Westminster District Depiction Is Wrong

I would like to correct a significant error in Steven B. Frates’ commentary “Back to Basics: More Teachers in Classrooms,” which ran June 24.

Although Frates acknowledged that his numbers were not “precise,” they were not even close as far as the Westminster School District is concerned. Frates erroneously stated that during the 1999-2000 fiscal year, 25% of the teachers in the Westminster School District were engaged in activities outside the classroom. The truth is that in 1999-2000, 1.3%, or seven out of 526 teachers employed, were involved in activities outside the classroom that did not involve children. These seven teachers supported other teachers’ discipline issues at the middle-school level.

It is a shame that Frates used estimates and imprecise numbers to frame his article. Had he simply called our district, he would have received accurate and precise information. Not only does the Westminster School District have a low administrator/teacher ratio, as mentioned in Frates’ article, but our numbers clearly show that more than 98% of the teachers employed by our district work directly with students in our schools.

Tris Montgomery

Public information officer Westminster School District