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...]
NEA’s Spending Habits Once Again Show Education as a Low Priority
The Wall Street Journal reports:Here's a pop quiz: Who's donated the most money to an effort in California to defeat Proposition 8, an initiative on the November 4 ballot that would define marriage as between a man and a woman in the state? A) Gay-advocacy organizations B) Civil-rights groups C) The California Teachers Association If you guessed "C," you understand the nature of modern liberal politics. And if you didn't, perhaps you're wondering what exactly gay marriage has to do with K-12 public education. The high school dropout rate is 1-in-4 in California and 1-in-3 in the Los Angeles public school system, odds that worsen considerably among black and Hispanic children. So you might think the CTA, the state's largest … [Read more...]
Teachers Union Twists Facts to Cover for Anti-Amendment 49 Violation
Joanne Kelley reports on the Rocky Mountain News Stump blog:Supporters of Amendment 49 filed a campaign finance complaint over $2,800 of "in-kind" contributions a teachers union committee made to a group fighting the ballot measure. The complaint alleges the Colorado Springs Education Association's issue committee made contributions to a group created to address statewide ballot issues when the teachers' committee was created to promote issues in its own district. "I find it disturbing to see the teachers union funnel resources earmarked for local education issues into a fight against statewide political issues they don't happen to like," said Colorado Springs resident and former school board candidate Reginald Perry, who was named on … [Read more...]
Teachers Union Spreads Fear and Disinformation about Amendment 47
Michael at Best Destiny, a Jefferson County teacher by day, writes:Yesterday, the union representative at one of my schools came back from a district-wide meeting in breathless distress over this year's ballot. She said that, based on what was told to her in her meeting, there was the potential that the passage of Amendment 47 could mean the "end of teacher representation, and the school district would no longer have to follow any rules about how they ordered you to spend your time." She even went so far as to say that the passage of 47 would be more devastating for schools than the failure of either the Mill Levy increase or of the Bond election. Another anecdote that shows the teachers union - in this case, the Jefferson County … [Read more...]
Democrat Cary Kennedy Admits Amendment 59 is Anti-Taxpayer
In case you had any doubts about the intentions of leading Colorado Democrats in bringing forward Amendment 59, Education Week brings you the straight skinny (H/T Rocky Mountain Right):Colorado Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff praised the [National Education Association]’s state chapter as one of the “most aggressive and successful†groups assisting Democrats in their takeover Colorado’s Statehouse and governor’s mansion. State Treasurer Cary Kennedy (no relation to RFK Jr.) said that Democrats would win a ballot initiative to “drive a stake in the heart†of the state’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights [TABOR]--a conservative cost-cutting measure. Yes, the Democrats behind Amendment 59 - Andrew Romanoff and Cary Kennedy - … [Read more...]
Tables May Be Turning Against Denver Teachers Union in ProComp Faceoff
Negotiations between Denver Public Schools (DPS) and Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) are as heated as ever, with the performance pay plan known as ProComp still at stake:Denver Public Schools officials want an overhaul they say will better attract and retain talented teachers. The union says the current plan is fair to all teachers but that the DPS proposal would favor beginning teachers over veterans. Three days of mediation are set to begin Aug. 20, and the union has told teachers to prepare for a strike if no agreement is reached. In essence, the district's proposal is too radical for the union, which thrives on its perceived role as a defender of teacher security and must appease many of the more veteran teachers … [Read more...]
Face The State: Colorado Ethics Watch Still in the Tank for Democrats
Face The State calls out Colorado Ethics Watch for its deafening silence on Bill Ritter's admitted campaign violation. But we already knew Colorado Ethics Watch was a partisan tool. Face The State also notes:Additionally, Judge Michelle Norcross took the bizarre step of ordering the Republican who filed the complaint to pay Ritter’s legal fees. Interestingly, Michelle Norcross is the same judge who initially let the teachers union off the hook in its case of campaign coordination with state senator Bob Bacon. Legal ethics reform, anyone? You won't hear Colorado Ethics Watch crowing about that issue - not with the trial lawyers' association sitting on their side of the partisan fence. … [Read more...]
Denver Teachers Union Moves One Step Closer to Possible DNC Strike
Another landmark yesterday in the fallout between Denver Public Schools and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association, reports the Post's Jeremy Meyer:Representatives of Denver's teachers union and school administrators — embroiled in a contract dispute — met with a professional arbiter Wednesday to discuss next month's mediation. The two sides are at odds over compensation and time issues, particularly in regard to proposed changes to ProComp — the voter-approved performance pay system for teachers. The story continues:With mediation the week before the Democratic National Convention in Denver, there is concern of picketing during the event to bring national attention to the contract dispute. The DCTA newsletter has declared … [Read more...]
Bill Ritter’s Property Tax Hike May Work Against Funding Aurora Schools
The Denver Post reports good news from Aurora - with a catch:The Aurora school district and its teachers union have reached an agreement on a new contract that calls for a 2 percent increase in pay for all employees this coming school year. But there's a hitch: The school board must agree to put a property-tax hike on the November ballot to fund it and voters must approve it or else there will be no raises. Aurora Public Schools hasn't asked for a mill levy increase since 1990 but feels that is the only way it can fund salary increases for the 2008-09 school year, said chief personnel officer Kari Allen. The timing isn't good. School property taxes for Aurora homeowners and business owners already increased about 6 percent this … [Read more...]
News Like This Could Make the DNC Much More Interesting for Me
From the Denver Post's PoliticsWest:A heated labor disagreement over Denver's teacher contract appears to be heading into late August and could reach a boiling point during the Democratic National Convention, reports Jeremy P. Meyer. Teachers and the administration are at odds over changes to the district's compensation system. It's one of the issues that led union officials to warn teachers in their May newsletter to prepare for a strike. Mediation with a professional arbiter has been set for Aug. 20-22, ending the Friday before the Democrats arrive for the convention. This has the potential to be ugly. I will be keeping a close eye not only on the broader political ramifications but on what this potential clash could portend for … [Read more...]