Letter # 4 from the National Coalition Against Censorship

A letter to the Jefferson County Board of Education from the National Coalition Against Censorship

http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2014/1001/20141001_010817_JeffersonCounty_AdvancedPlacementUSHistory.pdf

Letter #3

Dear Board of Education:

I am a proud parent of five beautiful children who also happen to be successful products of Jefferson County Public Schools. My children attended Belmar Elementary, South Lakewood Elementary, Creighton Middle School, Lakewood High School and Brady Exploration. Currently my three daughters are twenty-three and my two sons are twenty. The educational foundation they received from their teachers in Jeffco helped shape them into the unbelievable young people they are today. My oldest daughter has graduated with her AA from the Community College of Denver and will be pursuing her certification in American Sign Language. My middle daughter has her AA in culinary arts and AS in business from Red Rocks Community College. My youngest daughter is a pre-school teacher, shaping our youngest minds. My oldest son is a landscaper. My youngest son is a supervisor for Land Air Express. They have asked me about the current problems in Jeffco. I have explained to them the lack of respect for teachers and the desire of some individuals to follow in the footsteps of Douglas County. For instance, paying elective teachers less money because their content is less important then the content of math or science teachers. Since their mom is an elective teacher, whose salary has been frozen for five years, you can imagine this went over like the proverbial lead balloon. I will share their comments with you verbatim:

Oldest daughter: "Wow, that's crazy!"
Middle daughter: "Really?! Most of my favorite teachers were elective teachers."
Youngest daughter: "You're kidding me, right? They're going to complain that there's an increase in obese kids and teens, but then tell you teaching them how to be healthy isn't important? Because that makes sense."
Oldest son: "Are they crazy?"
Youngest son: "That's insane! The only reason I liked middle school is PE with Ms. Thompson."

I think you get the gist.

My children know first hand the financial struggles we faced daily because mom's salary had been frozen. I have worked additional jobs to provide my family with the most basic needs. I have worked as a Lot Tech for Toyota, coached for the City of Lakewood and most recently, I worked construction this past summer as a laborer for Spacecon. How dare you dismiss my twenty-two years of experience and two Master's degrees, in favor of promoting your own agenda. Please do not assume I am not improving my craft when you have NEVER met me personally or been in my classroom. I choose to work in a Title I school because I love the community and I desire to provide them with the best education possible. I acquired over eight thousand dollars in grant money last year to increase the available technology for my students. I will continue to do my best for my students, even though you continuously choose not to do your best for me or my fellow teachers.

I asked my children to give a shout out to some of the teachers they felt impacted them the most. I expected maybe one or two names, what they gave me was so much more. I can always count on my children to exceed the expectations. My children wish to thank the following individuals for guiding them on their respective paths to success: Ms. Murray, Ms. Weimer, Ms. D, Mr. Woods, Mr. Tamburrino, Mr. Bock, Mr. Mandelstam, Mr. Alameddin, Ms. Thompson, Ms. Horky, Ms. Thompson, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Sharp, Mr. Mauff, Ms. Botkins, Ms. Baker, Ms. Sarnow, Ms. Bradford, Ms. Brunjak, Ms. Degenhart, Ms. Ivy and Mr. Peterson.

Jamie A. Leeburg
O'Connell Middle School-an IB World School
303-982-8399
Physical Education Teacher
"Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan. The key is discipline. Without it, there is no morale." Tom Landry

Why is School Curriculum Being Targeted

I think this says it all:

Your Words Are Powerful - Letter Two

Letter to the Denver Post regarding John Newkirk’s Guest Commentary of September 26, 2014

In his guest commentary about the recent activities in and around Jefferson County schools, Mr. Newkirk brings up an interesting question: if teachers are receiving the first raise in five years, why are they protesting now when they didn’t protest before? Specifically, he wrote, “We've upped entry-level salaries by up to 13 percent and approved significant raises for all our effective teachers. In contrast, in 2011, the prior board cut compensation by 3 percent. There were no teacher sickouts then. In 2012 and 2013, the board froze salaries and, once again, there were no sickouts or protests.”
So why are teachers, parents, students, and taxpayers so upset now?
As Mr. Newkirk points out, it’s NOT about the money.

If the teachers were only interested in making more money, then the issue should have been settled. Unfortunately for Mr. Newkirk, the issue goes to something far deeper.

IT IS ABOUT RESPECT: respect for the community, respect for the process, respect for the teachers, and respect for the students.

In terms of the teacher pay raises, what Mr. Newkirk does not mention is that teachers were not involved in developing the new pay system. An unbiased, neutral federal fact-finder agreed that the way teachers were being given a raise was unfair and ill-conceived. That fact-finder recommended the District take a year to develop a really good system. The Board majority chose to ignore this advice for intelligent reform, and instead created its own system of pay which has a number of problems. It’s not about the money – it’s about the process.

In terms of the AP US History curriculum, Mr. Newkirk asserts that “union-led teachers have misinformed those students rather than encouraged them to exercise critical thinking skills.” I would suggest that Jeffco students showed a great deal of critical thinking when they read Ms. Williams’s proposal, which is publicly available. The students in Jefferson County decided for themselves that that language in that proposal was objectionable. Even the College Board, the writers of the Advanced Placement frameworks and tests, an organization made up of educators at the high school and college levels, found the original wording of the proposal problematic. Mr. Newkirk also fails to realize that student leaders at the various high schools decided to do this on their own, with input from their parents

Additionally, now Mr. Witt, the President of the School Board, has said that Jeffco may drop AP US History from its curriculum. That shows incredible disrespect for the thousands of highly motivated and intelligent students in Jefferson County who want to challenge themselves by taking an optional college-level class in order to gain college credit. Mr. Newkirk does not seem to recognize that our best and brightest choose to take Advanced Placement classes, including AP US History, and parents want them to be able to earn college credit while in high school. Mr. Newkirk mentions some of the academic hurdles Jefferson County continues to face, but the answer to bringing up test scores is NOT to take away the option of taking a harder course!

