Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Labor Relations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Educators and parents press Centennial board on ICE activity, communication and loss of CTE preschool
Summary
Teachers, union leaders and parents urged the board to oppose ICE activity near schools, improve district communications, restore a CTE on‑site preschool program and address contract and class‑size concerns during a lengthy public forum.
At the public‑comment portion of the Centennial School District board meeting, multiple educators and parents urged the board to act on community safety, communications and program decisions.
Jonathan Rockwell, a band teacher and vice president of the Centennial Education Association, read a CEA statement saying ICE activity in or near schools "threatens the safety, well‑being, and educational access" of linguistically diverse and immigrant families and asked the board to issue a formal statement opposing such enforcement near schools. Superintendent Owens and the board were later noted in the superintendent’s report to have circulated a district message and multilingual flyers on immigration enforcement protocols.
Drew Rosa, president of CEA, said labor‑management work had seen some progress but condemned the board’s decision to deny the union’s monthly CEA report; he said bargaining had produced only a 1% COLA movement from the district and flagged kindergarten staffing proposals with class sizes near 30. He invited board members to attend remaining bargaining dates and urged transparency in the process.
Several speakers, including Stacy Fleck (a 23‑year Centennial High School teacher) and Lyle Russell (a parent), urged the board to restore a longstanding CTE preschool that provided high school students hands‑on experience and college credit. Fleck said replacing the school‑run preschool with the district’s "Preschool for All" model reduced dual‑credit opportunities and hands‑on training, and asked that Room 116 be returned to CTE use so students could continue earning college credits.
Other commenters, including Monica Weathersby and Amanda Casaub Johnson, said district communications remain narrow and leave out digitally disconnected families and other community members. They asked the board to broaden outreach and ensure multilingual, multi‑channel communications that reach grandparents, business owners and neighbors who are not already connected to school channels.
Board members did not take a formal vote on these public‑comment requests during the meeting. Superintendent Owens said the district has distributed multilingual resources and a message to families about immigration enforcement and noted partnerships with local districts and city officials to align supports.
