Court: Jeffco Schools Must Release List of Teachers Who Walked Off Job
By Mark Ackerman
DENVER (CBS4) – The Colorado Supreme Court has decided not to intervene in a state appellate court's decision to release the names of Jefferson County teachers who took part in sickouts at four schools in 2014.
The Supreme Court's inaction is a victory for Kathy Littlefield, a mother from Golden, who filed suit.
"They disrespected the taxpayers and disrespected the students," Littlefield told CBS4. "I don't understand what the big secret is."
In September, 2014, some teachers at Standley Lake, Conifer, Golden and Jefferson high schools told CBS4 they were staging a sickout to protest school board decisions about the history curriculum and changes to teachers' pay.
In some cases, more than 70 percent of the teachers were absent, forcing schools to close for the day.
"We are paying them through our tax dollars. They should be taking care of it on their own time," said Littlefield, who two years later says she still wants the list of teachers to make sure her children aren't in their classes.
Jeffrey Roberts, Executive Director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, says the decision is a victory for the press and anyone else seeking information about government employees.
"It is an important freedom of information decision because it allows the public to know about teacher compensation and could lead to information about job performance as well," said Roberts.
The Jefferson County Education Association teacher's union fought in court to block the release of the teachers' names. Calls for comment were not immediately returned.
Mark Ackerman is a Special Projects Producer at CBS4. Follow him on Twitter @ackermanmark
