Transparency and a Collaborative Mirage: A Tale of Three Colorado School Districts
A clever wag once famously said: “Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for lunch.” Some other smart-aleck might have reason to make a similar remark about K-12 education: “Collaboration is district leaders and union leaders deciding how to spend taxpayers’ money.” Except that those taxpayers too often are left in […]
Latest Dougco Lawsuit Suggests Little Beyond Need for Presidential Limelight
Since it’s Presidents Day today, it seems somewhat fitting to write about a local teachers union president seeking some limelight with a Friday lawsuit: The Douglas County Federation of Teachers filed two lawsuits Friday, alleging that the Douglas County School District illegally didn’t consider teachers for job openings after being laid off and that it […]
Cadmium in CO: useful and highly toxic
Cadmium 101 By Syndi Nettles Anderson, guest writer for the Independence Institute Energy Policy Center Earlier this week Todd Shepherd of Complete Colorado reported that before thin-filmed cadmium-telluride solar panel manufacturer Abound Solar declared bankruptcy it was the subject of a Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) investigation after an anonymous tip raised […]
Heartbroken by Choice Bill Defeats, Hoping for Some Scholarship Tax Credit Love
It was heartbreaking to see the death of a couple more Colorado bills that would have expanded choices for parents and opportunities for students. But we would love to see leaders embrace scholarship tax credits, for all the benefits they have been shown to bring in other states. Those benefits Colorado might enjoy include improved achievement, satisfied parents, and tax dollar savings.
A Response to the “Runaway Scenario”
NOTE: This is an updated version of an essay first published in 2013. For a comprehensive treatment of amendment law, see The Law of Article V: State Initiation of Constitutional Amendments and postings at the Article V Information Center website. Many lawmakers and activists, and most of the public, now favor a constitutional amendment to […]
Research Ought to Give Second Thoughts about Government Preschool Programming
It’s been almost two years since I last brought your attention to the overwhelming research findings that the nearly-50-year-old Head Start program has not made a real difference in education outcomes. But a new Wall Street Journal story by Stephanie Banchero points out that some federal officials appear intent on doubling down. In an article […]
Use Real School Funding Facts and Tell the Story that Empowers Families
A few weeks ago an article by the I-News Network (“an independent, nonprofit journalism project that creates long-form investigative reports, in partnership with major daily newspapers and has recently accepted significant funding from wealthy Democrat activist Tim Gill”) portrayed Colorado minorities as victims of inadequate tax funding of education: Regardless of which way the causal […]
Amy Oliver Show: How Can Colorado Improve Teacher Preparation?
Sandi Jacobs from the National Council on Teacher Quality discusses how Colorado can improve its D letter grade in preparing effective teachers and providing accountability to colleges of education.
DougCo Board Opponents’ “Crazy” Real Estate Rumor Debunked By Facts
These are momentous days in Douglas County, Colorado. A 60,000-student school district charting new horizons for parental choice and academic excellence through cutting-edge, performance-based systems? An organized labor interest group frustrated at being stripped of monopoly power? Yes and yes. A lot of eyes are watching what unfolds in the growing suburbs south of Denver. […]
Rick Hess Slam Dunks for Colorado with Call for Cage-Busting Can-Do
Local education leaders want to transform a rigid, bureaucratic system — re-imagining the delivery of instruction, giving more freedom, flexibility, and accountability to teachers and principals at the school level. But then some interest groups or just plain old naysayers come along to protest, saying “We’ve never done it that way before.” Or maybe a […]
Count of Legislative Applications for a Balanced Budget Amendment
by Rob Natelson The following states have applications outstanding for a federal convention to propose a balanced budget amendment: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Texas. That’s 19 of the 34 states required. In addition, Illinois has an 1861 […]
New Flyer Explains How the States Can Use the Constitutional Amendment Process to Curb the Feds (Article V)
by Rob Natelson The Founders built various checks and balances into the Constitution. One of the most important was the power of state legislatures to propose constitutional amendments to curb an abusive federal government. The Founders placed the procedure in the Constitution’s Article V. The Founders would be astonished—and chagrined—to learn the process has never […]
