Woodland Park board hears Open Meetings complaint, interviews applicants and tables appointment
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Summary
At a special Woodland Park School District RE-2 meeting, a public commenter alleged the board's private candidate-selection process violated Colorado's Open Meetings Law; the board heard multiple applicants, accepted staff's explanation of how notices and materials were posted, and voted to table a final appointment until remaining candidates can be interviewed.
A special meeting of the Woodland Park School District RE-2 Board of Education opened at 10:00 a.m., where a member of the public accused the board of using a private, ranked-choice-style process to eliminate applicants for a board vacancy and requested the board pause the appointment.
Nathan Williams, who identified himself during public comment, said the board's process "was opaque from the start," alleged finalists were chosen through private submissions and said he had "submitted a formal letter of complaint for the record," urging the board to allow candidates to speak in public before a selection was finalized.
The allegation focused on compliance with Colorado's Open Meetings Law, specifically C.R.S. 24-6-402 as cited in public comment. In response, board members described the steps they had taken to solicit and share applications and said they consulted legal counsel about the process. Candace, the board secretary and communications officer, told the board, "After the board approved the vacancy resolution, I had the paper run the public notice for 2 weeks. So it ran, I believe, the 20 first and the January 28," and said the vacancy was posted on the district website and social channels and applicants' letters and resumes were uploaded to a shared Google Drive for board review.
With the public concern on the record, the board agreed to proceed with interviews that evening for the applicants present and to contact the remaining candidates about a follow-up meeting. Four applicants were interviewed at length. Steve Wolf described his long career in education and as a former superintendent and said he was "passionate about kids, about teachers." Theresa Miller recounted decades of classroom and mentoring experience and said she is a "solid 100% believer in public ed." Rob (Rob Davidson) emphasized community partnerships and internship programs he helped expand. Nate Williams, who also earlier filed the complaint, spoke about enrollment declines, teacher turnover and the need to restore counseling and student supports. Rebecca Parrot highlighted public-sector budgeting experience and an interest in rebuilding community trust.
After hearing from the candidates present, a board member moved to table the action to appoint a new director and to allow remaining applicants to interview; another board member seconded the motion. Board members voted in favor and "the motion carried," postponing any appointment vote to a future date so the full applicant pool can be heard.
The meeting record shows the meeting president, district staff and multiple board members engaged in discussion about procedural fairness and transparency; board minutes will record the date and format for the follow-up interviews and any subsequent appointment. The meeting adjourned after the tabling vote.