Mr. Newkirk also mentions the Board majority’s efforts to equalize charter school funding. While this is an admirable goal in the long run, it completely disregards community input. When the generous voters of Jefferson County approved the mill levy override, they were promised that the majority of money would go to class-size reduction, maintenance of electives and additional school-support personnel. However, the Board majority has decided to spend millions more on charters, while also wasting money on a private attorney, a public relations firm, a dubious superintendent search, and a host of other projects. The process has not been honored and the voters of Jefferson County have been told their priorities are not valued.

Collaboration is certainly a watchword in business today; we all know that when people come together to create change they are normally more successful than when a small group imposes its will. Author Mattie Stepanek once wrote, “Unity is strength . . . when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” Mr. Newkirk and this Board majority don’t seem to want to collaborate with anyone; they don’t seem to understand that a strong school district is based on teamwork of all the players: teachers, parents, business people, voters, students – everyone. Mr. Newkirk and other Board majority members imply that a system where the “union” dictates to the District is “bad.” The same can be said when three individuals choose to impose their will on an entire District without collaborating or respecting all the stakeholders.

So why are Jeffco teachers upset if we are receiving a raise? It’s not about the money. It’s about respect.

Sincerely,

Tammie Peters, Jeffco taxpayer, parent and teacher

Your Words are Powerful

I am surprised and pleased to see that after my long break from writing this blog, people are still reading it.  I return to these pages because the state of Jeffco Schools has only gotten worse. Students, teachers and parents are all protesting the actions of the three conservative board members, Ken Witt, Julie Williams and John Newkirk.  That is no surprise.  Witt, Newkirk and Williams are acting under the same impulses as other extremists we are also hearing about in the news. Extremism is never good. In the end, extremist fall hard.  Read it in the history books, but I guess that is too much for Mrs. Williams and her "godly" groupies.

Over the past several weeks, I have read many, many wonderful letters and emails written by parents, students and teachers. They write because they know something valuable is being threatened - free speech and public education. Because they can say what is important so much better than I can, I am turning this blog over to publishing their letters. These letters are  being sent to the Board of Education by the hundreds. Precious words condemned to the black hole of an email box that will probably never be read by a board member. Words only have power if they can be read. So, please keep sending those letters to Board of Education, but please send them to this blog too. Paste them in the comment section below.  I will paste them in this blog when appropriate. I will do my best, with your help, to make sure that the world gets a chance to read your wonderful and powerful thoughts. Please write constructively, don't defame or liable, but do write from the heart.  Be professional and kind. If you are a teacher whose students are being hurt, say so. If you are a teacher and have to work at Home Depot to make ends meet, tell your story.  If you are a mom whose child is not getting the education they deserve write a letter here. Tell us about an unfair evaluation system for teachers, how the law is being broken at board meetings.  The world needs to know these terrible things that are happening in our once wonderful school district . These pages are yours.  Letters that are signed are more powerful than those that are unsigned, but I understand the need to protect jobs and income by remaining anonymous.

Starting now, this blog is "The Voices of Jeffco."

LETTER #1
 

Ms. Williams:

As a parent of two recently Jeffco graduates (2012, 2014), it is sad to see that a focus of the Board is on the curriculum of students in AP courses. The reason given by Ms. Williams is this: ""I don't think we should encourage kids to be little rebels ...We should encourage kids to be good citizens."" (9News.com) Ms. William's fears are unwarranted, and beg the question, Have you been in more than one AP Class that does this?. I want to let you know that I have two very good examples that Ms. Williams' comment is incorrect. Both of my children successfully completed AP classes at their Jeffco (non-charter) High School, including APUSH. My son graduated with a 4.3 and my daughter, a 4.5. My son was accepted into ALL of the United States Military Academies. He is currently a Junior at C.U. Boulder and in the United States Air Force. Can you get more patriotic than that? He obviously wasn't deterred because of his AP classes or by the curriculum that he received in Jefferson County. My daughter took nearly every AP class offered at her high school, something like 8 or 9. She is now in the President's Leadership Class at CU Boulder with the goal of becoming one of the few female Neuro-Surgeons,(look up the requirements to be accepted into this exquisite group of students leaders). Again, she is not a "rebel", she is probably one of the model citizens we should all strive to be.

I find it sad that you, Ms. Williams, are finding it necessary to attempt to change the curriculum, which I don't think you have ever taught, and I'm not sure you have ever taken. The teachers who developed the critical thinking skills in both my children did so long before our state adopted the Common Core standards, which emphasize critical thinking. Our children are taught in schools that they are important, that their questions are important, and their ideas are valued. How does "your" way support that? Changing the curriculum so that authors and Board members tell them what to think limits their abilities to become the model citizens our society so desperately needs right now. I am proud of the education that my children received; their success speaks to that - and they are not the only success stories Jeffco can claim.

Is this really where we are going with education in 2014? Which country out there is or has been successful implementing this type of educational policy? It is NOT how things in the United States are ran. Go to Boston and feel the history that the founding fathers created, or read about it in the plentiful, free, and available literature. We (USA) are who we are because we were LEAD by a group that had the determination to fight for freedom. Every time our freedoms have come into question, freedom wins. Again, visit the history books. It is deplorable to think where we would be as a nation if we allowed others to tell us how to think. Where would civil rights be? Equality?

As a parent of a military Commander and 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force, it saddens me that a citizen of our United States wants to exercise her freedom of speech to take away others' freedom to think and speak. My son will fight for our rights and freedoms and that includes you, Ms. Williams, and your "outdated" ideas of education.

Every time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, think about all those who have, do, and will serve to protect these rights.

