D49 is in CRISIS. RECALL LORI THOMPSON.
There has been deliberate concealment of vital district information from the constituents. The claim of transparency is contradicted by intentional limitations. People in the District need to know what is really going on with their hundreds of millions of tax dollars.
It is imperative that we prevent evil from prospering for another two years until the next election. Woke and anti-American ideologies are being pushed at an alarming rate.
D49 has been betrayed by three self-proclaimed “Christian Constitutional Conservatives.” John Graham and Rick Van Wieren are timed out. But Lori Thompson remains on the board to comprise a compromised 3-2 majority that votes against the values of the D49 community.
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https://d49guardians.com/2024/02/recall-traitor-lori-thompson-d49-in-crisis/
D49 was the first school district in the nation to ban CRT in Aug 2021. It was a victory that was celebrated by the community regardless of political affiliation.
But Critical Race Theory morphed into another “identity” yet again, this time as Social Emotional Learning (SEL). The board of Graham, Van Wieren, and Thompson voted in harmful SEL embedded with CRT content and labeled it as “Trusted Materials” in a shocking act of betrayal. Instead of adhering to campaign promises, the Board disregarded community values to follow the Superintendent’s dictates.
However, there is much more to this D49 story. To save D49, it’s crucial to comprehend the deep-rooted corruption.
D49 was characterized by a strong-arm, authoritarian leadership that instilled fear of reprisal in teachers (and most board members), and lacked financial accountability and transparency.
For eleven years, Superintendent Peter Hilts and lawyer Brad Miller operated a gestapo or mafia-like group, with the Board taking a passive stance.
As a high school principal with approximately 500 students, Hilts was recruited by Brad Miller to be Superintendent of D49 with approximately 13,000 students. At the time, board members Harold and Lavere-Wright expressed concerns about Hilts’ qualifications [1].
SUBSTANDARD ACADEMICS AND INDOCTRINATION WITH A VENGEANCE
D49’s academic performance has declined steadily over the past decade, coinciding with the introduction of programs like Restorative Practice and Social Emotional Learning (SEL).
Nevertheless, even with declining CMAS scores and teachers struggling with severe classroom misbehavior, Superintendent Hilts and three Board members undermined language and flatly denied the presence and long-lasting harm caused by these programs.
LACK OF OVERSIGHT IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT WITH RUBBER STAMPING BOARDS
The Board Members of the past ten years continuously vote in alignment with Hilts and Miller’s agenda, neglecting academic excellence and instilling national values in our children’s education.
The few board members who have refused to rubber stamp find themselves in an extremely unpleasant existence filled with unrestrained shaming, belittling, gaslighting, and manipulation at the hands of a bullying Board Members John Graham, Rick Van Wieren, Lori Thompson, Board lawyer Brad Miller and Superintendent Peter Hilts.
This is the only school board with such an oppressive and toxic culture. Attendees frequently decline to attend future meetings due to their disgust. It’s crucial that taxpayers and law enforcement are alerted to the widespread corruption and violations that are occurring. One can find detailed documentation in videos and emails.
For over ten years Hilts and Miller operated with minimal oversight, governance, and checks and balances. The Board was simply a superficial entity going through the motions.
There is a lack of transparency in the district’s disbursement logs and the administration refuse to address it. The fees charged to the public for CORA/FOIA of public records are exorbitant and unjustified, giving the impression of an attempt to limit transparency.
A DECEITFUL BOARD MEMBER WHO IS HARMING THE CHILDREN:
Lori Thompson managed to deceive D’avola and Liu into forming a slate for the Nov 2021 election [2]. Backed by County Commissioner Carrie Geitner, Thompson flipped the board to a 2-3 minority and proceeded to betray the community’s values with every critical issue by a 3-2 vote.
Peter Hilts’ contract was renewed by a slim 3-2 vote for his 10th and 11th year despite a continual decline in academics during his ten year leadership. The Board kept renewing his contract despite the lack of credible performance evaluation. 71% and 52% of our children are not proficient in math and language arts [3].
Since his subpar performance evaluation in Oct 2021, Hilts, et al have managed to manipulate the schedule of his evaluation. In an egregious violation of protocol, Hilts’ next evaluation has been pushed back to 2025 with a 3.5 year lapse. This is one of many cover-ups committed by complicit D49 board members to hide an underperforming Superintendent who was turned down by D11.
Only Ivy Liu and Jamilynn D’avola, and now Debbie Schmidt, are fighting to protect the children. With certainty, the millstone per Matthew 18:6 awaits Graham, Thompson, Van Wieren, Brad Miller, and Peter Hilts.
