Conservative Jeffco School Board Member Insults Students, Teachers

On a conservative Denver radio show Saturday, embattled Jeffco School Board Chair Ken Witt continued his attack on Jeffco teachers and students, saying that students are essentially pawns, "brought into this kind of thing" to advance the agenda of teachers and unions.
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On a conservative Denver radio show Saturday, embattled Jeffco School Board Chair Ken Witt continued his attack on Jeffco teachers and students, saying that students are essentially pawns, "brought into this kind of thing" to advance the agenda of teachers and unions.

Along with fellow conservatives John Newkirk and Julie Williams, Witt is facing a recall campaign by Jefferson County residents to remove them from office. The last day to drop off ballots is this Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Questioned by Hayden, Witt said:

Witt: It's absolutely the case that passions run high in education. And it's unfortunate when our educators get involved in the passion, and bring students into it, instead of keeping it outside and the dialogue outside the school grounds... The unfortunate fact is that as these kinds of dialogues happen about education, particularly the union, brings those who are actually delivering the education into the fray, if you will. Unfortunately, there is some spillover into the classrooms. And of course it's never appropriate for our students to be brought into this kind of a thing.

Bonniwell: Well, the children are pawns...

Witt: Yeah. It is unfortunate.

Listen to Witt here.

The accusation that students and others in Jeffco are pawns of the teachers' unions, or somehow tricked into entering the debate because they are stupid, is demonstrably false, as everyone knows after seeing the spontaneous protests against Witt's, Williams', and Newkirk's policies.

Why Witt keeps saying it, particularly as he's fighting to save his seat on the Jeffco Board is beyond me, because it damages him. It insults the intelligence of the students and community has no zero chance of helping him stay in office.

Listen to the entire interview here:

https://soundcloud.com/bigmedia-org/jeffco-school-board-member-discusses-the-recall-effort-with-bonniwell-hayden-on-knus-102415

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