What a week. It may be just enough to motivate me to get this blog back running in full gear. Sorry to disappoint some of you. My election night fresh analysis post got some attention, then Michelle Malkin cited some earlier work I had done on Prop 103 and education funding. Today, it gets better (or maybe worse, depending on your perspective), as my mug is featured in an excellent 8-minute Choice Media TV video feature about the Douglas County Choice Scholarship Program: You certainly don't need to watch it for my sake, but please watch it to help keep hope alive... and spread the word. Why? As I wrote in an in-depth post-election analysis for Ed News Colorado, the message has been sent that it's time to do something different, more … [Read more...]
Heath: “Grand Bargain” K-12 Tax Hike “Beginning to Take a Bite” from Elephant
Imagine sitting down to write a term paper or thesis, then releasing the first draft of the paper not only to your professor but to a worldwide audience. Now imagine your paper contains instructions for allocating billions of tax dollars to a bunch of different groups. You can start to understand what Colorado state senator Michael Johnston (D-Denver) feels like after releasing a draft of legislation to rewrite the state's 19-year-old School Finance Act. In the funny game of democratic politics, is it better to make a bold push in one direction, or to try to bring diverse interests together around a "Grand Bargain"? When it comes to Johnston's monumental effort, the question is being played out before our eyes. The idea is to tie "bold" … [Read more...]
2010 Colo. GOP Rising Stars Return? Lang Sias Weighs SD 19 Challenge, Owen Hill Dives into SD 10 Fray
Shortly after the 2010 elections I came up with a short list of Colorado GOP candidates who fell short but still faced bright political futures. At the top of the list was Ryan Frazier, who this year ended up coming in second in a six-way race to be the new mayor of Aurora (one of the nominees for Colorado political stories of the year that YOU can vote on). While CD 1's hard-working Dr. Mike Fallon (#2 on the list) looks to be keeping true to his word to be a one-time candidate, the conservatives occupying the next two spots both could be back in the fray for 2012. It was more than 13 months ago I observed about CD 7 primary runner-up Lang Sias (#4): … [Read more...]
Road to the Colorado Statehouse: Dem Allport Will Have to Pick Up Pace to Challenge Libby Szabo in HD 27
I'm back. This time I mean it. With Colorado's legislative session in gear and both chambers of the General Assembly up for grabs in this fall's election, there is no time to dive into the fray like the present. While Mount Virtus may never be as prolific a place as it's ever been. You can follow some of my other writings as follows: Education Policy Center (including the blog Ed Is Watching) for coverage of the world of education policy, school choice and reform issues Also occasionally on the Ed News Colorado blog Writings on teachers unions and related government labor issues at Public Sector Inc A new less-than-regular column on education labor and related issues at Colorado Peak Politics Nevertheless, this year you can count … [Read more...]
Seeking Transparency in Jeffco Teachers Union Negotiations
Update IV, 5:15 PM: For the record and for the sake of full disclosure -- yes, the information related to open negotiations that I have requested from Jeffco Public Schools has been done in my professional capacity as a senior policy analyst for the Independence Institute. My personal and professional opinions happen to be in very close harmony on this issue. And both versions of the recording -- the low-quality one I deleted and the higher-quality one linked just below -- came from a concerned citizen who attended and recorded the public meeting. Thankfully, because the district's recording of the relevant part of the meeting was not posted due to the aforementioned "system error." Update III, 3:40 PM: I have obtained a better 5-minute … [Read more...]
FOX 31 FAIR AND BALANCED ON EDUCATION? We Report, You Decide
Originally posted at Colorado Peak Politics. Re-posted here with permission. As author, I am solely responsible for the content. Local FOX 31 Denver News and reporter Eli Stokols are to be commended for wanting to look at the effects of K-12 education spending cuts and innovative ideas for addressing the challenge. But the first edition of the televised series cries out for context and correction. First of all, it's important to stress that yes, for the past couple years Colorado schools have been experiencing real budget cuts -- after years of steady increases in per-pupil funding. And of course, the cuts will have an impact, albeit an impact that can be heavily mitigated and overcome in the long run by re-thinking how our school system … [Read more...]
FOX 31 FAIR AND BALANCED ON EDUCATION? We Report, You Decide Part Two
Originally posted at Colorado Peak Politics. Re-posted here with permission. As author, I am solely responsible for the content. I know the timing is impossible for it to be true, but you'd almost think my first School Cuts 101 response piece triggered some interest from the FOX 31 team with my cryptic closing:Anyway, looking for real ideas for how to make education spending more productive and promote better outcomes for students? One good place to start is my chapter on K-12 for the Independence Institute's Citizens' Budget. Or check out what Colorado school districts like Douglas County and Falcon 49 are up to. More on that later... [emphasis added] In hindsight, we're probably just on the same wavelength. Or maybe it's impossible … [Read more...]
FOX 31 FAIR AND BALANCED ON EDUCATION? We Report, You Decide Part Three
Originally posted at Colorado Peak Politics. Re-posted here with permission. As author, I am solely responsible for the content. On FOX 31 last night, political reporter did a sit-down with Governor John Hickenlooper for one of the School Cuts 101 series segments. The result? Unremarkable. Hick has been focused on budget issues, rightly so, and education reform barely shows up on his radar screen. Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia is the administration's point-man on education issues. Last week at the Capitol he presented the three-point education agenda. Finding money to implement SB 191 -- last year's significant teacher and principal evaluation bill -- is a worthy cause. But tackling the state's serious 3rd grade literacy shortcomings by … [Read more...]
One-Two Punch: Ads Leave a Mark on Democrat Ed Perlmutter’s Campaign
Colorado's 7th Congressional district, where I live, covers some of the swingin'-est swing state political geography in the nation. But only recently has incumbent Democrat Ed Perlmutter's vulnerability become truly apparent. Just this week the national experts at the Rothenberg Political Report upgraded the chances of Perlmutter's opponent and neighbor, likeable Republican businessman Joe Coors. And that was before a pair of devastating ads dropped this week on the incumbent. The first came directly from the Coors campaign, truthfully exposing a pair of disturbing Perlmutter legislative votes, including opposing a bill "that would have allowed children to testify via closed-circuit television when testifying against their abusers" … [Read more...]
Memo to Colorado Lawmakers: Collective Bargaining in Government Different than in Private Business
Slipping under the radar late in Colorado's legislative session (sine die is tomorrow, hallelujah!) is House Bill 1320 -- sponsored by two conservative Republicans, Rep. Janak Joshi and Sen. Bill Cadman -- a rare two-page piece of legislation that would essentially outlaw collective bargaining in state and local governments. It's not going to pass, and concerned citizens and political observers rightfully are paying attention to Colorado's redistricting debate instead, so it's not worth expending too many pixels. However, I found the apparent reason for HB 1320 being held up on the House floor a bit disheartening -- albeit not surprising, given the unimpressive record of the new Republican majority:Rep. Keith Swerdfeger, R-Pueblo West, … [Read more...]
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