At long last, court hearings begin today in the case of Gov. Bill Ritter raising Coloradans' property taxes without a constitutional vote of the people. From the Denver Post:The freeze is estimated to bring in $117 million this year and $3.8 billion over a decade, up from an initial estimate of $1.7 billion when it was passed. Richard Westfall, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the two sides will call about 10 witnesses, likely including school finance experts, the state treasurer and school board members. Dreyer said Ritter is not expected to testify. "A lot of the discussion is going to be about addressing pretty esoteric points in the school finance act," Westfall said. The trial is scheduled to last a week. It will be … [Read more...]
Don’t Think that Getting Rid of the Test Will Make the Problem Go Away
Nancy Mitchell in the Rocky Mountain News reports today about the Colorado Student Assessment Program:Colorado's $22 million testing program appears headed for replacement after more than a dozen years and scant evidence of improvement in recent results. In other words: Not enough kids are learning fundamental reading skills at the critical junction of 3rd grade. Therefore, some people say it's time to modernize and improve the CSAP, and others want to scrap testing and accountability altogether. The first group has the right idea, provided updating the state's assessment system is done correctly. The second group makes an absurd flight from logic. Imagine if the news story were about a state-funded auto emissions testing program in … [Read more...]
Debunking “49th in education spending” Colorado Fallacy … Once Again
In a story about the new $18 billion state budget signed by Gov. Bill Ritter, a local Fox TV news station reporter stated:In education spending, the State of Colorado ranks 49th. Of course, this sentence is suspect from the start, because it doesn't tell us whether it's measuring higher education or K-12 education. If the article is referring to K-12 education, then it wasn't true two years ago, it wasn't true last year, and it isn't true this year, either. There are two reliable sources for K-12 education funding data. First, Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show Colorado ranks 36th in "current" per-pupil spending. The lowest possible ranking that could be devised shows Colorado at 47th in spending per $1,000 of personal … [Read more...]
Dem Debbie Benefield Seeks to Strip Charter School Funding “Because I Can”
Face The State reports:A bipartisan state legislative coalition killed an amendment late Tuesday to this year's School Finance Act that would have taken millions away from the state's charter schools. The amendment, proposed during House debate by Rep. Debbie Benefield, D-Arvada, would have cut funding for at-risk students by approximately $4.5 million. Benefield justified her amendment, telling the House she ran it "because I can," with her backers saying the amendment addressed concerns that the state's current funding formula does not properly define "at-risk." Benefield maintains that the current formula awards schools money disproportionate to the actual number of at-risk students they serve. It's at least good to see that … [Read more...]
Independence Institute Event Tonight: Persecuted Ethiopian Journalist Speaks
Yesterday I was privileged to meet Ethiopian journalist and scholar Habtamu Dugo. He shared a small part of his story with me. As one who like most Americans easily can take for granted the freedoms we enjoy, I was humbled by his steadfast courage, gracious modesty, and passionate eloquence. This evening Habtamu will be speaking at the Independence Institute:A persecuted reporter and academic, Mr. Dugo will share his experiences exposing human rights abuses in Ethiopia, restrictions on freedom of the press and what happens when a journalist dares to defy the brutal Ethiopian government. Mr. Dugo will join us for a reception at the II offices on Tuesday, April 22 at 5:30 p.m., followed by his presentation and Q&A at 6 p.m. RSVP for … [Read more...]
Dr. Jay P. Greene, Blogger
It is my pleasure to share the following notice with my readers: Dr. Jay P. Greene, head of the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform and Manhattan Institute scholar, one of the sharpest minds in the world of education policy, has started a blog under his own name. In only a few days Jay already has provocative posts up on the proximity of teachers union headquarters to state capitols, comparisons of sexual misconduct data on male public school teachers vs. male Catholic priests, and more evidence of the myth on K-12 education spending. ( As he explains on the introduction page, all views expressed on the blog are his, and not necessarily those of the respective institutions for which he works.) I would invite you to … [Read more...]
Teachers Union Corruption and Abuse Served Up South of the Border
I am critical enough of the Colorado Education Association and the National Education Association. But to be fair, NEA/CEA has been outdone by their counterparts to the South: Mexico's National Union of Education Workers. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has documented the waste and corruption and horrible inefficiencies of the Mexican education system due to the union's political power and influence (H/T Mark Krikorian at The Corner). Teachers unions in this state and country have caused their own significant share of problems, but their work is cut out for them to match the scale of abuse and destructive influence that CIS has documented about their sister union south of the border. Wow. … [Read more...]
Average Coloradans to Dems on Tax Hike: You Should Have Asked First
It is refreshing to see evidence of the good sense of average, hard-working Coloradans. Colorado Senate News once again took a camera to the 16th Street Mall and found plenty of passers-by willing to share their frustrations with Gov. Bill Ritter and Colorado Democrats for bypassing the state constitution's requirement to ask voters first when they imposed their massive property tax hike:The upshot? Everyday taxpayers surveyed along Denver's 16th Street Mall all agreed: Whether or not the state really needs the extra revenue--a projected $3.8 billion over the next 10 years--voters should have asked for permission first. They're not alone in that sentiment. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers issued an opinion last year saying that the … [Read more...]
Hummel Cartoon Highlights Backroom State Ed Board
It figures. I can write a lot of words about the State Board of Education's inability to hold a recorded public vote on litigation surrounding Gov. Bill Ritter's major property tax hike (see posts here and here). But the eminently talented cartoonist (and well-named) Ben Hummel - whom I had the pleasure of meeting in person earlier this week - says it better with a picture. Makes me jealous of visual artists... for a moment. Then it makes me grateful that we have a skilled artist on our side. Keep up the great work, Ben! … [Read more...]
School Bargaining Sunshine Would Be Good, and Not Just for Colorado Springs
One of the ongoing themes here is government transparency, and this week seems to be bringing the onslaught. I've written about the State Board not wanting to hold a public vote on the litigation surrounding the governor's property tax hike, and the Democratic legislative caucus holding an allegedly illegal private meeting. But then there's a story I missed from a few days ago. The editors of the Colorado Springs Gazette highlighted an effort to open up negotiations in one of the state's largest school districts:Bob Null has a reasonable request that would serve the interests of all who pay taxes to Colorado Springs District 11 Schools. As a member of the D-11 school board, Null wants to sit in on the upcoming union negotiations between … [Read more...]
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