Public Funds Release Teachers to Perform Union Business
Colorado school districts reroute many thousands of taxpayer dollars to the teachers’ unions every year, by granting paid release time for representatives to attend union activities and by financing union presidents and other officers to take extended leave from regular duties. This funding is done primarily through collective bargaining agreements but also through school board policies and administrative practices. Release time for union activities may include attending local union meetings or workshops, negotiating bargaining agreements, or sending representatives to the Colorado Education Association Delegate Assembly. Many school districts agree to pay a certain number of days per school year for their teachers to participate in these activities. The union either repays the district for the much lower cost of a substitute teacher or pays nothing at all.
"No Work, No Pay": The Lesson of the 1994 Denver Teachers' Strike
In October 1994, more than 2,000 members of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) went on a weeklong strike for larger salary increases and greater control of working conditions. A Denver district court judge sanctioned the strike as legal and left the Denver Public Schools (DPS) board of education and the DCTA to negotiate a settlement on their own. The two sides ended up negotiating additional in-service days for striking teachers in the amount of $2.1 million.
Keep School Boards Conflict-Free
Potential conflicts loom that could threaten the integrity of Colorado’s public school boards. Most states will not let someone simultaneously work for a school district and serve on the school board. Colorado has no such law. Individual school districts must decide, and less than half of the 25 largest districts have policies prohibiting this particular conflict of interest.
Senate Bill 145: Not the Answer for Colorado's High School Students
The Colorado General Assembly is debating Senate Bill 145 sponsored by Senator Peter Groff (D-Denver). The bill would require public school students to complete a state-imposed minimum set of core curriculum classes for high school graduation. The rhetoric surrounding the bill has been deceiving. On the surface it appears to make school districts align their graduation requirements with new college admission requirements for Colorado public colleges and universities.
Keep schools out of teacher politics
Many public school teachers and school districts are about to learn the truth of Pericles’ statement, “Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.”
Take Public Funds off the Negotiating Table: Let Teachers’ Unions Finance Their Own Business
Colorado school districts reroute many thousands of taxpayers’ dollars into the hands of the teachers’ unions every year, by granting paid release time for representatives to attend union activities and by financing union presidents and other officers to take extended leave from regular duties. This funding is done primarily through collective bargaining agreements but also through school board policies and administrative practices.
The Wrong Kind of Self-Employment: Keeping District Employees off Colorado School Boards
Colorado’s state legislators and local education policy makers should clarify the status of public school boards as representatives of the public interest. The law should reflect the fundamental incompatibility of a person simultaneously serving as an elected board member and paid employee for the same school district.
Should Colorado School Districts Stop Collecting Political Funds?
While teachers in Colorado are not required to belong to a teachers union, five school districts deduct an amount equivalent to union dues out of every teachers check, whether she joins the union or not. The burden is placed on the teacher to opt out every year during a window of time. If the teacher misses the deadline, the funds are taken out of the check every month and will not be refunded. This is claimed to be a voluntary authorization.
Cutting Back on Catching Up
Remediation in college for high school graduates cost the state an estimated $18.9 million, at least, in the 2002-2003 school year. This was roughly 55.1% of the total cost of educating remedial students.
No Child Left Behind Mandates School Choice: Colorado’s First Year
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) created a mandate that poorly-performing schools (placed on a “School Improvement” list and receiving federal dollars for low-income students) are required to notify parents of specific information outlined in federal law, including the parents’ option to transfer their children to a higher-performing school.
The Educational Minutemen Advance
America’s education revolution is under way. The bureaucratic redcoats are beginning to tremble at their imminent loss of tyrannical power. The swelling ranks of the movement’s minutemen – parents, grandparents, concerned citizens and legislators – fighting for the best interests of this nation’s upcoming generations have already begun winning crucial battles.
Educational Vouchers and Tax Credits: A State-by-State Summary of Current Programs
As the Colorado legislature seeks to improve education for all students in the state through vouchers or tax credits, Colorado can learn lessons from its sister states about the various forms such legislation can take—and in the process find a plan that works best for this state.
This paper defines what is meant by vouchers and tax credits and gives a broad overview of such programs where they are currently administered.
