Comments on: Intra-party squabble spices Dougco races

By: judi

judi — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:28:05 +0000

It is done, right or wrong, now the board members have to come up to speed and maybe just maybe more Dougco folks will take a closer look at what the board does and does not do. If voters acted like sheep and did what they were told by any group and they fall off a cliff then so be it. At the same time, the board meetings are open to the public–so attend-know the issues and by all means influence those that were elected to represent you.

By: Rosarito

Rosarito — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:49:19 +0000

Those Board members dealt with some serious budget cuts last year, and they did a fine job of keeping those cuts out of the classroom. They cut Performance Pay for teachers, busing, and a chunk of district administration. Class sizes are bigger. Resources are more difficult to come by, but the majority of cuts did not impact DCSD students.

Also– Douglas County puts the least amount of county money into education of any Colorado county–and that’s saying something. Also: Douglas County gets less federal/state funding because it is a wealthy community with low numbers of low income families and special programs (ESL, IEP, 504, etc)

By: LinLin

LinLin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:43:58 +0000

D Powers: DCSD schools have fantastic standardized test scores. Most schools rate “High” or “Excellent” in terms of CSAP. How are those for “results” ?

More money may not be necessary–but the same amount of money is required to maintain the same quality of education, and DCSD is receiving less and less state/federal funding. And anyway–where did “more money” come up? If the School Board wants more money, they have to ask for it. They can’t just take it. You can always say no then. Wouldn’t you rather have someone who knows something about schools running the school district and determining if asking for more money is the right course of action than someone who doesn’t know anything about Bush’s NCLB Act that was initiated early on during his first term, and someone who doesn’t even have kids?

By: Unions pump cash into Jeffco races | EdNewsColorado

Unions pump cash into Jeffco races | EdNewsColorado — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:55:02 +0000

[...] center for information and videos about the Denver races. Learn more about the Dougco board fight in this backgrounder and this story on campaign [...]

By: D. Powers

D. Powers — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 22:41:05 +0000

Well the rubber is meeting the road here. All eight candidates have huge problems. The four candidates the GOP endorsed need to show everyone the truth is that partisanship and ideology do in fact play a role in education of Americans (children and adults). Political puppets are currently in control of our nation so this term is not effective regarding this situation. Unfortunately, many Americans have awakened in recent years to the fact that ideology and education are joined at the hip. As unfortunate as it may seem, it is a fact. Since Douglas County is considered as wealthy as it is on a national level and since it has been run by the same board members who claim to be the overwhelmingly qualified candidates, then why have they not provided results that the citizens expect and overwhelmingly will continue to elect? They have had time to get ‘results’ and present those results to the public to prove their worth, instead of continuing to provide only their credentials, board and committee involvement and implementation of this or that. Transparency, choice and budget are more than words. Show the people the money trail and the ‘results’ that can and should accompany that money. Throwing more money at anything is not the answer. Why would the AFL-CIO back four of the candidates and not the other four? There is always a reason and the teachers union is a real problem in America. This is a ‘political’ microcosm of the ‘political’ macrocosm in America. The four candidates backed by the GOP will need to work hard to prove to the citizens that the GOP has learned a lesson and that is that the “public” school system is a “government” institution and long been used by some to implement an agenda and ideology vs. growing minds to compete in today’s world. The GOP needs to prove they can obtain results providing quality education to Americans without making it about money and bureaucracy only. If the GOP cannot make something work on a local level, then they will loose credibility with their constituency that they can make things work on a state and national level. Let us ‘hope’ they truly have perspective in order and that is to obtain ‘change’ with results. I am torn regarding these candidates, but am leaning towards the GOP endorsed candidates with the exception of Leung. Actions speak louder than words. I have written many of the GOP endorsed individuals expressing my recommendations and concerns (which mirror some or yours). We are living in critical times.

By: GOP outspends AFT in Dougco races | EdNewsColorado

GOP outspends AFT in Dougco races | EdNewsColorado — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:00:40 +0000

[...] (See this previous EdNews story for more background on the candidates and the issues.) [...]

By: Cristie R

Cristie R — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:02:50 +0000

I have attended two forms in which all candidates were present. What upsets me most about this election, is the lack of understanding by the four candidates backed by the GOP of how the district works, how the district gets funding, and the affects of limiting future funds into our district. It is a fact that Douglas County, while one of the richest counties in the country, are the lowest funded district, in the Metro area, at the State and Federal levels. It is a myth that its teachers make the most money in the city. I have experienced first hand the impact of the district having to cut roughly $58 million the past two years.The loss of 262 employees, all staff development (some candidates want more staff development, but it had to be cut in the last round of cuts), loss of district educational experts, who guided the curriculum and direction of our district, changes in the bus routes as well as larger class sizes. Many schools are seeing 25-30 students in the elementary schools and 35+ at the secondary levels There are more cuts to come. Douglas County has been doing well with little funding, but we can not continue to expect good results with less and less money. If our board can not come up with creative ways to fund the district, and taxes are not an option, than our district will continue to loose the quality we have all come to expect. We are not talking about products that can be made cheaper, we are talking about quality education and our most important resource, our students. Our next board will be making the hard decisions which will affect our students. This election is not to be taken lightly. I urge all people voting to educate themselves on all the candidates and what they know about running a school district, and how their visions can improve our district and come up with creative way to fund the education in this district.

By: Laura B

Laura B — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:18:28 +0000

Where is the discussion about educational issues? Dan Gerken admitted at one school board forum (the one he bothered to show up to) that he had no idea what NCLB (No Child Left Behind) is!! Meghann Silverthorn dubbed herself “a tax-payer with no children” and who admitted she’s never even set foot inside of a Douglas County School prior to her first forum! Hmmm what do you think her focus is on – educating our students or keeping on eye on her money? John Carson only voted on issues that applied to Charter Schools while in office. Are these people who want the job because they have the have our students’ interest at heart or are these people running on their own agendas?

By: Wil H

Wil H — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:27:05 +0000

This is a Party takeover of a non-partisan race. The Party is not concerned with the kids of the school but rather the ideology of the school district board. The Party pushed out all of the moderates and are now left with four puppets. It is sad that politics have become more important than the kids and staff of our school districts.

By: D Mullins

D Mullins — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:36:34 +0000

John Ransom is wrong. School board is about dedication and commitment to the district not party affiliation or any sort of political philosophy. The Republican candidates endorsed by the party will not do what is in the best interest of the tax payers, the students or the district but will only act in the best interest of the Republican party.