A new era of secrecy and cover-ups has infected Colorado school districts. Board members shield records from public scrutiny, hide important discussions from the public in executive sessions, and meet secretly one-on-one to cut deals via emails, text messages, and verbal agreements.

And in this climate of growing disregard for the Colorado Open Records Act and Colorado Open Meetings Law, lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it more difficult to challenge a school district that fails to properly disclose closed-door meeting topics. Public districts are already operating too much like private businesses; they don’t need encouragement from lawmakers too.

The $832,733 paid out to fired Douglas County Superintendent Cory Wise is the best possible case to be made for school board members to get their acts together and start acting like elected officials representing the public in a transparent and open manner. Taxpayers will foot this bill to cover school board members’ bad behavior.

Wise’s settlement is based on wrongful termination, but on a deeper level, Wise’s case was strong because four elected officials met secretly and one-on-one to conspire to terminate Wise, rather than holding an open and honest public meeting where concerns were aired and debated. A separate lawsuit targeting the secret meetings drew a strong rebuke from Douglas County District Court Judge Jeffrey K. Holmes who correctly noted that “the hiring and firing of a school district’s superintendent is clearly a matter of public business.”

The rot of inside wheeling and dealing is not limited to the DougCo Board.

A number of media organizations are preparing to sue members of the Denver Board of Education for failing to notify the public of what would be discussed in an executive session. Board members disappeared behind closed doors for a five-hour executive session and emerged with a new policy position and a public statement about the most controversial issue the district has faced in decades — whether or not police officers should be in school buildings for security.

Do they think voters are stupid? Coloradans know better than to accept this type of behavior.

The public deserved an open and honest conversation about the reversal of a position on school security in the wake of two shootings at East High School.

School board officials must do their business in public whether or not they like the scrutiny — it’s part of the job they sign up for when they run for “public” office. And open debate helps the public have confidence in the school board. As it stands now, parents and teachers assume this board is more concerned with protecting their image, remaining in office, and bolstering their careers than doing what is best for students.

The examples are endless:

• As the DPS board has been dealing with a budget shortfall, board members spent $43,000 on a mediator in an effort to end embarrassing public disagreements — disagreements that ironically have centered around an attempt by the board president to control what other board members say in public. Consider that for a moment. Board members should be encouraged to speak freely about board deliberations and their opinions on important issues.

• Briefly, the DPS board considered giving themselves raises. The discussion on the question happened in an executive session to discuss legal advice related to board compensation. The resolution was pulled from debate indefinitely with no transparency about who proposed raises of up to $33,000.

• In Broomfield, the school district is refusing to release a report about a months-long investigation into the behavior of a football coach that ultimately resulted in the coach resigning. There is a public interest in this document as this coach/teacher will likely be applying for other jobs in this state.

• And perhaps most egregiously, the STEM School has fought tooth and nail to prevent the release of documents to the parents of Kendrick Castillo who was shot and killed while trying to disarm a student who opened fire in his Highlands Ranch classroom in 2019. Any details that compromise student safety — schematics that show building emergency exits or the location of buttons that call for the police — could be redacted as could student names that violate privacy laws. Castillo’s family is fighting for the safety of every student in this state, while STEM officials are fighting to protect their reputations.

• In Woodland Park, the board of education drafted a plan to approve a previously denied charter school, circumventing the normal process, public meetings and waiting times. In an email, one board member referred to efforts to get the school approved as “divide, scatter, conquer.” Several board members discussed the plan before any public meeting and informed each other that the charter school’s MOU would be discussed during “board housekeeping” rather than appearing as an agenda item.

The intent seems clear — obfuscate that a controversial topic is on the agenda so the public doesn’t show up and express concerns.

If Colorado lawmakers pass House Bill 1259, these efforts to hide public business will only grow. The bill would make it more difficult for Coloradans to use the only tool they have to enforce the Open Meetings Law — civil lawsuits. Yes, one attorney is arguably overly litigious when it comes to holding districts accountable for violations of the open meetings laws. But the bill by Reps. Gabe Evans and Lindsey Daugherty and Sens. Rachel Zenzinger and Cleave Simpson will allow a district to collect costs and attorney fees from anyone who files a lawsuit and loses in court. It will have a chilling effect on people wishing to hold public officials accountable.

Perhaps if this editorial was full of examples of transparency and open and honest efforts to comply with the law, we would feel differently, but an abundance of examples clearly shows that school districts are failing the transparency test.

Lawmakers should vote down House Bill 1259 and school board members should take note of the nearly million-dollar settlement out of Douglas County and reconsider their secretive, plotting behavior.

Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more.

To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.