Former state senate leader and former state treasurer Mark Hillman, in his column lambasting the arrogance behind Colorado Democrats' Senate Bill 291, which would strip away state education funds from school districts that opt to reinstitute taxpayer protections:This from the party that claims to do everything “for the children.†In reality, the Democrats do everything “for the government†and aren’t above using your children as hostages in their extortion racket. … [Read more...]
What a Weekend: Human Achievement Hour, “Green” Energy Taxes, & You
My big regret from a low-key weekend? That I somehow forgot to celebrate Human Achievement Hour. Kudos to all those who did, and made a statement for liberty. It's most interesting to me that this weekend's events closely follow the discovery that the infamous solar panels on the Denver Museum of Nature and Science likely won't come close to paying for themselves while state lawmakers seek to induce school districts into installing cost-inefficient "new" "green" energy. Speaking of higher taxes and energy prices for consumers like you and me, Paul Chesser takes on the cap-and-trade folly in the new American Spectator. At least here in the Denver area our big snow has all but melted away ... for now. … [Read more...]
Follow Me: You Can Help in Thursday’s Fight for Transparent School Spending
Tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon is the moment of truth at the Colorado state legislature for Senate Bill 57, a measure that would require school districts to open up their financial books online so citizens can search them. It goes before the House Education Committee. Here are things you can do: Starting at sometime shortly after 1:30 PM local Mountain time, listen to the hearing online (House Committee Room 0112) Follow me on Twitter during the proceedings, or join the Tweeting yourself Show up at HCR 0112 and testify yourself, or just pack the room and provide moral support - nothing like an extra concerned citizen or two to remind lawmakers whom they serve Call or email members of the House Education Committee to make your voice … [Read more...]
Undeterred by Plain Reading of Constitution, State Supremes Stick It to Colorado Taxpayers
Update, 3/17: Law student Constructively Reasonable says the decision is a cause for "outrage". A watcher says Colorado may not as well even have a constitution. The Colorado Supreme Court has done it again, showing its disdain for taxpayer protections in the state constitution. From the majority opinion:When it issued its declaratory judgment order, the district court did not have the benefit of our recent decision in Barber v. Ritter, 196 P.3d 238 (Colo. 2008), in which we held that a statute challenged under article X, section 20 must be proven to be unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial court erroneously held that the relevant test of SB 07-199s constitutionality came from the interpretive guideline included in the … [Read more...]
Unions Lobby State Democrats to Slow Down School Building Inspections
Who's in charge at the Colorado State Capitol these days? Big Labor:A bill whose only aim was to make it easier for local school districts to get their new buildings inspected was blindsided today on the Senate floor by union-led opposition, with all but two of the chamber's Democrats voting to kill the measure. Three of the Democrats who voted with the majority against Senate Bill 64 [PDF]--Sens. Bob Bacon, of Fort Collins, Rollie Heath, of Boulder, and Evie Hudak, of Arvada--had voted in favor of it in the Senate Education Committee only two weeks earlier. What changed their minds? The bill's sponsor, the GOP's Sen. Keith King, of Colorado Springs, says it was the fact that the Journeyman Plumbers and Gas Fitters Union began lobbying … [Read more...]
Colorado Senate Democrats Flee from True School Financial Transparency
Last night I told you about the inspiring testimony of citizens in support of financial transparency for Colorado schools. Today, it was the legislators' turn to do the damage. And damage they did:Senator Bob Bacon introduced an amendment that establishes a “voluntary pilot program†for transparency. It passed and is now on its way to the full floor of the Senate. Senator [Ted] Harvey asked to open up the bill for additional testimony since it had been altered dramatically. Bacon, chair of the committee, said no. Senator Harvey also tried to kill his own bill. Harvey did say he would bring the bill back next year. Bacon, a former educator, used words like “cruel†and “fear†to describe how school districts may respond to … [Read more...]
Financial Transparency Makes Public Education a More “Public” Enterprise
The Colorado state legislature has been a place of little significant action lately. But one bill first scheduled to be heard in committee this week is Senate Bill 57 (PDF), which would open up the spending of school districts and other local education agencies in an online searchable database. Read about the advantages of this sort of policy change in my new Independence Institute op-ed:Colorado has a tremendous opportunity to lead the way in making public education a more truly public enterprise. School officials should place detailed and useful spending information where citizens can access it freely: the Internet. Such a simple and highly cost-effective approach promotes public accountability and transparency. Public schools … [Read more...]
Bill Ritter Publicly Endorses Posting State Check Register Online
Update: Colorado Spending Transparency has a similar response about the devil being in the details. Read the post to get a sense of just what some of those details might be. Face The State's report was correct: During his State of the State speech, just a moment ago, Gov. Bill Ritter announced he would back the Republican plan to post the state government's check register online. It's good to see transparency go forward as a non-partisan effort. The governor's announcement foresees a landmark moment for Colorado government, one that promises to empower the citizens of the state. The city of Fort Collins has set the standard for transparency. With the state moving forward, too, now it would be good to see other local governments - … [Read more...]
Have You Seen Just How Big a United Auto Workers Contract Is?
(Via Michelle Malkin) The Labor Pains blog has a great visual and links to the huge labor contracts negotiated between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Detroit's Big Three:Ever wondered what a UAW contract looks like? Here is all 22 pounds of it (in this case, Ford’s 2,215 page 2007 master contract; Coke can is for scale and because I was thirsty). I’ll tell you this much, those 2,215 pages don’t include much regarding efficiency and competitiveness. What you’ll find are hundreds of rules, regulations, and letters of understanding that have hamstrung the auto companies for years. One of my claims to distinction (certainly not fame) is I have read all 45 or so collective bargaining agreements between Colorado school districts … [Read more...]
A Different Perspective on Metro Denver School District Bond Elections
When 9News reporter Nelson Garcia wanted a different perspective on school district bond elections, he asked to interview me. If you want to see the video - or just read it in print so to avoid having to look at me - the story is here:Ben DeGrow is the education policy analyst for the Education Policy Center within the Independence Institute, which is a conservative political think tank. DeGrow says too many middle class families are coping with high gas prices and a poor real estate market to think about raising their own property taxes for schools. "This may be a tough year for JeffCo and other metro school districts to be asking for money," said DeGrow. JeffCo is just one of the major districts around Denver poised to ask voters … [Read more...]