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Public commenters urge focus on students, raise audit and legal‑fee concerns
Summary
During public comment, speakers praised the board’s work on academics and financial restraint and also criticized prior financial reporting and high legal expenses; one commenter cited district legal fees totaling $183,213 and payments of $117,143 to a named law firm.
Public comment at the Woodland Park School District RE-2 Board of Education meeting included both praise for district academic work and pointed criticism about finance and legal spending.
Nora Michaels (public commenter) thanked the board for efforts to improve academic scores, reduce waste and restore civics instruction, and urged board members to put students ahead of social media or personal agendas.
Gail Garrick (public commenter) raised concerns about the district’s financial reporting and cited figures for legal expenses from the previous year: $183,213 in total legal fees, of which $117,143 was reported to have gone to "Brad Miller's law firm," according to the speaker. Garrick said the auditor had reported 16 deficiencies and suggested the district consider a more forensic review in light of verbal auditor comments; Garrick argued the legal fees were a misplaced priority compared with classroom staffing.
Speakers noted that personnel and individual student matters are confidential and should be handled in executive session; the board reminded the public that it cannot act on public comment during the meeting.
The board did not take action on the public comments during the meeting; staff and board members later discussed auditing and procurement items on the agenda.
