Serious Disciplinary Actions Are Escalating in Both Departments.
This analysis examines disciplinary trends for Widefield School District 3’s Custodial and Security departments across six school years, from 2020–21 through the first half of 2025–26. The data was obtained by the Widefield Education Association through a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request and covers new hires, resignations, written discipline, administrative leaves, and terminations.
Both departments show a consistent and accelerating pattern: written discipline has increased steadily since 2022–23, and the first half of 2025–26 has already produced more administrative leaves and terminations than any prior full year on record.
The surge in administrative leaves is the most striking signal in the data: 6 in Custodial and 3 in Security in just the first half of 2025–26, compared to a combined two-department total of 4 across the prior five full years. Whether this reflects a shift in how misconduct is being addressed, changes in supervision, or a cluster of specific incidents, the pattern is a significant departure from the historical baseline and warrants explanation.
Custodial Department
Data as of December 30, 2025 · Six-year trend
New hires into the custodial department have been consistently high across the six-year period, ranging from 12 to 26 per year. Resignations have climbed in parallel, peaking at 28 in 2024–25 before returning to 16 in the first half of 2025–26. The sustained gap between hiring activity and retention indicates a persistent churn pattern that predates and runs alongside the disciplinary escalation documented below.
| Metric | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 | 23–24 | 24–25 | 25–26 (Mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hires | 12 | 18 | 21 | 19 | 26 | 15 |
| Resignations | 7 | 11 | 19 | 16 | 28 | 16 |
Note: New hire and resignation totals may not directly offset one another because some positions were filled internally or posted multiple times. Data as of 12/30/2025.
Serious Discipline Is Escalating Sharply
Written discipline in the custodial department held between 3 and 4 instances per year from 2020–21 through 2022–23, then climbed to 7 in 2023–24 and 9 in 2024–25. The more striking pattern is the sudden surge in administrative leaves and terminations beginning in 2025–26. In just the first half of the current school year, the department has already recorded 6 administrative leaves and 3 terminations, exceeding the total for every prior full year.
| School Year | Written Discipline | Admin. Leave | Terminations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | 4 | — | — |
| 2021–22 | 4 | — | — |
| 2022–23 | 3 | — | 1 |
| 2023–24 | 7 | 1 | — |
| 2024–25 | 9 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025–26 (Mid-Year) | 5 | 6 | 3 |
In the first half of 2025–26, the Custodial department has already exceeded the full-year administrative leave total for every prior year on record, and recorded more terminations than in the prior four years combined, with data only through December 30, 2025.
Written discipline held between 3 and 4 per year from 2020–21 through 2022–23, then climbed to 7 in 2023–24 and 9 in 2024–25, with 5 already recorded at mid-year 2025–26. The acceleration in more serious actions (administrative leave and termination) is the more notable finding and suggests either a shift in how misconduct is being addressed or an increase in the severity of incidents occurring.
Security Department
Data as of December 31, 2025 · 22 budgeted positions (20 armed, 1 campus supervisor/custodian, 1 educational assistant) · Six-year trend
The Security department underwent significant restructuring between 2021–22 and 2022–23, nearly doubling its budgeted positions from 11 to 21 and dramatically expanding the proportion of armed officers (from 5 to 19). Resignations have been a persistent feature throughout the period, with 5 departures in both 2021–22 and 2024–25. New hire activity has been low relative to departures in several years, reflecting ongoing difficulty sustaining staffing at the intended scale.
| Metric | 20–21 | 21–22 | 22–23 | 23–24 | 24–25 | 25–26 (Mid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hires | 4 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Resignations | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
Note: New hire and resignation totals may not directly offset one another because some positions were filled internally or posted multiple times. Data as of 12/31/2025.
Administrative Leaves Spike After Years at Zero
The Security department had zero administrative leaves in the first three years of the record. That figure rose to 1 in each of 2023–24 and 2024–25. In the first half of 2025–26, there have already been 3 administrative leaves, exceeding the cumulative total of 2 from the prior five full years. This acceleration mirrors the pattern in Custodial and suggests a district-wide shift rather than an isolated departmental event.
| School Year | Written Discipline | Admin. Leave | Terminations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021–22 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022–23 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2024–25 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025–26 (Mid-Year) | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Both departments are experiencing their worst disciplinary year on record at the halfway point of 2025–26.
Custodial and Security together have recorded 9 administrative leaves and 4 terminations in the first half of 2025–26. Across the prior five full years, both departments combined for a total of 4 administrative leaves and 4 terminations. The pace of serious disciplinary action in the current year is running at more than double any prior annual rate.
Written discipline in Security has fluctuated without a clear trend, ranging between 0 and 4 per year. It is the escalation in administrative leaves, which are typically reserved for more serious or complex situations, that stands out. The parallel escalation across both departments in the same school year points toward a common cause that merits direct investigation.
Two Patterns That Demand Attention
A Sharp, Concurrent Surge in Serious Disciplinary Actions Across Both Departments
Both departments show a dramatic increase in administrative leaves and terminations in the first half of 2025–26 that breaks sharply from the historical pattern. Custodial has recorded 6 administrative leaves and 3 terminations at mid-year; Security has recorded 3 administrative leaves and 1 termination. The fact that both departments are experiencing this acceleration in the same school year makes an isolated or coincidental explanation less likely. Whether this reflects new enforcement priorities, specific incidents, or supervisory changes is not evident from the data alone, but the pattern is significant and warrants explanation.
Chronic Turnover in Custodial Predates and Compounds the Disciplinary Trend
The Custodial department has maintained consistently high new hire activity, between 12 and 26 per year, but resignations have climbed in parallel, peaking at 28 in 2024–25. This pattern indicates an enduring retention problem rather than a recruitment one, and it predates the disciplinary escalation seen in 2025–26. A workforce experiencing high ongoing churn may be more susceptible to the kinds of conduct issues that produce written discipline, administrative leave, and termination.
Conclusion
The six-year CORA data for Widefield School District 3’s Custodial and Security departments shows a disciplinary environment that has changed markedly in the current school year. Written discipline has trended upward in Custodial since 2022–23, but it is the parallel surge in administrative leaves and terminations across both departments in the first half of 2025–26 that represents the clearest break from historical norms.
The two-department total of 9 administrative leaves and 4 terminations at mid-year already exceeds the combined five-year prior total. The fact that this escalation is occurring simultaneously in two separate departments points toward a shared cause, whether a change in supervisory or administrative approach, a specific period of incidents, or a shift in how the district is handling personnel matters.