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Home Archives for process

5/13/2009 By Ben 7 Comments

Breaking: Jeffco Teachers Union Calls for Impasse over Pay Dispute

Developing story... Last night the board of the Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA)( (Colorado's largest local teachers union and an affiliate of the Colorado Education Association) voted to declare an impasse in negotiations over renewing the collective bargaining contract with Jeffco Public Schools for the 2009-10 school year. This morning JCEA notified the school district of its decision. According to the school district, the core of the dispute revolves around a proposed compensation agreement to address relative funding shortages during the current economic downturn. Under this plan, teachers would continue to receive their automatic steps and levels for acquiring seniority and credit hours. The plan rejected by JCEA … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, My Life, PPC Tagged With: 2007, 2009-10, 2009-2010, acquiring, action, additional, agreement, analysis, arbitrators, automatic, backgrounder, bill, board, bonus, budget projections, carefully, Collective Bargaining, Colorado, Colorado Education Association, compensation, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, contention, contract, controversial, core, credit hours, current, decision, declare, developing, dig deeper, dispute, district officials, doubtless, economic downturn, emerge, eminently, expenditures, extra, fair, financial status, footing, funding, grievance, hard times, harmful, healthy, higher pay, impasse, increase, Independence Institute, interested parties, iVoices, JCEA, Jeffco Public Schools, Jefferson County Education Association, job protection, Jon Caldara, listen, mediation, negotiations, no work no pay, notified, occur, offer, official timetable, paid days, permanent, podcast, point, probationary period, probationary teachers, process, proposed, qualified, rejected, relative, report, reserve fund, reserved, seniority, shortages, sides, specify, stance, state funds, stay tuned, steps and levels, story, strike, substantive, taxpayers, teachers, teachers union, tenure, terms, threats, unfold, union leaders, used

4/1/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

House Education Committee Democrats Killed Spending Transparency… Fast

One of my favorite aphorisms about Colorado politics is that the House Education Committee is where good education reform goes to die. Case in point is Senate Bill 57, the school spending transparency legislation that committee Democrats shot down after hearing more than 30 citizens and activists who volunteered to come down and testify for the bill. Thanks to a Face The State mini-investigation, we learn today it was even worse than that:Also known as Senate Bill 57, the bill was postponed indefinitely after four hours of committee debate that lasted late into the evening. [Democrat] Speaker Terrance Carroll and [Republican] House Minority Leader Mike May arrived to work the next morning ready to revive it. But they were too … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Education, Fiscal Policy, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: activists, aphorism, bipartisan, case in point, charter school, citizens, Colorado, committee report, Democrats, die, education reform, example, Face the State, good, hearing, House clerk, House Education Committee, House Speaker, intercepted, irony, legislation, Mike May, Mike Merrifield, mini-investigation, minority leader, morning, motion, obscure tactic, occur, politics, postponed indefinitely, process, proposal, reintroduce, Republican, revive, school, school spending transparency, Senate Bill 57, shenanigans, special place in hell, spent, State Capitol, supporters, tax funds, Terrance Carroll, testify, too late, volunteered

2/27/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Eagle County’s Tom Stone Tosses Hat into Ring for State GOP Chairmanship

On March 21, Colorado Republicans convene to select party leadership for the next two years. Before today, it seemed the only real competition would be for party vice chair between Nathan Chambers incumbent Perry Buck [editorial correction based on updated information] and Leondray Gholston. An official announcement today from former Eagle County commissioner Tom Stone means there also will be a challenge for Dick Wadhams' position in the top spot. Here is the pledge Stone has posted on his site: … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, Colorado Politics, General, PPC Tagged With: activists, collaborative leadership, Colorado, commissioner, conservative, Dick Wadhams, Eagle County, leadership, Leondray Gholston, Mount Virtus, Nathan Chambers, official announcement, Peoples Press Collective, process, real competition, Republican, Republicans, Rocky Mountain Alliance, Tom Stone, top spot, vice-chair, vision, worthwhile reading

2/11/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

Markets Don’t Like What Obama and Dems Are Inflicting on Economy

Rossputin has the in-depth commentary on the markets' reaction to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and points to two polls showing the American people want more tax cuts, less federal spending. Are Colorado's U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall even paying attention? Polipundit has the telling visual about Geithner's negative impact on the markets. What's so funny? I guess you had to be there. Finally, Michael at Best Destiny says it's time to start tagging this as "the Reid/Pelosi/Obama economy". I agree: they can have it. If it only didn't hurt so many of the rest of us in the process. Things do look bleak - you can't blame investors for their reactions. The President isn't the Savior. Here's a start: sign the No … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: American people, Barack Obama, Best Destiny, bleak, Colorado, economy, funny, Harry Reid, hurt, in-depth commentary, investors, less federal spending, Mark Udall, markets, Michael, Michael Bennet, Michelle Malkin, more tax cuts, Nancy Pelosi, paying attention, Polipundit, polls, President, process, reactions, Rossputin, Savior, telling visual, Timothy Geithner, Treasury secretary, U.S. Senator

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Ben DeGrow
Grateful and growing Christian, devoted husband and father of 3, public policy analyst, returned to Michigan by way of Colorado, conservative writer, lifelong learner, Detroit Tigers fan.

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