Denver7 heard from several parents who were upset by Jeffco Public Schools Board of Education Member Erin Kenworthy's remarks.

Jefferson County

Following a recent shooting at Evergreen High School, parents in Jefferson County have called for improved safety measures at local schools. During a school board meeting, board member Aaron Kenworthy stated that 'safety is a privilege, not a right,' which led to significant backlash from parents who shared their concerns publicly and on social media.

The district later clarified that Kenworthy's comment was meant to highlight the complexities of ensuring safety in society and that student safety remains a top priority. Experts and parents continue to call for a collaborative approach to address school safety, emphasizing the need for unity and ongoing discussion.

Jeffco Public Schools board member calls safety a 'privilege'

A little over a month after the shooting at Evergreen High School, families across Jefferson County are asking district leadership for changes to school safety. So parents voiced their concerns during a school board meeting last night, and now Denver 7 is hearing from some parents outraged by a comment made by a board member during that discussion. A parent wrote to Denver saying say Denver 7 saying it's the first school board meeting back after the Evergreen shooting, and rather than having a plan of action, Aaron Kenworthy says safety is a privilege. It is not a right. Another parent, Lindsey, said, quote, I shared the clip from Aaron Kenworthy on Twitter and Facebook, and it's going pretty wild. Parents are pretty outraged. Denver 7's Adria Irohita sat down with Lindsey today to listen to her concerns and took them directly to the school district for clarity. It was an emotional meeting. Why do we keep letting this go on? We can put simple measures in place. Many families making pleas to the Jeffco School Board for better school safety measures across the district. On Wednesday the 10th, a trust was broken between my daughter and I. The fact that when she went to school, she would be safe. That shattered promise is not easily fixed, and this comment from board member Aaron Kenworthy towards the end of the night in response to that father's words is causing a stir. For one of the gentlemen, I wanted to say safety is actually a privilege. It is not a right, and it cannot be guaranteed, which is incredibly hard for any parent to say to their child. We just cannot guarantee it. We can do everything we can to support it, but I wanted to say that because safety absolutely is a privilege. Feeling safe is a privilege. We spoke to parent Lindsey Datko after she reached out to Denver 7 regarding that board member's comments. The tone that we see is we need a layered approach to safety and to have, again, this governing member of Board of Education shoot that down as impossible. Of course, no risk can be fully mitigated, but we do expect the fullest effort to protect our students. So I took those concerns to Kenworthy and the district. I got this statement clarifying that the comment was part of a discussion about the idea of safety in society, recognizing that complex systems have vulnerabilities, adding that keeping students safe is the absolute highest priority and remains committed to discussing ways to enhance school safety. Retired SRO and school safety expert Stacey Collis says as these conversations continue to happen, building a culture of unity is key. It was said to us, leave that agenda at the doorstep and come in with an open mind and saying, how do we address this? I think if we did that, we'd find there is much more common ground than there are disparities. You can find the full transcript of school board member Aaron Kenworthy's comment, as well as a link to the school board meeting video on my web story on Denver7.com. In the newsroom, Adria Rahida, Denver 7. As Denver 7's education reporter, Adria is committed to covering the issues that matter most in Colorado classrooms and listening to parents. If there's a story you want her to look into, reach out to Adria by scanning the QR code on your screen or email her directly at adria.irahida.denver7.com.

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