State Senator Suzanne Williams (D-Aurora) has come to senses.  She pulled her Indian mascot bill.  SB 107 was a silly attempt to force public high schools and charter schools to get permission to use any kind of an Indian mascot or pay a fine.  Even those sympathetic to her politics criticized her for trying to legislate political correctness especially when the state faces more pressing issues.

Looks like the Eaton Fightin’ Reds mascot is safe — at least until my University Bulldogs beat the Fightin’ Reds in baseball this spring.

Not really.  My son plays varsity baseball for the University Bulldogs in arguably the most difficult league — the Patriot League in Northern Colorado.  I am no fan of the Eaton Fightin’ Reds because they win all the time.  They are like the New York Yankees. But I’ll be darned if I am going to let a bunch of yahoos at the state capitol try to destroy legislatively a tradition, a culture, an icon of Northern Colorado. 

Typically, I’d simply laugh off SB 107 “Concerning the Use of American Indian Mascots By Public High Schools.”  But this ridiculous bill is dangerous.  It intends to legislate political correctness by requiring any public high school or charter school that

uses an American Indian mascot to either cease using the American Indian mascot or obtain approval for the continued use of the American Indian mascot or another American Indian mascot from the Colorado commission of Indian affairs…

If a public school doesn’t comply, the state will fine the school district $1000 each month.  The money goes into the state education fund.

The bill’s primary sponsor in the Senate is Suzanne Williams, who claims to be one quarter Comanche. Williams told the Denver Post  that 

she’s concerned with American Indian mascots that are caricatures — ‘with a funny nose or something’ — and wants communities to have a ‘healthy dialogue about their heritage.

What Williams and the other misguided legislators sponsoring this bill (see list below) don’t know is that the Fightin’ Reds mascot, described as “an Indian with a misshapen nose, eagle feather and loincloth” is a symbol of pride and instills fear in the hearts of their opponents.  Yes Eaton is that good.

The legislators sponsoring this legislation should be ashamed of themselves.  First, the state faces much more pressing issues such as how to close a billion dollar budget shortfall.  State Senator Scott Renfroe, a former Eaton School Board member and an Eaton Red himself, explained ”It’s such an overreach in a year when we are faced with budget challenges.”

This bill is a classic example of why legislators should not be granted five bill titles.  It’s a waste of time.  Legislators look ridiculous spending time arguing high school mascots when our state unemployment rate just increased six-tenths of one percent to 7.5 percent. 

Second, legislating morality and political correctness are non-starters and divisive.  Third, the school district mascot is something the Eaton community should decide.  SB 107 abuses local control. 

My suspicion is that this ridiculous piece of legislation at least will pass out of the Senate Education committee, where it has been assigned, because four of the Senate sponsors are members of the committee.

As long as legislators threaten one of our own in Northern Colorado, I will be a Fightin’ Red. Consider joining me or join one of the several other rural Colorado high schools – Yuma, Lamar, Montrose — caught up in Denver’s moral righteousness.

But come baseball season, I hope my Bulldogs rip the Reds to pieces!  Go Bulldogs!

Sponsors of SB 107 and their contact information:

Senator Bob Bacon, 303-866-4841, bob.bacon.senate@state.co.us

Senator Rollie Heath, 303-866-4872, rollie.heath.senate@state.co.us

Senator Nancy Spence, 303-866-4883, nancyspence@qwest.net

Senator Pat Steadman, 303-866-4861, sen.steadman@comcast.net

Senator Abel Tapia, 303-866-4878, abel.tapia.senate@state.co.us

Senator Suzanne Williams, 303-866-3432, suzanne.williams.senate@state.co.us

Representative Mike Merrifield, 303-866-2932, michael.merrifield.house@state.co.us

Representative Su Ryden, 303-866-2942, su.ryden.house@state.co.us

Representative Sue Schafer, 303-866-5522, sue.schafer.house@state.co.us

Representative Judy Solano, 303-866-2918, judy.solano.house@state.co.us

Representative Nancy Todd, 303-866-2919, nancy.todd.house@state.co.us

The good news is that Greeley Evans School District Six has finally learned a lesson about transparency…well, sort of.  Lack of transparency is a major reason why the school district endorsed massive tax increase 3A went down in flames.  In response to the public’s demand for more transparency, the school district placed its check registry online for taxpayers to see.  Each month beginning July 2009 is available in PDF.

