More than 18,000 people have signed an online petition to recall Douglas County School District school board members who voted to remove the district’s superintendent on Friday night. 

The petition on Change.org had received more than 18,000 signatures as of 10 p.m. Saturday. It was launched by a parent, Kaci Burns Nice, who is calling on fellow parents and teachers to stand with her.

Douglas County school board votes to fire superintendent despite protests from staff, students

“Stand with me the right way – Demand their resignations and sign this petition to show support and to show our children this sort of behavior will not be tolerated,” Nice wrote in her petition. “This is not a way to get what you want. Let’s do it the right way and show them how to get things done. Stand with me and ask as many as you can to sign this petition!”

Nice said her petition is not a formal recall petition, but is a way to stay informed about a potential formal recall. She added that an official recall cannot occur until six months after members are elected into office. 

The district’s school board voted to remove Superintendent Corey Wise in a 4-3 vote during a special meeting on Friday night. Wise had been with the district for 26 years and assumed his role last August. 

The vote came a week after the newly elected majority – Mike Peterson, Christy Williams, Becky Myers and Kaylee Winegar – met with Wise and allegedly gave him an ultimatum to either resign or be fired. The board’s three incumbent members claim they did not learn about the ultimatum until after it was made. 

The allegations led to more than 1,000 teachers calling in sick on Thursday to protest the chance that Wise would be terminated, and led to all PreK to 12th grade classes being canceled. 

The seven board members debated Wise’s future with the district on Friday night. The three holdover members saw the decision as disastrous and board member David Ray warned it would lead the district into “the Dark Ages.”

Holdovers Ray, Susan Meek and Elizabeth Hanson criticized the manner in which the decision was made, the lack of public input and the reasoning behind the decision.

Because of the vote, images began to circulate online indicating there would be a student walkout on Monday at 1:10 p.m. According to a Facebook post from SPEAK for DCSD,  the walkout is in retaliation to the firing of Wise and the new school board majority’s resolution to review the district’s equity policy. The post calls for the resignation or recall of the new conservative majority of the school board.

An Instagram account that claims to be student-led, educationoverpolitics, is calling for students across the district to vacate classrooms and meet the flag pole or another ideal location of their schools. Posts featured on the account ask for people to make rally posters celebrating diversity, inclusion, equity and appreciation for teachers. The posts also asks students to make posters thanking Wise or threatening recall to the four majority board members. 

The Douglas County School District’s teachers union also released a statement on Saturday that was acquired by 9News. The statement said that Friday’s vote shocked the community and sent an “ominous message that every district employee isn’t safe.”

Douglas County Schools cancel Thursday classes as teachers take part in protest

“The message is that employee voices are not valued, and it clearly indicates that employees’ extraordinary efforts during the pandemic are long forgotten,” the statement read. “Unfortunately, it also says: look for options elsewhere.”

On Saturday night Tay Anderson, vice president of Denver Public Schools, sent a letter admonishing the board majority. It was signed by 50 current and former state school board directors.

“Removing an effective superintendent like Corey Wise without cause, without opportunity for public engagement, and despite strong and vocal pushback from teachers, students, and staff is a failure of governance,” the letter reads, in part. “… We echo the call by those in the minority on the Douglas County School Board for a transparent process that is in full compliance with the law as they select the next leader for Douglas County Schools. We also hope that the new majority recognizes the need for unity as they will be charged with bringing together a divided community.”

In addition to the petition, Nice has established a GoFundMe page that will help Wise with legal fees. The fund had raised over $23,000 as of 10 p.m. Saturday. 

“Corey has been an educator in this community for 26 year and is one of the finest educators and leaders I’ve known.,” the GoFundMe reads. 

Attempts to reach Nice were unsuccessful on Saturday.