A tiny Eastern Plains school district is seeking a waiver from one education reform law by invoking the terms of a different reform statute.

The 109-student Kit Carson district wants to be declared an innovation district, allowed under a 2008 law, and as part of that move basically wants to be exempted from the 2010 educator effectiveness law.

It’s the first time a district – however small – has requested innovation status, and the application is the first “challenge” to Senate Bill 10-191, the effectiveness measure, a law that isn’t fully in effect and for which regulations haven’t been written.

Because of the unusual nature of the case, the State Board of Education Thursday heard a briefing on the application, even though it won’t be heard formally until next month.

“Today we have an interesting example of competing state and local priorities for all of you to grapple with,” Associate Commissioner Rich Wenning told the board. “The application before you is an important one in terms of the precedent it sets.”

Gerald Keefe, Kit Carson superintendent and a long-time advocate for the special needs of rural districts, pitched his case to the board.

“This is an application that’s rural based … very specific to Kit Carson. … We’re not trying to set a precedent.”

Kit Carson’s innovation application proposes to waive many of the educator evaluation procedures of SB 10-191 and allow the district to give teachers multi-year contracts, change the basis for evaluations and hire non-licensed teachers.

Keefe pointed out the absurdity of applying SB 10-191’s requirement that principal evaluations be based 50 percent on student growth. Noting that he’s both superintendent and principal, Keefe asked, “What’s the school board going to do, fire half of me?”

“This is about the future of the school. … We think it meets the intent of Senate Bill 08-130,” the innovation law.

The district has a single building for its preK-12 student body and about 30 staff members, including 17 teachers.

Some board members expressed skepticism at the idea.

Angelika Schroeder, D-2nd District, said, “I haven’t heard the innovation” in the plan. She suggested Kit Carson should help pilot implementation of SB 10-191.

“This is an application that works best for Kit Carson R-1 School District. … This works well in rural Colorado,” Keefe said.

The Kit Carson discussion came just a day after the board received a new report on rural districts. Much of that document was in line with Keefe’s overall sentiments.

One part of the study noted, “Superintendents feel that the reform initiatives coming from Denver and Washington, D.C., one after another, have not really addressed the needs or concerns of rural schools. … This churn of new initiatives and reform efforts has lead to considerable frustration and distrust.” Read the report.

School districts of all sizes have become increasingly restive about the flurry of state mandates in recent years, not necessarily with the direction of reform but about the difficulties of implementing new systems without adequate funding and support.

Read Kit Carson’s innovation application here and see comments by CDE officials.

Board acts in Prospect Ridge Academy appeal

Also Thursday, the board voted 5-2 to assert its jurisdiction in a case involving the Prospect Ridge Academy charter school and Adams 12-Five Star district. The school board had unanimously passed a resolution prohibiting Prospect Ridge from developing a proposed site following concerns raised by the Broomfield Zoning Commission. Prospect Ridge Academy appealed to the state board, but Adams 12 claimed the state board does not have jurisdiction over site location issues.

The action sends the issue back to the local school board and probably will return to the state board on appeal. Charter school appeals usually involve differences between only a school board and a charter and don’t involve a third, independent government entity such as a city.

Next steps in commissioner search

The state board Thursday got an update on the hunt for a new education commissioner by the search firm of Hazard, Young, Attea. The consultants told the board they’ve completed their surveys and interviews of education leaders and groups about desired characteristics of a new commissioner.

The board is tentatively scheduled to meet by conference call Monday to try to narrow that list of characteristics so that the consultants have a better of idea of what kinds of candidates to look for.

- Read the consultants’ report on their surveys and interviews about what’s needed in a new commissioner.