The March 2014 cover story of Focus on the Family’s Citizen magazine highlighted the education-themed results from Colorado’s November 2013 election–including Amendment 66 and school board results in Douglas County, Jefferson County, and Thompson. “A Good Night for School Reform” by Matt Kaufman featured quotes from the Independence Institute.

Among other points, Education Policy Center director Pam Benigno highlighted the Institute’s long-running role of preparing the ground for significant education reforms at the local level:

“People who run for school board need information and moral support, and after they’re elected, they need guidance,” Benigno says. “We’re here to provide that.”

Senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow recounted the demise of the billion-dollar tax hike rejected by an overwhelming majority of Colorado voters:

“Especially in conservative places, the argument that [Amendment 66] was a redistribution-of-income measure brought out a lot of voters,” DeGrow says. “And when we showed suburban, middle-of-the-road voters that there was no real education reform in here, it was a real turnoff for them too.”

The lengthy story also includes remarks from former Dougco school board president John Carson, Great Choice Douglas County co-founder Charcie Russell, and Jeffco Students First executive director Sheila Atwell.