Graham, Thompson, and Van Wieren approved vaccine vans on school grounds despite strong community opposition. Furthermore, Hilts and Graham unconstitutionally banned community members without Board approval, and introduced Social Emotional Learning (SEL) ladened with CRT ideologies which are strongly opposed by the community.
Graham, Thompson, and Van Wieren blatantly lie and/or justify their anti-conservative votes despite the condemning Board vote record [4].
A multitude of SEL/CRT programs, directly quoting their own websites, attempt to propagate Marxist ideologies of equity, social justice, and reshaping societal values [5]. However, the Board of Graham, Van Wieren, and Thompson, along with Hilts and Miller, vehemently rejected this research and persistently accused Director Liu of dishonesty and attacking teachers.
DEFAMATION CASE AGAINST THOMPSON, GRAHAM, AND VAN WIEREN:
Board meetings were marred by disrespect and dismissive actions in an attempt to silence and cancel Liu, with violations of Robert’s Rules of Order, shortened debates, and constant interruptions of Liu’s speech [6].
The board’s highly toxic cancel culture is notorious and has sparked widespread outrage. Liu was subjected to months of despicable treatment to silence her, culminating in a mass media frenzy on Nov 10, 2022. The orchestrated event aimed to publicly humiliate her and included a list of eleven serious allegations that the accusers were unable to substantiate fifteen months later. One day before the one year deadline, Liu reluctantly filed a defamation lawsuit against the “mob” [7]
In the Feb 2024 defamation hearing, Liu presented extensive factual evidence to refute the false accusations. The Judge made a statement for the record, expressing his confidence in Liu’s presentation of facts and evidence. Nevertheless, the lawsuit was lost due to the deliberate lack of specific details in the false allegations. Proper counseling was provided to the accusers to enable them to make false accusations with the intent of defamation, while adhering to legal constraints.
QUESTIONABLE LEGAL COUNSEL
D49 shows no signs of stopping their corrupt practices and are compelling constituents to seek legal recourse. Graham is currently facing a federal lawsuit for violation of freedom of speech that is costing the district much legal expenses as he continues to disown responsibility.
Why is the district paying legal fees to defend obnoxious actions of board members. D49 has lost hundreds of thousands in several lawsuits for infractions under Brad Miller’s legal counsel [8].
D49 taxpayers are bearing the burden of a 2.1 million annual premium due to the district’s liability insurance rates tripling since 2017-18. However, the feckless mob persistently spread outrageous lies, including the use of D49 website to fabricate gross deception to the public.
Mike Heil for School District 49, freely insults women as a “fearless” keyboard warrior. Yet he refuses refuses to meet with male constituents, opting instead to delete their comments, unfriend and/or report their profiles as “Ivy’s aliases.”
The tyrannical bullying of John Graham and Mike Heil goes unaddressed, while Ivy Liu was twice censured for standing up for the children. The existence of a two-tiered justice system is reminiscent of Communist China, Nazi Germany, and other dictatorships.
Hilts has the gall to berate two board members for suggesting reallocating funds from other areas to increase teacher salaries. Yet the board passed without public discussion to raise lawyer Brad Miller’s monthly stipend from $9500 to $12000. Hilts received a new salary of $257K.
Miller has an open tab in the district that doesn’t require board approval, including actions driven by personal vendetta. The district was charged for multiple closed meetings with board members in planning Director Liu’s demise and stalking her social media account. No district lawyer in any other school district enjoys these privileges. D49 paid Brad Miller $250K in 2023 alone.
ASSAULT ON OUR CHILDREN AND OUR COMMUNITY’S VALUE
Lori Thompson, Marie Lavere-Wright, and Mike Heil voted in favor of a high school leadership course which concealed a striking essence of the Marxist playbook. Lori Thompson only endorsed the display of “In God We Trust” on the condition that it was “optional.” Peter Hilts showed his perpetual effervescence of anti-Americsn Marixism by calling our National Motto “outdated” and “divisive.”
Board members have faced strong and disrespectful discouragement from the Superintendent and lawyer when expressing dissident perspectives. Taking into account Peter’s constant attacks on opposing viewpoints and making excuses for harsh truths about our children, how much time does he actually spend thinking about children and academics during his work day? The board meeting agenda did not include academic topics for over six months. It’s rather difficult to recognize D49 as an educational organization.
In an article to come, the actions of Thompson, Graham, and Van Wieren will be detailed with videos, emails and texts as they utilized mob rule and illegal methods to cancel opposing viewpoints.
Lori Thompson has gone as far as threatening to release the phone number of a vocal opponent and has been exploiting her authority as Board President, a position she obtained through manipulation. Graham sent hostile emails to community group leaders who support Director Liu and uphold community values. During meetings, Van Wieren angrily squawks.
