CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (KDVR) — The Douglas County school board has voted to fire Superintendent Corey Wise.
The Board of Education called a special meeting Friday to discuss Wise’s job. In a 4-3 vote led by the board’s newly elected majority, the board voted to fire Wise “unilaterally.”
“I love Douglas County School District, the kids, our staff,” Wise told FOX31 after the meeting. “It was an honor.”
Per his contract, the district will have to pay out a year of Wise’s salary because of the method of termination, according to board comments during the meeting. Public comment was not permitted at the meeting.
The three-person board minority moved Friday night to postpone a decision on Wise’s job but was defeated. They also asked for a recess at the meeting’s start, saying they were not given 24-hour notice about the meeting, as is required by law.
The meeting, announced Thursday evening, came after a turbulent week, with more than a thousand teachers staging a sickout to protest activity by the board’s conservative majority.
The board minority cried foul at the beginning of the week, accusing some of their newly elected colleagues of doing business in secret after holding a private meeting with Wise about his future with the district and encouraging his resignation. Here’s what the law says about open meetings in Colorado.