Dear Editor:
Until the conservatives took control of the (Woodland Park) Re-2 (School District) Board in 2021, Merit Academy’s application (as a charter school) remained denied, Union infiltration remained unchallenged and students had been increasingly distracted from legitimate academics by CRT, DEI and LGBTQ hysteria.
Critics of the conservative Board have waged continuous war against them despite obvious successes of Merit Academy and in academic achievement the Board made possible.
The three independent candidates – Clayton Austin, Norm Michaels and Bert West – generally intend to build upon the achievements of the 2021 and 2023 elected Boards in educational choice, supporting Merit Academy and in mitigating Union influence. They are intentionally running as independent candidates preferring to be evaluated by voters on their individual merits while their opponents have teamed together as a Slate of well-funded perpetual critics of Re-2’s advancements in the last four years. While the Slate carefully avoids expression of their actual educational policy and priorities, Clayton, Norm and Bert are generally forthright about their policy positions regarding Merit Academy, school choice, American Birthright, boys in girls locker rooms, the role of the Union in Re-2, school security, and in offering practical life skills and trade education.
Votes for the Slate are votes to return Re-2 to the distractions of “social justice” activism, increasing academic failure and less educational choice. Votes for the three independent men are votes to gather cohesion, build upon the accomplishments of the last four years, and to honor the preferences and priorities of parents as expressed in the last two elections.
Joe Morin
Woodland Park