Ms. Toni Bower

Concerned Jeffco Parent

Dear Mr. McMinimee, Here's the problem

Dear Mr. McMinimee,

You are about to have a new job with Jeffco Public Schools. I wish we could welcome you under better circumstances. I see that you have some experience with Jefferson County, so you know we value quality education for our children.

I am not a teacher, but I see that you were one once. I hope you have clung to the knowledge that being a teacher is very difficult and no one teaches to get rich. Do you remember that teachers are not the enemy; they are our hard-working friends and neighbors? They shape the lives of our children.

I’m afraid you are going to hear some mis-information from the three board members who hired you. They are going to tell you that the teachers’ union is the problem. They will say that only a handful of parents are causing a ruckus. They will say the media has blown everything out of proportion - - there is a PR problem. They will tell you they were elected by a huge margin of voters. These are all lies.

The three people who hired you, Ken Witt, John Newkirk and Julie Williams are the problem.

As you take on the job of superintendent, remember these three people will be gone, hopefully sooner than later. Don’t burn any bridges.

Let me bring you up to speed from the point of view of a community member:

-During the election, Witt, Newkirk and Williams (WNW) aligned themselves with former board member Laura Boggs. Boggs, who was twice censured by her fellow board members for her behavior, vowed to “rip this district apart.” They are working hard to fulfill her wish. Boggs allegedly showed up with $3,000 in cash to pay for the room rental for Witt's recent "community forum." The forum was a rush-job only publicized by conservative anti-Jeffco school groups, like Jeffco Students First.  It was a not a school district sponsored event.  You connect the dots.

-During the election, Witt, Newkirk and Williams took advantage of “gray” campaign contributions and support from anti-Jeffco school groups like Jeffco Students First Action.

-Within days of being elected, WNW secretly began planning to use taxpayer dollars (without public review), to hire an attorney to represent them, and not the district. How does this help children?

WNW violated the Sunshine Law by meeting secretly to negotiate a contract with lawyer Brad Miller. Miller has a well-known conflict of interest since he represents charter schools in their bids to win contracts from school boards. They pay him approx. 7,500 taxpayer dollars a month. How does this help children?

-WNW are about to violate promises made to the community during the campaign for ballot measure 3A and 3B, by diverting budget money to fund charter schools. As the new superintendent, you will likely need to go to the community for additional voter-approved funding some time in the future. Your new bosses are working hard to ensure the community can never trust the school board and superintendent again.  Good luck with that.

-WNW have systematically changed the make-up of the district’s parent advisory committees, loading the committees with their supporters. These are people who don’t support Jeffco schools. WNW placed on the technology committee a woman who cost the district millions of dollars and support for elementary reading. They placed on the teacher evaluation committee a woman who tries to videotape and humiliate teachers who voice opposition. These are not the actions of people who truly support Jeffco schools.

-The district’s legally required parent advisory committee, SPAC, worked for months to examine the district’s budget and operations in order to provide the board their guidance and opinions.  At the encouragement of Ken Witt, two members of the SPAC caused so much dissent at SPAC meetings it was difficult for members to be productive. An ally of Witt’s on the SPAC committee penned a report that was so full of lies and questionable data that it was harmful to the district and Jeffco students.  WNW allowed the report to be presented at a Board meeting, further angering community members. WNW encourage disruption and dissent at all district meetings. These are not the actions of people who truly support Jeffco schools.

-During legal proceedings regarding a piece of land the district was deeded by the city of Lakewood, Witt disregarded legal advice and stopped the proceedings. This action has the potential to cause Jeffco and other school districts millions of dollars.(update, the City of Lakewood continues to state that the property belongs to the district, which gives the district the right to build a school on it)

-In a 3 to 2 vote, WNW pushed through additional funding and extension of a loan repayment for a charter school. This charter school has been flagged by auditors for not operating in a fiscally sound manner, causing the community to question the board’s financial stewardship. It has now been discovered that the school may have skewed data about its enrollment figures and did not disclose information about a lawsuit.

-Ken Witt has violated the Board’s own Policy GP-04 by attempting to run day-to-day operations of the district and give orders to employees. This has been repeatedly questioned by board member Lesley Dahlkemper. District employees do not report to the board.

-Ken Witt’s rude behavior at board meetings has resulted in thousands of letters being sent to the board of education office in protest.

-At recent board meetings regarding the budget, WNW have demonstrated they do not support early childhood education. Despite the community’s outcry, and sound research, they have said they do not see the benefit in free full-day kindergarten and have moved money to support kindergarten to charter school funding, further dividing the community. Please read this letter, it says it well: http://www.boarddocs.com/co/jeffco/Board.nsf/files/9JGNLR550DA6/$file/c14472O.pdf

I won’t go into the comments Mr. Witt, Mr. Newkirk and Mrs. Williams have made demonstrating they do not support diversity.  It’s just too painful.

So, you see Mr. McMinimee, the people who hired you are the problem. Nothing in their actions says, “we support quality public education.”  Their actions have angered the community and the community’s voice is getting louder every day. WNW won’t be around Jeffco for long. Will you?  Remember, WE ARE NOT DOUGCO!

UPDATE: Since this letter was written in May 2014, there have been many other moves by the Jeffco BOE that do not represent the will of the community, including, but not limited to:

-The conservative board members voted to take money from neighborhood schools and gave it to charter schools.  Now, charter schools students are getting approx. $381 per student that was taken from neighorhood school students, many of them low income students. Witt, Newkirk and Williams are getting ready to grant a contract for a new charter school to one of their campaign contributors.

-WNW refused to bargin in good faith with teachers, refused a third-party review, that said the teacher evaluation system is so flawed it should not be used.

-Board member Julie Williams introduced a plan for a curriculum review committee that would censor the AP History curriculum and the health curriculum. She sought members for her committee such as this:

Characteristic #1 – Inspires Trust

 

As we examine the qualification and past actions of Dan McMinimee, the DougCo assistant superintendent, who was just selected in a 3 to 2 vote as the one and only finalist for the Jeffco superintendent position, we should look back on the path the community took to get here.

