On the final Friday afternoon of the school year last week, the Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA) scheduled a “Rally to Take Back our Schools” in Clement Park. Scheduled for 4 p.m., hundreds were still searching for parking spaces as the skies opened at 4:15 and the crowd sought shelter beneath the picnic pavilions that surround the amphitheater. Sheets of rain, driven by gusts of wind drenched those along the periphery of the shelters. Umbrellas had to be clenched in both hands. After 30 minutes, the rain eased and a crowd of perhaps a thousand began to migrate towards the stage. The sound system had shorted out during the interim and only a battery-powered bullhorn was available to address the teachers, students and parents who remained. Its sound barely penetrated past the first 10 rows so the crowd began to dissolve into knots of friends and acquaintances who could exchange gossip and rumors.

Many of the students wore black T-shirts with the red “not” symbol overlaid on the word “pawn,” a reference to the complaint expressed by the conservative majority on the Jefferson School Board that teachers have organized and dispatched student protestors to board meetings as pawns to express their concerns. There was considerable chatter about the announced resignation of Board spokesperson, Lisa Pinto, who is believed to have been “thrown under the bus” by the board majority for the release of student Twitter feeds at a board meeting that identified individual accounts. It was alleged that Pinto has been attempting to interest journalists with copies of these communications between minors, whose identity should be protected. One student speaker claimed she has been followed from board meetings, had her car vandalized and received personal threats by email and phone. Animosity appears to be running high in Jeffco.

School Superintendent Dan McInimee, who was hired from Douglas County a year ago, is the target of much of this animus. The chief contract negotiator with the Douglas County American Federation of Teachers (AFT) the year before last, he is felt to have led the union on — continuing to claim they could reach an agreement, but knowing full well the Douglas School Board would reject any contract once it was presented to them. JCEA members appear to have little faith that the current contract renewal negotiations will receive a different welcome from the Jeffco Board majority. Many expressed a sense that the negotiations underway are little more than a charade. Therefore, they are preparing themselves for a strike, the JCEA having distributed a “Strike FAQs” sheet to members last week.

Two school board seats are up for election this November, both of them currently held by the more liberal minority. Although there has been interest expressed in recalling the majority members, the prospective minority candidates are resisting a recall on the grounds that it would make their own re-elections more difficult, turning out TEA party voters. Not everyone agrees, however, as it is hard to see how a strike would aid these campaigns. A rump group of teachers may move ahead with the recalls on the grounds that it is better to throw the entire conflict into the open and onto the ballot. Voters may believe they elect board members to handle school issues for them, but, as one teacher explained, it may be worthwhile to make it clear to taxpayers that, “…the Board members are the issue”. Fireworks to follow.

— Miller Hudson is a public affairs consultant. He can be reached at mnhwriter@msn.com.