Letters: Parent concerned with Douglas County School Board actions

The following letter was written to the Douglas County school board and superintendent and is being published here ahead of the special board meeting scheduled this week to discuss terminating the contract of long-time district legal representation in favor of hiring Joey Gilbert.

Dear Douglas County School Board & Superintendent Lewis:

I am a parent of two DCSD students (one current, one graduated last year). I read that you are holding a special meeting on Wednesday, July 19th to discuss the firing of the district’s current legal counsel and the hiring of Joey Gilbert's firm. Unfortunately, I will be out of town during this meeting, and cannot give my statement during public comment. So I would like this letter to be read into the record during public comment if at all possible, please.

There was a rumor going around town last month when the new School Board Trustees mentioned adding this discussion onto the agenda that they were getting behind-the-scenes legal advice from Joey Gilbert and their plan was to propose something unreasonable and illegal (banning trans kids from locker rooms and sports) that would cause the current district law firm to “go against” the new trustees' proposed plan which would then be the catalyst for them to point to a reason to fire that law firm and replace them with their backer Joey Gilbert. And now it appears this, or at least part of it was true all along.

I wonder WHY they chose Joey Gilbert, a notorious ambulance chaser and failed GOP primary candidate for governor. He nor his firm has any experience in District law. I’ve scoured his firm's website and found NOTHING even closely related to Schools or public districts in their legal services or past experience. Maybe the Trustees who are pushing for him to be our children’s school district legal counsel can enlighten the rest of us on his firm's expansive experience in District law that would cause them to want him to represent our school district so badly.

One thing Joey Gilbert seems to be good at is personal injury law and DUIs. That is what is prominent on his firm's website. Personally, I don’t want my kid's school district represented by someone who does NOT have the needed experience to do their job. I assume the new Trustees like Joey Gilbert and are pushing for him to be the district legal counsel because he tells them what they want to hear and will support their agenda, no matter how illegal or irresponsible it is.

I am reminded that the new trustees don’t have children in the district, and never have. I find it funny that these are the representatives the local Republican party felt were best for our kids' school.

Why would anyone want to put a personal injury attorney, election denier, January 6th insurrectionist, and failed primary governor candidate in as a School District legal counsel? The only reason I can think of is so they can dismantle the District to make it easier to get support for the “school voucher program” that the GOP is pushing nationwide. If they can say “Look, our district isn’t functioning in its current state” after making horrid changes that cause the district to get close to failing (like getting sued by the ACLU and State), then they can get public support for their REAL plan of school vouchers.

Why did the GOP push for school vouchers? Because it would allow more private “charter” schools that would then be publicly funded. Most of these schools are for-profit and cut corners to earn their CEOs and stockholders more money while sacrificing the pay of the teachers and the educational experience for the kids. Not all are bad, but turning our kids' public education into a for-profit enterprise is NOT good for them. All it does is put money in the pockets of greedy owners and administrators.

Personally, as a mother, I would rather have my kid's education be non-profit and focused on their well-being and future instead of some CEOs trip to Europe or a second home in the Alps. But maybe the new School Trustees have different ideas for what is best for our kids and want to line the pockets of the charter school CEOs. Would love for them to tell me otherwise.

- Amanda Adams
Mother, business owner, and local voter