Back on April 1, Ray & Assoc., the superintendent search firm, presented to the Board and the community the results of a survey  that was used to build a “profile” of the 10 most desirable characteristics of a superintendent.The survey was completed by parents, Jeffco staff, students and the board. The #1 characteristic selected was “inspires trust, has high levels of self-confidence and optimism, and models high standards of integrity and personal performance.”

I think its safe to say that in the deliberations over the various superintendent finalists, Lesley Dahlkemper and Jill Fellman probably pointed out to Witt, Newkirk and Williams that McMinimee would not fit the #1 desirable characteristic. It cannot be said that Mr. McMinimee inspires trust, or possibly has a high standard of personal performance.  He was reportedly the chief negotiator when the DougCo school board killed the Douglas County school district’s teachers union. He was assistant superintendent of the school district that whole-heartedly supports using taxpayer dollars to offer private school vouchers to students – something the Jeffco community does not support. Again, not very trust-building. I won't go into the recent investigations of DougCo for treatment of immigrant students and misuse of transportation funds. Maybe Witt thinks that "inspires trust" only applies to his feelings.

Ken Witt has said he is looking for a superintendent that will support the Board's Ends Goals. Witt, Newkirk and Williams are constantly beating the drum about their Ends Goal to raise third grade reading scores. Well, their new selection for superintendent currently works for a school district that hasn’t seen an increase in third-grade reading scores since 2009. This year, DougCo saw 2.5 percentage point decrease in third-graders reading at the proficient level. Excuse me Mr. Witt, but you might want to re-think that comment you made about Mr. McMinimee's "strong commitment to academic achievement."  I will concede that commitment and success are two different things.

I’m trying real hard to convince myself to give Dan McMinimee a chance, but it’s a tough sell just based on his past performance and the actions of the school district he has supported for the past four years.  I heard Witt say “we are not DougCo,” but he acts like he wants Jeffco to be just like that district.

I do know that, again Witt, Newkirk and Williams (WNW) have acted poorly and let the community down.  Two board members did not support Mr. McMinimee, and that speaks volumes.  

Don't They Get It!

I haven’t written in awhile, but last night’s story by the Denver Post’s Lynn Bartels reporting that Rep. Mark Waller has submitted his application to be Jeffco’s superintendent makes me want to scream from the rooftops, “DON’T THEY GET IT.”  The future of 85,000+ kids is on the line. Managing Jeffco schools is not a political game, it is serious business. If the political backroom deal-makers, including Ken Witt, John Newkirk, Julie Williams (WNW) and Brad Miller think that we don’t see that Waller’s application is part of a payoff for his withdrawal from the state’s attorney general’s race, they are crazy.  Waller did not just wake up on April 28th and decide he might like to be a school superintendent. He did not just suddenly find in his desk drawer a ready-made endorsements from former head of the Republican Party Bruce Benson. He was offered the position as a done deal. A political pay-off.

Jeffco parents (and staff), wake up: the political puppeteers believe your school and your children’s future is only good enough to be a dumping ground for unelectable Republican politicians.

The very fact that someone would offer up Jeffco schools as a political consolation prize, and that Waller thinks he can successfully run a school district when he has NO qualifications, shows just how little they think of our Jeffco schools and how little they know. DON’T THEY GET IT!

Some people are going to make all kinds of ridiculous arguments about why Waller has the skills to do this; he’s a coalition builder. . .Michel Bennett did it for DPS, etc.  Get a clue! First, the Jefferson County School District has 1400 employees and 85,000+ students. It’s a small city with city problems and little kids' lives on the line 288 days a year!  AND, MR. WALLER, you must educate those children in addition to keeping them safe and healthy. You have approximately 5,000 teachers who are very unhappy right now.  AND HERE’S THE KICKER - the current ultra-fanatics on the school board, WNW, have run off many incredibly skilled staff members. They won’t be there to help you Mr.Waller.

Since Witt, Newkirk and Williams took office, Jeffco has lost these employees:

-Executive director of IT,

-Director of education technology

-Chief academic officer

-Executive director of employee relations

-Charter school liaison

-Achievement directors (two)

-Chief school effectiveness officer (leaving as of 7/2014)

-Executive director of leaning & educational achievement (leaving as of 6/2014)

-Seven top high school principals, and many others, have announced their departure or retirement

I’ve talked to many of these people and they have told me they couldn’t work under Witt, Newkirk and Williams and were leaving the district. These people have found great jobs with other school districts - a loss for the children of Jeffco and the county’s reputation.

And, gone too is nationally recognized Superintendent Cindy Stevenson, a PhD, with 40 years experience in education. (REALLY, Waller, you want to fill those shoes? Political suicide.)

Michael Bennett made a go of DPS largely because he walked into the district with people like Tom Boasberg waiting to help guide the educational aspects of the organization.  Jeffco’s new superintendent will be walking into the Jeffco Education Center to a demoralized staff and a vacuum left by the departure of talented and knowledgeable educational experts, and 4,000 teachers who have been kicked around by the board.  It’s going to take more than a  past political career to make the district successful again and give our kids the education they deserve.

And, Witt, Newkirk and Williams, about those “Ends Goals” you like to trot out when it’s convenient. How’s an inexperienced guy like Mark Waller going get those goals accomplished?  WNW, you are leaving a legacy, a history of destroying a school district for your own children and grandchildren to see.  But, I think the answer to all these questions is that you just don’t care.

POSTSCRIPT: It was brought to my attention that Waller would not meet the minimum qualification to be considered as a principal for Jeffco. Waller could not meet the qualification to be a teacher in a regular Jeffco school.

Epiphany

After the Thursday, April 3 Board of Education meeting,  I had an epiphany. She's not just intellectually disabled she's a bigot.You know who I mean.

