WPSD sues City of Woodland Park for alleged state law violation
(TELLER COUNTY, Colo.) — Woodland Park School District (WPSD) has filed a lawsuit against the City of Woodland Park because the city council allegedly violated a state law.
On March 10, the City Council conducted a public meeting at around 10:30 a.m. Mayor Kellie Case announced that it would be holding an executive session, and mayor pro-term Catherine Nakai allegedly announced it would be moving to a closed session.
The lawsuit states that Nakai moved to convene to a closed session under Subsection C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(b), which allows the board to meet privately with an attorney for purposes of receiving legal advice on specific legal questions.
After meeting behind closed doors, the City Council returned 35 minutes later at 11:08 a.m. and voted to repeal a voter-approved sales tax directly in support of the District. The lawsuit alleges that, due to holding the meeting behind closed doors, the City Council violated WPSD's rights under Colorado's Open Meetings Law.
The state law says that 'any meeting of a body of the general assembly at which the adoption of any proposed policy, position, resolution, rule, regulation, or formal action occurs or at which a majority or quorum of a body of the general assembly is in attendance or expected to be in attendance can only be held after full and timely notice to the public.'
The lawsuit states that City Council improperly cited subsections to authorize the executive session and also failed to describe the matter it intended to discuss in the session.
'The City Council's violation of COML prevented the District from knowing the particularmatters the City Council discussed in the executive session in as much detail as was possiblewithout compromising the purpose for which an executive session is authorized under C.R.S.§ 24-6-402(4)(e)(I),' the lawsuit states.
When asked, Mayor Kelli Case said she was not at liberty to comment. While the City said it did 'not have a comment on this matter at this time.'
FOX21 News reached out to the Woodland Park School District for a comment but has not yet received a response.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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