What could be the motive behind these three real estate agents openly voting against the community’s values and harming the school district they stand to gain from financially?
The decrease in enrollment in D49 can be attributed to declining academics, even though it is located in a thriving real estate hub. Parents are using Facebook as a platform to express frustration over their children’s unresolved academic issues in schools. Regrettably, many families discreetly departed to enroll their kids in other districts as the mob responsible for D49’s failures persistently deny the existence of parental complaints.
Between May 2022 and June 2023, D49 lost 8 principals, 7 assistant principals, 4 central office administrators, and turned over all four zone assistant superintendents. Staff members are afraid to speak up in fear of losing their jobs or other repercussions.
The new board from Nov 2023 election is already taking D49 down a destructive path. A new leadership program designed to train social justice advocates, with progressive content cleverly hidden, was approved by a 3-2 vote by Marie Lavere-Wright, Mike Heil, and Lori Thompson who adamantly opposed CRT…in her campaign [1].
CRT is back in the district, exactly as intended by Hilts, et al, since the passing of the CRT ban 2.5 years ago against which Hilts fought fiercely.
The floundering in academics continues. The D49 scores have seen a 20-25% plunge from 12 years ago and currently ranks third from the bottom in the Pikes Peak region according to the Gazette. Marie Lavere-Wright served as a board member for eight years and has somehow won her seat again.
John Graham’s service lasted eight years, while Van Wieren’s lasted four. The administration worked diligently to ensure the new board composition would facilitate the continuation of rubber-stamping. Asking how much lower D49 can go academically is not a joking matter. The renewal of Hilts would be a complete travesty. Oh but wait! Due to yet another delay in his performance evaluation, he has obtained another unwarranted contract extension, while D49 students face more challenges.
Heil backs the Teachers Union and is affiliated with leftist community organizations. Lawyer Brad Miller’s manipulations ensured Heil’s uncontested victory for the board seat. It’s another round of a 3-2 leftist board, accompanied by a leftist superintendent, and lawyer Brad Miller as their “Christian conservative” consigliere.
On a Facebook post in May 2020, Hilts declared his support for the BLM movement and the CRT concept of systemic racism [9]. Yet Peter adamantly claims “We are not teaching CRT” as he dubs our National motto “divisive” and “outdated.”
D49 IS IN PROFOUND STRESS. WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO RECALL LORI THOMPSON, THEN MIKE HEIL AND MARIE LAVERE-WRIGHT.
This community needs to act. D49 cannot be allowed to continue its downward spiral with less than 30% proficiency in math and 45% proficiency in reading/writing. The current 3-2 board, superintendent, and lawyer are doing a great disservice to our children and the hardworking teachers who are striving to educate them. This is a CALL for ACTION.
Lori Thompson once proclaimed self-righteously, “Sunlight disinfects.” What the sunlight is revealing is alarming. Ms Thompson, you are a part of the slimy darkness. We are disinfecting. RESIGN now or we will RECALL.
To see all that is going on in D49 that is hidden from the public: see articles posted on the website, http://d49guardians.com
Revised 2/24/24
W.H.
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[1] Peter Hilts hiring in 2013:
https://gazette.com/news/peter-hilts-picked-as-d-49-chief-education-officer/article_1cb1813e-f445-5c9b-a941-0b1e2b86ed5b.html
[2] Lori Thompson’s misrepresentation in the Church Voter Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14T9xwY-2uPef5j8n464upyRpQtbOwegOhRD-9ftq914/edit?usp=sharing
[3] CDE CMAS scores: https://drive.google.com/file/d/13fjToEut_xAfg8TFqInLq96jmDF91EkQ/view?usp=sharing
[4] D49 Board vote record:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17OOmV6BV0HyKlWzNkZhZWJiSoNl4w98uMcx49t-LNO0/edit?usp=sharing
[5] Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uV7Vo59bTRVAmzzRQfe4_Nr6VHhy9aX-e_ozaj9jsDg/edit?usp=sharing
[6] Bullying, oppressing speech, and double-speak: http://d49guardians.com/2023/03/graham-bullying-take-2/
[7] Eleven false allegations against Liu: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pGZSESk6q9bmhOM0hOGWlPT-1PuUT25a/view?usp=sharing
[8] Numerous lawsuits against D49: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o9ZysAUS7CK_t_uOijai0iS0vNmT6kqO7lv2ois4iLE/edit?usp=sharing
[9] Peter Hilts’ Declaration for BLM & Systemic Racism 27May2020 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ntVmt5AGvKr6KtntAZmZ_zxNbTX3aTBAAFiaEHfEc2A/edit?usp=sharing
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To see all that is going on in D49 that is not transparent to the public: http://d49guardians.com