted by religious leaders and family members than teachers by a factor of

1000s.

The Hanover survey stated that respondents are concerned about #transparency in

school structure including our school board.

I don’t trust Mr. Peterson. And I had hoped for better from Superintendent Kane.

It appears that decisions are guided by huddling with organizations such as FAIR,

CPAN, and Moms for Liberty, groups that are opposed to public education. Mr.

Peterson, in particular, is clearly influenced by and steeped in harmful

misinformation from such groups. He has dismissed sound research regarding

child abuse and identity, turning instead to the inaccurate perceptions put forth

by small minds and smaller hearts. I ask you to become more WOKE. Get out of

your silo.

How do religious forces rate such an outsized influence in our district? Very few

Hanover survey respondents, indeed only 20%, consider religious belief as criteria

for school matters. 20%! Where are Mr. Peterson’s values regarding

representation? Shouldn’t ALL your constituents have a voice, not just those who

gave you obscene amounts of money and pressure you to follow their lead, no

matter how disrespectful to the families you represent?

My final concern... Wow, once again the DCSD has opened themselves to another

Civil Rights lawsuit. According to the Hanover website they assist the clients to

craft survey questions and responses. It appears some agency of the district

included responses asking about religious beliefs. School boards are a local

government entity and are expected to follow the law and separating matters of

church and state.Constitution.

Despite the loud, aggressive, uninformed voices trying to insist America is

a “Christian Nation,” recent surveys show 40% of Americans claim no

religious affiliation and almost 10% practice a faith other than Christianity.

Please stop inserting your Christian beliefs where it is both illegal and

unwelcome.

Katie Barrett, Castle Rock

*This is solely the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of the Douglas Co. Democratic Party.