The Charter School Performance Promise

In 1999, Jeffco voters approved the “Performance Promise,” which gave Jeffco schools more tax funding if student achievement improved. It did improve and the school district’s budget received additional funding.

I propose its time for a Charter School Performance Promise. At the Thursday, April 3, Board of Education meeting, Charter School supporters are planning a mass appearance before the Board of Education to demand more money. They have written some really bad Talking Points, which are filled with misinformation, and they are going to plead their case for more cash IN EXCHANGE FOR NOTHING!

Charter Schools don’t have to meet the same requirements as neighborhood schools, they apparently don’t have to be as accountable for student achievement, financial management, teacher licensing, classroom hours and attendance, teacher training. They can have their own board of education. Charters have a poor record of even trying to meet the needs of special education students and they don’t generally serve minorities and ESL students well. They are uniting against having to teach the Common Core curriculum.

I say it is time for Charter Schools to make a Performance Promise. I am generally for Charter Schools because I know students deserve educational choices, but I think charter schools get by too easily. Another issue is school financing, the school district doesn’t have a strong budget (thank you Witt, Newkirk and Williams for working against increased funding for our schools! Remember Amend. 66?), so this is not the time for Charters to be asking that money be taken from other schools, or from teacher salaries, to support them. Neighborhood school parents don’t want their children to lose their music class or have their child’s teacher be poorly paid so that Charter Schools can get more money to operate with little fiscal responsibility or accountability.

Charters, if you want more money, go to the voters and make a promise that in exchange for improved academic performance and improved fiscal responsibility and teaching an approved curriculum you will get increased funding… The Charter School Performance Promise.

By the way, where were charter school parents when we were working hard to get 3A and 3B passed?

Newkirk! Throw Him Off the Committee

 

Recently, Jeffco school board conservative John Newkirk attempted to have two parent volunteers removed from school district committees for a conversation they had on a social media site regarding a gun. Newkirk is expected to bring the topic up again at an April meeting, as the board searches for any excuse to clear their opponents from school district committees.

Newkirk’s complaint is laughable on so many levels. It is particularly laughable in light of the fact that his fellow board conservative, Julie Williams, has mentioned guns and arming teachers on several social media and web sites.

The online conversation between the two parent volunteers did not harm students or the school district. However, one of Newkirk’s friends and supporters has had a huge online conversation (there is also a print version) that has harmed the district and students. Tom Coyne should be removed from his seat on all district committees for his frequent online diatribes against our students’ performance and against our schools.

Coyne’s lengthy misguided essays about how badly Jeffco kids perform and how bad Jeffco schools are, hurt our property values and they hurt our students who are trying to get admitted to the best schools in the country. His comments hurt our teachers.  Anyone considering moving to Jefferson County who sees Coyne’s writings on his website and in print will find another place to buy a house. Jeffco real estate agents should be mad as hell. When college admissions counselors see what he has written about student achievement, do you think a Jeffco student will get top consideration? And, yes I know admissions counselors who do comb the Internet for information about schools and student performance.

Shame on Coyne for this thoughtless, self-centered writings.  He has hurt the district and students.  Newkirk! here is a reason to throw someone off a committee.

Dear Julie

Julie Williams
Jefferson County Board of Education

Dear Julie,
At the March 13 Board of Education meeting you once again showed a total lack of understanding of education by making a comment about preschool education not having any effect on student achievement.  If you're going to be on a school board, try reading about education:

• Well-designed preschool education programs produce long-term improvements in school success, including higher achievement test scores, lower rates of grade repetition and special education, and higher educational attainment. Some preschool programs are also associated with reduced delinquency and crime in childhood and adulthood.

• The strongest evidence suggests that economically disadvantaged children reap long-term benefits from preschool. However, children from all other socioeconomic backgrounds have been found to benefit as well. 1 Keep reading.

 Julie,  try this little piece from the New York Times about how a good kindergarten teacher can have lasting effects on adult outcomes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/business/economy/28leonhardt.html?_r=0







1 Preschool Education and Its Lasting Effects: Research and Policy Implications

W. Steven Barnett, National Institute for Early Education Research

This is not a Democracy, This is the Board of Education

In the past two years, innovators have been providing technology to citizens of emerging countries that would help them connect with their governments and give a voice to their ideas and desires. That’s probably a strange concept to some Americans, after all we can send emails to government leaders, attend meetings and testify, fill in their online surveys. All that SHOULD give our ideas and demands weight with our elected leaders.  It’s called democracy.

If any of this sounds familiar, than maybe you just attended one of the Jeffco Board of Education’s community budget meetings, where you submitted your ideas about spending priorities for the budget. You may have gone to board meeting where you voiced your opinion. Maybe you were one of the 13,000 people who submitted a survey telling the board how you wanted your tax dollars spent.

Overwhelmingly, the Board has heard from the public through the survey and through public comment that these are their top ideas and desires for budget priorities:

• Keep class sizes small (this will mean spending money to hire & retain teachers)
• Increase employee compensation (Jeffco staff have not had a raise since 2010)
• Maintain electives (again, the requires teachers and materials)
• Increase funding for full-day kindergarten (at least $700, 000 for 13 classes is needed) 

To do all this will require some re-balancing of the district’s budget.

-The Board's proposal of giving more than between $7 milion to charter schools was not supported by the community

(NOTE: According to the board meeting notes and the board presentation, three members of the Board are proposing:

Equalizing mill levy override money to match what neighborhood and option schools received. This would required between $6 to $8 million. It would not be given as loans to Charter School, but given outright.)

-The Boards' proposal of increasing funding for gifted and talented students was not supported by the community.

Through a democratic process that represents the opinions of Jeffco parents, students and staff, RIGHT NOW, not last November, a loud message has been sent to the Board of Education about what their constituency wants.

All indications are that the Board of Education is going to ignore democracy, ignore the majorities' voice and do what they damn well please and support their cronies (watch who applies for the next charter school).  History has shown what happens to elected officials who take this course.

