Taxpayers should write a big thank you note to the members of the Douglas County School Board. They had the nerve to say “NO” to the school bullies that defend the education establishment.

The Douglas County School Board won’t use taxpayer dollars to sue taxpayers for more — you guessed it — taxpayer dollars, according to a story from Face the State. The state’s third largest school district won’t join Greeley Evans District 6, the Poudre School District, and 15 others across the state in the Lobato v. Colorado case, a.k.a. “Lobatomy v. Colorado.”

Despite pressure from the Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB), the Douglas County School Board ultimately sided with Attorney General John Suthers who believes this issue should not be litigated but rather legislated.

Our board has taken a look at it, and we feel that the issue involved is properly dealt with by the elected Legislature, and not the courts, said John Carson, president of the Douglas County School Board.

Even without Douglas County, CASB raided taxpayers’ wallets to the tune of nearly $245,000 to litigate this case.

Thanks to my friends at Complete Colorado for pointing me to this story. You can hear either Todd Shepherd and Justin Longo,of Complete Colorado on my show every Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. on 1310 KFKA for a media wrap up including the most over and under reported news stories of each week as well as stories that could only happen in Boulder.

I can’t take credit for the title.  It comes from Poudre School Board member Patrick Albright who, along with fellow Director Barbara Schwerin, had the courage to stand up against the prevailing majority that voted to use taxpayer money to fund Lobato v. Colorado, a class action lawsuit to sue taxpayers for more K-12 funding.

In an email to me, Director Albright described how he called out the school board for its hypocrisy.

The school funding system they seek to overturn is codified into law by the school finance act–this year it was HB10-1369. I asked “What did the Board due to oppose this supposedly unconstitutional legislation that you seek to overturn?” Well, here is what the Board did: We paid a lobbyist (Fofi Mendez) to lobby the legislature in favor of, among other things, passage of HB10-1369.

I asked them “Do we really want to spend taxpayer money to fund a lawsuit to overturn an act that we spent taxpayer money to lobby in favor of?”

The answer?

Yes.

Despite having eliminated 139 full-time employees and offered early retirement to another 63 in order to cover a $12 million budget shortfall, the PSD board decided to give $25,000 to the cause of suing parents and taxpayers in Colorado.

In addition to the cost, Albright cited his concern of an unelected judiciary deciding “adequate” K-12 education funding and the lawsuit’s “unspoken” purpose to further weaken the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

Director Jim Hayes won’t lose any sleep over destroying the only line of defense between parents’ pocketbooks and the education lobby. Albright provided what he called the “quote of the evening.” After Albright defended TABOR, Hayes explained how the voters were duped into voting for it:

You say the public has spoken. Well, I disagree. I think the public is naive and easily swayed and the money has spoken.

Poudre School District residents can take some comfort in knowing they aren’t alone.  While crying poverty, the school bullies in Greeley Evans School District 6 voted to do the same thing with nearly $18,000 of parents’ and taxpayers’ money.

This week Coloradans got their first glimpse at 2010 student achievement scores with the release of third graders’ CSAP reading test results.  They weren’t great.  The Denver Post headline read “30 percent of Colorado 3rd-graders not reading at their level, CSAP finds.”

The perspective from Greeley’s newspaper was a bit different.  The public school cheerleaders, a.k.a. The Tribune, wasted no time spinning the Greeley Evans District Six marginal test results as success. An article headlined “District 6 third-graders narrow the gap in CSAP reading scores” began with this lede:

After slipping a bit last year, Greeley-Evans third-graders took a giant leap forward this year in closing the gap between their scores on the Colorado Student Assessment Program reading test and the statewide average score.

Quick history lesson.  In 2008, 65 percent of D6 third graders were proficient or better in reading.  In 2009, the percentage of proficient or better dropped to 63 percent.  This year the percentage is back up to 65.

So according to the Tribune, “slipping a bit” means a two percentage point drop from 2008 to 2009.  In fact, when the Tribune reported on the 2009 D6 third grade reading scores, it called the slide a simple “step backward.” Now, a two percentage point rise that brings D6 back to 2008 levels is labeled as a “giant leap forward.”

Also, as the paper promoted in its headline, D6 narrowed the achievement gap between its students and the state average.  The second paragraph reveals much of the reason why.

The state helped out a bit by dropping 3 percentage points since last year in the average number of students scoring proficient or advanced.

So D6 third graders took a “giant leap forward” because third graders in other districts didn’t perform as well. The newspaper should be ashamed of itself, but it probably isn’t.

The Tribune does no favors to the school district, students, parents or the community by constantly sugar coating marginal results.  Want to congratulate schools that saw success such as East Memorial or Shawsheen Elementary with their 15 and 14 point percentage increases respectively? Great!  Do it.  Those schools deserve recognition for their hard work but the district should not be congratulated for  the unacceptable fact that 35 percent of D6 third grade students read below grade level.

The Tribune has been a cheerleader and an apologist for the school district administration for as long as I can remember.  Remember this glowing editorial about former Superintendent Tony Pariso who left the district just as it was facing academic watch.  The Tribune’s inability to report honestly on the school district makes the paper part of the problem instead part of the  solution for a better education for our kids.

