Amy Oliver Show: Adams 12 Union Resists Open Negotiations
Norm Jennings, Adams 12 school board director, talks about the district’s efforts to bring discredited union accusations into the light by holding collective bargaining negotiations in full public view.
Colorado Watchdog Cites Critique of Weak SB 213 Reform
The Education Policy Center’s Ben DeGrow was cited in a Colorado Watchdog article for his criticisms of the weak changes in proposed school finance reform legislation at the State Capitol: “For being marketed as a grand bargain, there isn’t really much reform,” said Ben DeGrow, a policy analyst with the Independence Institute. DeGrow said the […]
The Great Solar Rip-Off: By the Numbers
According to Xcel Energy’s regulatory filings, the utility spent $275 million in ratepayer subsidies for customer-sited solar panel systems from 2008-2012.* That breaks down to: $196 Cost of these solar subsidies for each of Xcel Energy’s 1.4 million Colorado customers. .7% Percentage of Xcel Energy customers (approximately 9,200) that benefit from lower electricity rates by […]
Colorado Supreme Court Unanimously Slaps Down Public Utilities Commission; Hands Down Major Victory for Cabbies in Fight for Economic Liberty
Although the PUC found that Mile High was both operationally and financially fit to operate as a taxi business, it denied the application because it was unsure whether additional taxi services were needed in the city.
The Colorado Government Pension System Introduction and Basic Organization
Colorado’s Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA) is the State’s largest pension plan, with more than 483,000 members as of 2011. Government contributions exceeded $1 billion in FY2011.
New Hampshire School Choice Defensive Victory Brightens Hopes for Colorado
Parent educational power has made some great strides in a number of states in recent years, prompting not only 2011′s aptly-named “Year of School Choice” but also the rapidly-growing National School Choice Week phenomenon. That doesn’t mean we can rest on our laurels nor expect opponents to sit back and do nothing. We’ve seen the […]
Must reads to celebrate Earth Day
Predictions from the first Earth Day in 1969, “Environmentalists’ Wild Predictions,” by Walter Williams: At the first Earth Day celebration, in 1969, environmentalist Nigel Calder warned, “The threat of a new ice age must now stand alongside nuclear war as a likely source of wholesale death and misery for mankind.” C.C. Wallen of the World […]
Colorado, Here's One Way You Can Learn from Montana—Reject the Obamacare Medicaid Extension
Colorado’s legislature and governor have opted to endanger our state’s financial future—and the quality of health care—by yoking Colorado to Obamacare’s risky and expensive “Medicaid expansion.” This is one area in which Colorado could take a lesson from our sister state to the north, Montana. Montana has a long history of what used to be […]
Dishing Up a Little Friday Irony, American Federation of Teachers-Style
It’s a busy Friday at the end of a sad and difficult week. So I’m happy just to follow Mike Antonucci’s witty lead. Today on his Intercepts blog he pointed out some true “Hedge Fund Hilarity” in a Wall St. Journal column about national teachers union president Randi Weingarten “trying to strong-arm pension trustees not […]
Devil’s Advocate: Cage-Busting Education Leadership
American Enterprise Institute education scholar Rick Hess and Douglas County School District superintendent Liz Fagen discuss the importance of strong leadership in bringing about effective education reform. Senior education policy analyst Ben DeGrow makes his debut as guest host.
Amy Oliver Show: Empowering Students with Real School Finance Reform
Following up on his op-ed for the Denver Post, John Conlin from End the Education Plantation talks about a better K-12 reform idea than what is presented in Colorado’s school finance reform bill, SB 213.
Of Broken Records or Repeating MP3 Files: Colorado Remediation Rate Still Too High
I was going to say that sometimes my blog can sound like a broken record, but I’m too young to know what a record even is. So how about, please forgive me in advance if this post sounds like an MP3 file on a repeat loop. (Someone else can figure out how to smooth out […]