Unless its stopped:

- The Board will probably take $700,000 from the budget that could go to neighborhood schools and give it to charter schools.

- The Board may give teachers (but not principals) a raise, but it will then be reduced by the board’s new requirement that employees pay more for their retirement fund(they don’t get Social Security). So, no real increase for teacher salaries.

-An increase in health insurance costs for Jeffco employees has already been approved by the Board, and Jeffco employees will receive no salary increase, or other means of offsetting this increase. It looks like Jeffco salaries may actually go backwards.

Tell the Board of Education that this is America not a third-world country and that democracy is alive. Keep making your voice heard.

The $7 million the board has earmarked for charter schools should go into free full-day kindergarten, or to retain and hire teachers and keep small classes and electives.

You can see summaries from each of the Budget Meetings at the bottom of this page:

http://www.boarddocs.com/co/jeffco/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=9GZFUE0321B0

You can see summaries of the survey here:

http://www.jeffcopublicschools.org/community/documents/Survey_Results.pdf

Missing - the District's Best Interest

The March 6th Board of Education meeting was another spectacle of "callous disregard for students1" by board members Ken Witt, John Newkirk and Julie Williams.

While all the attention was focused on their egotistical posturing, people may have missed that an important person was missing from the room. The school district's legal counsel, from Caplan & Ernest was not at the table. Caplan & Ernst has a contract to protect the legal interest of the school district.

Brad Miller, the board's attorney who was hired in a back-room deal, was there using the public address system to inform the audience of the board's whereabouts! They were 20 minutes late to their own meeting, but the district had no legal adviser.

So, without the legal guidance of an attorney from Caplan & Ernst was the district's best interest protected?  How many laws were broken and rules violated at this meeting?

The bigger question is why was an attorney from Caplan & Ernst missing?  Did the board, via Brad Miller, tell the district's attorneys that their services were not needed.  Does the board even have the power  or right to do this. It causes an alarm bell to ring for me. I would like an explanation.

Ken Witt didn't need to vote in favor of overturning GP05, which would give him power to direct staff and outright run the district, he's found another way to subvert the citizen's school district.



1 "callous disregard for students" was language Ken Witt (or his script writer) had put into a board resolution regarding SB 191. Board member Lesley Dahlkemper had the wording removed. Witt would not admit who wrote the resolution when pressed by Dahlkemper.

Bankrupting Neighborhood Schools

Having educational choice is a good thing. Not all children learn alike, and parents should have the option of selecting a school that best meets the needs of their child. Charter schools help to give parents that choice. However, charter schools should not be opened and run at the financial detriment of existing neighborhood schools, but that is what three members of the Jeffco school board are purposing.

At the Jefferson County Board of Education meeting on Thursday, Feb. 27, the board reviewed the budget that 3 members are proposing for next school year.  In that budget,  is an item called "Charter School Equalization." Charter School Equalization would take money from non-charter schools (YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL) and put it into charter schools.

The line in budget says:

Total redirection of funding to charters

$7.4 million

This is not what Jefferson County voters approved when they voted on 3A/3B.  Parents should be up in arms over this proposal. Attend a community budget meeting and tell the board you want the money promised to neighborhood schools, to go to neighborhood schools.

You can see the budget presentation from the board meeting at:

http://www.boarddocs.com/co/jeffco/Board.nsf/files/9GRBZD820538/$file/Budget%20Training%20Presentation%20Condensed%20for%20022714.pdf

If you want to open a really bad charter school come to Jeffco, Ken and Brad will fix you right up.
 
UPDATE 3/6

ALL JEFFCO PARENTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THIS PLEASE WATCH:
http://www.msnbc.com/the-ed-show/watch/the-biggest-education-problem-effecting-kids-184771139804

A Jeffco Superintendent Candidate

Is Dr. Terrence Moore a candidate for Jeffco's superintendent position? Moore was the principal of Ridgeview Classical Schools, a K-12 charter school in Fort Collins, Colorado before leaving to become a charter school advocate and college professor.  He is currently making education headlines for his anti-Common Core book The Story-Killers: A Common Sense Case Against the Common Core. 

Former Jeffco board member Laura Boggs has mentioned his name several times. They shared a microphone on Grassroots Radio.  The broadcast was billed as a Common Core . . .  Moore vs. Boggs event, but asking Laura Boggs to defend Common Core is laughable.

Sheila Atwell head of Jeffco Students First, the financier-manager for Witt, Newkirk and William's board campaigns is a graduate/member of the Leadership Program of the Rockies, and reportedly a Moore supporter.  The conservative Dr. Moore, was in Colorado last week to speak to the Leadership Program of the Rockies Annual Retreat. Convenient.

Another supporter of Dr. Terrence Moore is the Jeffco School board's secretly hired attorney, Brad Miller (also a graduate of the Leadership Program of the Rockies). Miller's other job, when he is not siphoning money from public school districts, is to run Charter School Solutions, a company that helps Charter Schools siphon money from public school districts. Go to Charter School Solutions blog to read pages of praise for Moore and his former school Ridgeview Classical Academy.

You can learn more about Moore here:
https://www.leadershipprogramretreat.com/schedule/speakers/15-2014-speakers/50-terrence-moore

Please prove me wrong about this.
 

Don't forget to read other articles in this blog, using the links on the right. Read about the soon to be implemented budget plan to decrease funding for neighborhood schools in favor of charter schools.

I Want to be Your Superintendent

Recently the Jefferson County Board of Education selected Ray and Associates, a national executive search film, to recruit applicants for the superintendent position. I envision eager superintendent-wannabes Googling Jefferson County Schools and after a brief read of the headlines about the board, mumbling "fat chance," and quickly moving on to catch-up on their emails.

In reality, there will probably be numerous candidates for the job. Until, November, the school district had an excellent reputation - strong student achievement, a nationally recognized superintendent, nationally recognized educational technology program, support of towns and the county.