The bad news is that the district provides no context for or description of the expenditures.  When I, as a taxpayer, must spend an entire afternoon trying to figure out why the district wrote hundreds and hundreds of checks, that is only partial transparency.  Then I am left to speculate how all these expenditures improve student achievement and graduation rates.

The district appears to have spent a significant amount of money ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands on various educational programs, management and IT consultants including Windsor Management Group, Ashlock Consulting, Alpine Achievement, Edison Learning, Didax, Avid, Raising a Reader, Educational Based Services, Dell Marketing, Sage Management, Greeley Dream Team, Pearson Assessments, Gallup Organizations, and Productive Offices and School Environment — just to name a few.

One check of interest was for $21,134.16 to Corporate Environments.  The company’s Web site (if I found the correct one) says it was founded

to meet the growing demand for state-of-the-art workplace furniture that not only enhances our client’s image, but increases efficiency and healthful productivity.

Exactly how does this help student achievement?

UPDATE:  Corporate Environments turned out to be a company out of Lakewood, CO, a division of Office Liquidators, which provides new and used office furniture.

Also discovered: more than $30,000 of taxpayer dollars to Colorado Association of School Boards, $1800 to the Colorado Eagles, and more than $7200 to various pizza establishments (some of this may be for fundraising but there is no way to tell from the information provided).

I give District 6 credit for taking steps towards providing more information.  Taxpayers should review the check registry, ask questions and demand more transparency.  Check out the Jefferson County School District for a fabulous transparency Web site that seems sincere in its attempt to provide taxpayers with information about how Jeffco spends taxpayer dollars.

I am sending a Colorado Opens Records Act (CORA) request to the school district to explain the reasons for some of these expenditures.  I’ll keep you posted.

Taxpayers in Greeley will be happy to know that the city has placed online a wealth on information. On the city’s new transparency page visitors will find everything from the employee pay schedule to financial reports including the check registry.   The city even included a link with information on where to direct an open records request.

City Manager Roy Otto made a good point in a prepared press release.  He said, “During and after the last election cycle City Council members noted that they could not find this type of information on the City’s website. In fact, the information was there, it was just difficult to find.”  

Otto is correct.  Many governments provide information but it is difficult to find.  Making it easier to access is a large component in transparency.

Now, let’s hope Greeley Evans School District 6 be next.

As reported in COST, another blog to which I contribute, the Greeley Evans District 6 school board still disrespects taxpayers.  It recently defeated a modest transparency proposal from new school board member Brett Reese.  Reese asked that every school district transaction over $1000 be posted online for taxpayers to see.  D6 members Judy Kron, Mark Hinze and Linda Trimberger voted against.  That means Reese, Doug Kershaw and Bob Stack voted in favor.

But wait!  Bob Stack? He has a well-documented history of opposition to transparency.  In comments on the Greeley Report, Reese revealed his theory about why Stack voted yes.

I also quietly scribbled a note to my neighbor, Bob Stack after the vote, “nice job saving your skin”.  Work session he voted against it, in public, he voted for it. Another flip-flopper?

Make some popcorn and pull up a chair.  School board meetings have become “Must See TV.”

I just reviewed the campaign finance reports for the school bullies, a.k.a. Yes on 3A.  The largest single contributor to the campaign for 3A, the massive, forever property tax increase — the Greeley Tribune.  Our local newspaper donated $20,000 in advertising.  I wonder if they included all the opinion editorials posing as “news” stories on the front page of the paper.

Other contributors to school bullies include:

Wells Fargo: $5,000
RR Donley: $5,000
Phelps-Tointon: $10,000
Realtor Issues Political Action Committee: $7,000
Ernie Martin: $1,000
Hensel-Phelps: $7,500
Flood & Peterson: $7,500
Conquest Holdings: $1,000
Cache Bank: $7,500
Bank of Choice: $7,500
Holly Ehrlich: $2,500

Readers are welcome to see how Citizens Against School Bullies, the opposition to 3A, spent its money.  On the Colorado Secretary of State’s Web site, you’ll see we raised $1100 total, and have spent about $900.  We were out raised almost 90 to 1, outspent 55 to 1, and they still stole our signs.  We’ll find out on Tuesday, who had a better message.

