WOODLAND PARK — Woodland Park School District (WPSD) took the third-biggest enrollment hit among our area school districts last school year. That according to Colorado Department of Education (CDE) pupil count data.
"I'm not on board with how decisions are being made, we just wanted something a little more steadfast and not so chaotic all the time," said Amber Ray, former WPSD mom of three.
Ray said there were a lot of factors in deciding to "choice out" of the district.
"When they decided to keep Ken Witt on as superintendent, that was kind of one of my last straws, American Birthright [curriculum], a lot of the stuff the school board has been pushing, nothing about our teachers, nothing about our education that we had received up until that point," said Ray.
I reached out to school board member David Rusterholtz and Superintendent Witt.
In a text, Rusterholtz said in part quote, "It is a sad thing to see people pulling their children out. consolidating schools, both the middle school and the elementary schools was a very emotional time for many parents and former students."
He went on to say quote, "For some reason, choosing a curriculum standard that almost became the Colorado standard, became a very contentious issue."
News5 previously reported the school board adopted a curriculum called American Birthright last school year.
News5 also reported on the decision to move the 6th-grade level to elementary schools. And 7th and 8th-grade levels into the high school.
The majority of the budget goes to teacher salaries, according to the WPSD website.
School districts get state funding based on the number of students.
The state average funding per pupil was $10,614 for the 23-24 school year,according to the CDE.
The CDE reported about a 5% decline in enrollment in Woodland Park last school year from the previous year. Making them third, behind Hanover and Manitou Springs school districts. Woodland park has seen about a 15% decline over the last five years.
"I know of a lot of people that have either gone to Manitou or have chosen to homeschool and just left the district," said Ray.
For Ray and her kids, leaving was not an easy decision, but told me they are happier in Manitou Springs.
"I don't have as many stressed-filled days worrying about what next is going to happen, or what the changes are going to be that will affect my kids moving forward," said Ray.
The pupil count for this school year, taken in October, should be released in January by the CDE.
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