When the board members interviewed the search firms, Ken Witt mentioned more than once his desire for a "non-traditional" interview with the superintendent candidates. He mentioned using scenarios. I heard snickers from the audience. Apparently, they know scenario-driven interviews are not non-traditional. However, it did make me think about what questions would be asked of applicants, and what answers could be given that could make the community happy and make Ken Witt want to hire them.

Question: As superintendent, what would be one of the most important things you could do?

Answer: Listen to the community

This answer wouldn't win you many points with Kenny. After 13,000 people recently submitted their feedback to the board through an online survey about budget priorities, he wasted no time disparaging the survey results, stating that he felt people took the survey "two or three times." He hates that the community does not agree with his agenda, so he wants to quiet their voices by discrediting the survey. Survey respondents, gave a thumbs down to more charter schools, reducing school fees and increase spending on gifted students - all supported by Witt, Newkirk and Williams.

Any applicants for the Jeffco superintendent job are going to have interesting interviews. Let's just hope the interviews are not behind closed doors. Oh yes, Kenny hates transparency too. He hired an attorney behind closed doors.

Follow the Money

There's big money behind the takeover of education in Colorado.  Just look at the DougCo school board races and the move to privatize Douglas County schools. It starts out slowly and secretly and then it spreads. And, it has spread to Jefferson County.
 
Much of the money is hidden behind  campaign contributions funneled through 501(c)4  groups like Jeffco Students First Action, which worked to get Ken Witt, John Newkirk and Julie Williams elected.

 "The group received its funding from Jeffco Students First Action, a group that has been critical of district policies but which itself doesn’t have to report its contributors." ChalkBeat, 11/7/2013

The head of the Jeffco Students First, the parent group of Jeffco Students First Action, is Sheila Atwell. Who pays her salary? Who funds their work and their campaign contributions? Who paid for the high price law firm that filed their original paperwork with the Secretary of State's Office?

The paperwork was filed by a lawyer with Hackstaff Gessler in Denver. Does the name Scott Gessler ring a bell? To get that type of legal support you either need to have a lot of money, or connections, probably both. 

When Jeffco Students First suddenly appeared in Jefferson County, the group's website looked exactly like the website of Students First, a national organization founded by Michelle Rhee. Rhee was basically run out of her position as the chancellor of the Washington DC school system. She went on to get the support of large and well-funded conservative groups, like the Koch Brothers, to create Students First. While head of the D.C. schools, she was known at the "teacher terminator." She is also pro-voucher and pro-charter school.  Later, she was linked to a student test score cheating scandal.

Could it just be a coincidence that the two groups, the national conservative-funded Students First and Jeffco Students First, websites looked exactly alike and had matching content? Did they have matching donors?

Why does the Jefferson County group, and Atwell, hide campaign contributions, not only to Witt, Newkirk and Williams, but to Mapleton School Board's Jen Raiffie. Raiffie's donations were funneled through another group. (You do not want your children to act like Raiffie does. See here and here.)

It should be noted that Sheila Atwell is not a Jeffco schools parent.  Her children attend private school.

Colorado's Big Money
Witt, Newkirk and William's banker, Jeffco Students First, which has tried to stay in the shadows, also has ties to big Colorado money. During the campaign, those in the favored circle received this invitation:

Alex Cranberg, the energy millionaire and one of the hosts of this Jeffco Students First soiree, has a long history of influencing education.

"In Colorado, when a school voucher initiative he backed failed, he joined with others to create the Alliance for Choice in Education, a nonprofit group . . ." New York Times, 6/11/11

Follow the money and get the answers about Witt, Newkirk and Williams.  I fear they will reinforce my concern for Jeffco's children. Jeffco parents, its time to take back our school district, demand transparency from Jeffco Students First, Sheila Atwell, Attorney Brad Miller and the three board members.

Six Degrees of Brad Miller

Play Six Degrees of Brad Miller. We will start you off:

Jeffco School Board's new attorney Brad Miller, who was hired in a backroom deal, also owns a company called Charter School Solutions,  co-owner of the business is Denise Mund.  She has power over creating and approving new Charter schools. She spent approx.13 years running the division in the Colorado Dept of Education that oversees Charter Schools.

Brad Miller's brother-in law is Paul Lundeen, chairman of the State Board of Education, and candidate for the state legislature.  By all accounts, Miller has been able to secure some lucrative contracts dealing with Colorado education.

Here is a classic example of how Brad Miller's Charter School Solutions works.

 On May 2, 2013, Miller and Mund attended the Colorado Digital Board of Cooperative Eduction meeting. This group controls online learning.

At that meeting, Miller and Mund have a contract approved to be paid up to $10,000 a month for their services. Immediately after the contract is approved, Miller presents the board with a Conflict of Interest Policy, which they adopt?

The meeting continues, with Miller setting up the next meeting agenda and telling this board what they should be working on.  (He does the same with the Jeffco and Thompson School Districts). Looks like he is in control of yet another aspect of our educational system. Read it here.

http://www.cdboces.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/CD-BOCES-Bd-Mtg-Minutes-050213.pdf 

Smooth move, creating the Conflict of Interest policy, so you don't have a Conflict of Interest, and then you get to decide what the board will work on at future meetings. This sounds like a dangerous situation to me.

Recap:  Miller has the Jeffco contract for up to $7,000 a month, he has the Thompson School District contract with no financial constraints.He has the Digital Board's $10,000 a month contract.  According the the Loveland Reporter Herald, he represents an additional 20 Colorado school boards, including Falcon School District and 16 charter schools.
 
None of the contracts he has were put out to bid, they were secured through deals that were generally not done in the public eye. 

ARE YOU COMFORTABLE GIVING THIS MAN SO MUCH POWER OVER COLORADO KIDS' EDUCATION?   NOT TO MENTION HOW MUCH TAXPAYER MONEY HE IS RACKING IN!