Following my opinion editorial,  school bullies asked me to prove my facts and figures.  I warned them to be prepared to read because I brought hundreds of pages of documents and studies to back up my position.  Below are links to information that I routinely use to make my points about this disasterous tax increase that voters are being bullied into supporting.

Counting Cash: The Facts about Per-Pupil Spending in Colorado

Heritage Foundation: Does Spending More on Education Improve Academic Achievement?

Separation of Degrees: State-By-State Analysis of Teachers’ Compensation for Master’s Degrees

Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights: National Teachers Union and the Struggle Over School Reform

Remedial education in Colorado higher education:  Page 25 shows Greeley Evans District 6 percentage of first time undergraduates that require remedial education in higher education.

Colorado per-pupil statisics including funding by school district.

Using this intellectual ammunition, we can stand up to school bullies. Vote NO on 3A!  And join Citizens Against School Bullies.

One of the things I find disingenuous about the school bullies’ campaign for 3A is their sudden embrace of charter schools.  In April 2008, Greeley Evans District 6 blamed charter schools for the district’s financial woes.  The Greeley Tribune reported Chief Operations Officer Wayne Eads take on charter schools in the district:

But he [Eads] said much of the crunch was because of the district’s growing charter school student population.

 

Though charter schools, like University Schools and Union Colony Preparatory School, are in District 6, the district’s only role is to pass along the money from state, federal and local levels to the charter schools, keeping about 2.4 percent for administration costs.

 

In the past eight years, while the district’s own student population increased by 9 percent, it saw charter schools grow 79 percent. In the past seven years, the district has seen its charter school allocation increase from $6.8 million to an expected $15.1 million. Each pupil equates to about $6,500 each.

 

“During that time, we have not eliminated a classroom, school or bus route despite loss of revenue,” Eads said.

 

The district makes the argument the growth in charter schools is chipping away at its budget because of fixed operational costs, such as teaching, administration and building costs.

 

The article reveals that students are little more than cash cows for the district.  Less students mean less money.  Charter schools siphon off students so therefore they siphon off cash from the district.  Rather than finding out what it is about charter schools that so many parents find attractive, the district criticizes them for “chipping away at its budget.”

Fast forward to summer 2009 and the start of the push for 3A the massive tax increase.  Now the district is courting, not criticizing, charter schools.  Why?  Because charter school parents are involved, and they vote.  The district wants them to vote yes on 3A so it has included charter schools along with the traditional schools as beneficiaries of mill levy override.

And Wayne Eads is singing a different tune on charter schools.  He recently told a leader in the business community, “I am personally a strong supporter of charters as an expansion of choice for our parents and as competition for the old style model of educational delivery…”

Not surprising that business leader is a actively involved in charter schools in district 6.  Sounds more like campaigning.  Don’t let them BS or bully you.  Vote no on 3A. 

Join our “modest” campaign Citizens Against School Bullies.

The school bullies who are threatening to take away student programs and text books unless  District 6 taxpayers pony up more money are whining.  Apparently some members of the campaign want “equal time” on KFKA because I am helping to organize the opposition to 3A, their massive tax increase.  

What the bullies don’t realize is that the equal time rule pertains only to candidates, not issues. 

My question: why aren’t the series of daily op-eds and a plethora of completely bias “news” articles in the Greeley Tribune enough?  Are they that worried about our new committee Citizens Against School Bullies?  They should be.

Those of us in Greeley Evans School District 6 get daily doses of scare tactics if the massive Mill Levy Override (3A MLO) doesn’t pass.  The real problem is not how much but how the district spends taxpayer dollars.   Check out this great piece in the Wall Street Journal  that explains how teachers’ unions are opposing reforms that lead to greater student achievement among minorities and low income students. 

Throwing more money won’t lead to better educated students; reform will.   We must tie teacher and administrator pay to student achievement and graduation rates.  If we don’t, then parents and students will continue to suffer in the same failing system. Technology, security cameras, new buses, similar starting times may be nice things to have but just having them won’t lead to better educated students.  District 6 must change how it spends taxpayer dollars not just how much it spends. 

Those opposed to 3A please join us at Citizens Against School Bullies.