Fracking tensions have seeped down to the elementary school level in Lafayette, where a meeting is set this week after a principal took steps to limit bannering activities relating to oil and gas issues.
East Boulder County United, which has been vocal in opposing plans for large-scale expansion of oil and gas development across broad sections of the area along the U.S. 287 corridor, has drawn attention to the school's stance and is contesting the school's actions.
The school community's interest in the subject is more than just academic. One example of the drive to dot the eastern county with hundreds of wells is the application by Extraction under its subsidiary 8 North for a state drilling and spacing order on a 1,280-acre area between Arapahoe and Baseline roads in the Lafayette-Erie area, which encompasses at its southwest corner the Escuela Bilingue Pioneer Elementary property.
Emily Love, who is a member of the Parent-Teachers Association and has a son in the fourth grade at Pioneer, said, "My son and I are very involved in planning a lot of the bannering at the school.
"It is a youth-led effort. The kids come out after school and they hand out signs to friends and parents, and from 3:20 to 4 p.m. every Friday after school, they meet and they walk to Baseline (Road) and they hold up signs and they share the chants that they have made up."
In recent days, however, Principal Guillermo Medina sent an email that school community members in opposition to fracking see as an effort to quash their activities.
"Guillermo's an incredible leader. He has been extremely supportive of the kids, in particular, getting involved, and he sees this as a deeper learning activity and I have felt very grateful for his leadership around that," said Love, a member of East Boulder County United.
"He said that a parent emailed and said they were scared of the picketing, and he wants to keep the school neutral. He asked that the bannering happen a half step outside of school property."
Medina did not return a call seeking comment on Tuesday. But, speaking for the district, spokesman Randy Barber said students' free speech rights are being respected within the parameters of the school curriculum. If they choose to protest with their parents, they will be kept off of the school campus.
"We certainly value our community's First Amendment right to protest," Barber said. "We just ask them to do that on public property, off campus, and not interfere with the school day. Our primary focus is on student learning and ensuring their safety."
Love does not see room for the school to remain "neutral" on the issue.
"This is a very hard issue for our community, and I think that the district and the school needs to stand with parents against fracking," she said. "Randy Barber says their priorities are to support learning and the safety of our students, and it's well documented that fracking will put our children and our educators in danger every single day.
"Our hope, my hope, is that the school and the district will stand with us in fighting fracking. When he says we need to be neutral on this issue, we need to be neutral on oil and gas harming and polluting our children, that is not acceptable."
Cliff Willmeng, a member of East Boulder County United with children in fourth and second grade at Pioneer, said a meeting is set for Thursday between Pioneer parents and Medina to, as it is stated on the group's Facebook page, "determine how to proceed with the request to remove educational events from the school while Extraction prepares its drilling plan."
And, looking beyond that meeting, Willmeng said East Boulder County United is also working on organizing a school walkout over fracking in April or early May, possibly with the participation of Earth Guardians and the International Indigenous Youth Council. Willmeng is running for the Boulder County Commissioner's District 3 seat.
Willmeng, like Love, spoke highly of Medina, calling him "a great principal."
However, he added: "The question is, why did the principal suddenly take a U-turn on all of this? ... Pioneer is a school that celebrates the civil rights movement. Pioneer has already embraced political expression.
"Our issue is not with the rank-and-file oil and gas workers. Our issue is placing an entire student body at risk of physical harm. And those students who feel strongly about that are entitled to the right to object to that. The spirit of Pioneer embraces that sort of effort."
Charlie Brennan: 303-473-1327, brennanc@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/chasbrennan