Even my little friend Eddie knows the difference between journalism and junk.  Check out his take on how the Greeley Tribune “reported” third grade reading scores.

Cash-strapped Colorado school districts have ponied up nearly $245,000 in taxpayer dollars to fund a class action lawsuit to sue taxpayers for more money for K-12 education according to a recent Face the State article.

The Colorado Association of School Boards (CASB) and the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE) are championing the suit, Lobato v. Colorado. In January of this year a letter signed by both organizations (and linked to on Face the State) urged every school district to donate $1 per student to pay for legal expenses.

Greeley Evans School District 6, which suffered an electoral shellacking last November when it asked voters for an enormous mill levy override, acquiesced and gave $17,856 to the cause of demanding more from taxpayers.

The letter also reveals the true intent of the lawsuit: to get rid of the popular Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR).  Talking points that accompanied the letter stated:

…this lawsuit is a powerful lever to move forward fixing the constitutional restrictions that prevent Colorado from adequately funding its public schools. This will be the catalyst for funding reform that has been needed for years.

“Constitutional restrictions” is a code phrase for TABOR.  What the education/industrial complex and those who make their living off it find most annoying is having to ask taxpayers for more money. They would rather just lobby the legislature, where they enjoy a lot of influence, to raise taxes.

Learn more on Monday, when Brad Jones, managing editor of Face the State joins me at 9:30 am on the Amy Oliver Show on News Talk 1310 KFKA.

The article below is from my friend Nancy Rumfelt who witnessed the assault on the Colorado Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.  There is a feeling that this is the progressive left’s last hurrah so their coalition is trying to ram through the legislature as much as possible and HCR 10-1002 is no exception.

HCR10-1002 is Educational Trojan Horse for TABOR

Today at the Capital was a hearing on house bill HCR10-1002 which if passed will ask voters in November to decide if TABOR should be thrown under the school bus so the legislature can be given all power, responsibility and authority to raise revenue (taxes) to fund education without any further voter approval.

If voters pass in November, the bill will allow the legislature to raise revenue for education that will not be subject to voter approval, any spending limits and can be used for anything labeled education. There are no safeguards in the bill that will prevent any future legislature from going on a spending spree and saying: “oops no money left for the children – guess we will have to raise taxes to buy the lil urchins some school books”. This makes as much sense as when President Obama said we have to spend more to reduce our debt!

I listened to three hours of testimony at the Capital today most of which was in support of this bill and the supporters truly believe that government is here to help and that education will NEVER have cuts again. I am a person who does try to understand differing positions but today even after 3 hours of listening to “their side” I could not find logic to support their beliefs.

There was much talk of needing to invest in education but no one could define invest in what or invest how much, we just need to invest lots of money and passing this measure means education will never do without ever again. I would like to applaud Rep. Frank McNulty who tried several times to get someone, anyone to explain, what is an adequate level of funding for education but no one could answer. When Rep. McNulty pointed out that legislators are expected to know what is adequate you could almost hear everyone’s thoughts of: “well duh you are the all knowing all powerful legislator Gods that takes care of us”.

As a Mom of two beautiful teenage girls, I understand parents wanting the best for their kid’s education but what I don’t understand is bankrupting their kid’s future. The desire to fund education and to never have to worry about money again blinds them all to the true nature of this bill which is to annihilate TABOR. It is naïve to believe that government will not mismanage general funds and then use education as a justification for raising taxes to back fill the deficit created. Supporters of this measure lament that Colorado has one of the strictest revenue limits in the country without understanding that TABOR is what has stopped the state from becoming the next California, New York, New Jersey and so one.

All one has to do is look to Amendment 23, Ref C, Mill Levy Freeze, Vehicle Tax and know that it is never a good idea to give the government a blank check without requiring the taxpayers to be a co-signer on the account! The government whether state or federal is like the space creature from the classic movie The Blob – whatever it consumes it destroys and the more it consumes the larger it becomes until nothing is left.

Where is Steve McQueen when you need him?

Nancy Rumfelt

Co-Founder Loveland 912 Project & Accidental Activist

The resolution passed out of the House Education Committee along a party line vote.  It faces a tougher vote in the full House where it needs two-thirds support to pass.

If you are wondering how much this will cost Colorado families, that’s a good question.  No one knows because no one knows how much the legislature would raise taxes. The fiscal note reads “unknown increase.”   Make no mistake, this would mean a lot more money from taxpayers’ pockets.  And it  would give the Colorado Education Association, the teachers union, enormous power to raise taxes for members’ benefit.  A recent Denver Post editorial warned of the union’s power to persuade.

The teachers union has far more influence with lawmakers, many of whom depend upon the CEA’s support and manpower during election season.

HCR10-1002 is not for the children, it’s for the school bullies who profit at the expense of our children.  Like Nancy Rumfelt, I’m a mom who is sick of my children being exploited as cash cows for K-12.

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.”