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DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — The Douglas County Federation is speaking out against the “blatant intimidation of teachers” after a community member requested records of the names of all the teachers who called out sick to protest.

On Feb. 3, more than 1,000 teachers called out sick to rally in support of Superintendent Corey Wise and request more transparency from the DougCo school board. The lack of teachers led to class cancellations across the district and created a divide between families who supported the teacher’s decisions and those who disagreed.

Due to the recent turmoil, some teachers received negative fliers on their cars Wednesday calling them bad educators and urging them to leave.

The president of the Douglas County Federation, a local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers union, is denouncing what he calls a “blatant intimidation of teachers” after the withdrawal of the open records request that all teachers be named in the Feb. 3 absence.

“Every day, educators in the Douglas County school system go above and beyond to show up for their students. Rather than honoring that effort and working together with parents and fellow educators to make schools better and more responsive to student needs, a select few are politicizing our classrooms and using intimidation tactics to silence educators and single them out for using their voices. Tonight, the community, educators and parents came together and denounced the attempt to expose teacher absences, a move that would’ve infringed on teachers’ basic rights and eroded public trust in the school district and the board.

Teachers don’t go into this profession for the money or gratification. They do it because they care and because they want to ensure our kids are receiving a high-quality education that will prepare them to succeed in the future. We must continue to halt these political power grabs that are undermining public education and driving good educators away from our schools; this divisive politicking has no place in our schools or our communities. The Douglas County Federation stands against any form of harassment—including intimidation and retaliation—that is being levied against educators and school staff.”

Kevin DiPasquale, president of the Douglas County Federation