KIDS FIRST DIRECTORS THREATENED SUPERINTENDENT COREY WISE TO RESIGN QUIETLY OR THEY WOULD FIRE FOR HIM FOR CAUSE (WHICH THEY DID NOT)

The audio recording made by former Douglas County School District Superintendent Corey Wise of his meeting in a coffee shop on January 28, 2022 with Board President Mike Peterson and Vice President Cindy Williams, contains some true bombshells.

First, it is absolutely clear that Peterson told Wise that all four of the newly elected “Kids First” Directors (Peterson, Williams, Myers and Winegar aka KF4) were “absolutely committed” to terminating his contract. This shows, indisputably, that Peterson perjured himself when he testified under oath in an open court proceeding (February 25, 2022) when he emphatically declared

“nor did we ask (Wise) to resign at that meeting” and “we did not ask him to resign immediately. We asked him to consider a variety of options.”

This is absolutely false. The audio tape is clearer at some points than others, but one can readily hear Peterson and Williams telling Wise on a Friday morning that he must resign by Tuesday evening after he came back from a planned family vacation. And if he didn’t, the KF4 would terminate him for cause.

Second, Peterson also falsely testified that

no decision was made on the Superintendent until the 4th (of February)

On Feb 4, the Board voted in a public meeting (4-3) to terminate Wise’s contract without cause. But simply compare a few points of the court hearing transcript at 84:6-9, 94:11-14, and 99:18-20 to Peterson’s actions and words when meeting with Wise. There are numerous points of absolute contradiction between the Wise tape and the testimony, under oath, of Peterson & Williams.

These contradictions were so obvious during the court hearing, where any reasonably objective person knew they were lying, that Peterson and Williams’ attorney had to argue to the court that the judge should believe what they were saying under oath that day and not what they had previously told two other directors who were not privy to the conversation, since Peterson and Williams did not know they were being recorded by those directors and were not under oath then when they made their statements.

Given the preliminary injunction against the KF4 quickly issued, the court was not swayed by that ridiculous argument.

Third, the audio recording shows Peterson trying to coerce Wise to resign his position as Superintendent within five days after the meeting while Wise was on vacation, by offering to “advocate” to extend Wise’s salary payments until the end of the school year (June). But if Wise chose not to resign, the KF4 board members threatened to institute proceedings to terminate Wise’s employment contract “for cause”, which purportedly would cut off Wise’s salary payments immediately and smear his reputation, making it difficult for him to find other employment opportunities. The KF4 ultimately never moved to terminate Wise for cause and summarily dismissed him without cause, showing it was an empty threat.

Fourth, Peterson informed Wise at the meeting that he was going to notify and speak to the County Commissioners about Wise’s termination. This was before any of the KF4 notified or spoke to any of the other DCSD Board of Education directors regarding their illicit and illegal termination of Wise’s employment.

The full audio recording of the hastily-called meeting between Board Directors Peterson and Wise and the Superintendent was made by Wise using his cellphone. None of the three KF4 Directors who testified at the February 25, 2022 hearing knew at that time that the January 28 meeting had been recorded. This obviously emboldened them to simply lie under oath and say it was their word against Wise’s.

Any reasonably objective person who heard their testimony in Court on February 25, 2022 knew they were lying under oath, but most attorneys opined that no District Attorney would take up the case unless there was a recording of the actual conversation between Wise and Peterson/Williams to show, beyond a reasonable doubt, that they were bald-faced lying under oath.

That recording now exists. It is difficult for one to have faith that 18th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner would take any action against his political brethren and supporters based upon his past actions and record. But one can wait, see, and hope that accountability will occur.

Western Civilization used to take lying under oath seriously. “Thou Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Thy Neighbor”; Dante’s Inferno reserved the 8th level of Hell, out of nine, for perjurers and liars; and the Colorado Constitution bans anyone convicted of perjury from ever holding a position or office of public trust in the state. Yet one has to doubt in today’s hyper-politicized environment if justice will be blindly administered, especially to those who intentionally try to undermine our justice system by lying under oath in court.

Very Respectfully,

Robert C. Marshall