May I See Your ID Please

When a teacher, a bus driver, a secretary goes to work for a school district they must submit their fingerprints and have a background investigation completed. When my 80 year old mother decided to volunteer at her grandchild’s school she had to use $20 of her own Social Security money to get a set of fingerprints to submit to the school.

When someone decides to run for the school board they simply fill out an application and create a half-truthful webpage (my apologies to those who are truthful). Being a school board member requires no fingerprints, no background investigation. There could be a six-year stint in Super Max in a board candidate's past and they really wouldn’t have to divulge that to the school district, or the voters.

A person is ineligible to run for a school director position if he or she has been convicted of committing a sexual offense against a child.1 Colo. Rev. Stat. § 22-31-107(5)(a). The statutes do not place an affirmative duty on school officials to fingerprint or conduct background checks of school board candidates. Instead, candidates must affirm under oath that they meet the qualifications of the office if elected. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 1-4-501(1).

Hopefully, someone one would find out about criminals, but really how much do the voters honestly know about school board candidates. There is no official oversight of their qualifications and credential and no oversight of how they behave once they are elected. This is something I am going to complain loudly to my legislators about.

How much do we know about the three ultra-conservatives that just took over the Jeffco School Board and our children’s future?

A Word About LinkedIn

Mickey and Minnie Mouse have a profile on LinkedIn.  They are listed as leisure consultants who graduated from Walt Disney University.  This should serve as a word of caution about the LinkedIn profiles of Ken Witt and John Newkirk. In my opinion, they deserve some scrutiny.

Witt’s LinkedIn profile has changed several times since he crept into office. Immediately after the election, he created an interesting and somewhat misleading title for himself.

Witt is not an employee of the Jefferson County school district, but he loves this title:

In fact, I have been unable to find any verification that Witt is gainfully employed. His campaign website and his Facebook page say he is president of the Aabren Group. The Aabren Group is not listed with any Secretary of State’s office, there is no website for the company and no client list, noTaxID number. You can draw your own conclusions. Check out Witt, Newkirk and William's backgrounds for yourself and see if you think they are really qualified to be responsible for educating and providing for the well-being of 85,000 children and 14,000 employees.  Are they really two unemployed guys and a receptionist?

Learn more about Julie Williams and the  "I call them the Despicable" here. 
(Denver Post, 12/29/13) 

The Jefferson County Board of Education Policy BBBA simply states:

A candidate for the office of school director shall be a resident of the director district that will be represented, have been a registered elector and resident of the school district for at least 12 months. A person is ineligible to run for school director if he/she has been convicted of committing a sexual offense against a child.

It is important that the candidate be sincerely and honestly interested in serving the whole school district for the best interests of all children. Board members shall be nonpartisan in dealing with school matters. The Board does not wish to subordinate the education of children and youth to any partisan principle, group interest, or personal ambition.

The First 100 Days

The phrase “the First 100 Days” is often used to measure the accomplishments of the president during his first 100 days in office when his power is supposed to be at its peak. Let’s use that same measure in time to look at the accomplishment’s of Jeffco’s Board of Education since the 3 conservative board members took office.  Going forward, I shall refer to them at The Troika.  However, I’m searching for an appropriate title for the group. The 3to2ers comes to mind, the Twisted Trio, Koch Worshipers.  Feel free to suggest a name.

The idea for the First 100 Days topic came to mind when I reviewed a tape of the now legendary Board of Ed. meeting on Saturday, Feb. 8.  The day Ken Witt, Julie Williams and John Newkirk tried use their spiteful ways to shame Supt. Cindy Stevenson. During that meeting, Lesley Dhalkemper described some of the not-so-good works of The Troika. To paraphrase Ms. Dahlkemper, The Troika:

• -Hired an attorney, who has a giant conflict of interest, for themselves behind closed doors (using thousands of dollars in tax payer money)
• Violated the state’s open meeting law, which is designed to let you and I see what our elected officials are up to. (The Troika prefers to meet secretly)
• Approved nearly half a million dollars for a charter school with poor student achievement and questionable management skills (using taxpayer money)
• Pushed out a nationally recognized superintendent  (using taxpayer money)

This has all occurred in less than 100 days. What Dahlkemper did not get to include in her list is:

-With little facts or information, The Troika voted to reject a grant, which would be used to implement a state-mandated evaluation system for pre-school students. The evaluation system, using a program called TS Gold, would help parents receive early warning that their child needs additional education support. The program helps teachers understand how to help kids learn. The rejection of this program by The Troika, put the District, (and your kid’s school) in jeopardy of losing millions of dollars, losing the Colorado Preschool Program and violating state law. More about TS Gold here. (the Troika slightly amended their decision, while they try to figure out how to kill the TS GOLD system, and still get the millions from the state.)

-They approved another charter school, Cornerstone, that has no location, no marketing plan, no student enrollment.  No CEO would have approved their proposal.

-They lied to the Denver Post about their plans for the February 6^th Board Meeting. Really lying to the media!  Like they won’t notice.

- They worked with a behind-the-scenes group that provides them scripts for board meetings and advice about how to manipulate the meeting process including public comment. (Witt get tips on how to be rude. Would you let you kids talk to anyone the way he does?)

In all honesty, The Troika members haven’t been in office for 100 days yet. By my count, they are at about day 80, so they still have 20 more days to add to their list: 100 Days of Tragedy for Jeffco Kids.

Jeffco parents, its time to do something about it. These are our kids!

And so it begins . . .

 And so it begins. . .

With the coup on Saturday by the 3 beyond-conservative Jeffco school board members, many Jeffco employees are wondering what are they going to do on Monday?  What are their rights, who do they  report to?  The action of the 3 board members have only demonstrated they are not to be trusted. They have lied, they have repeatedly met in secret to do backroom deals, they have been mean and spiteful, they have ignored the wishes of parents.

Here's some questions to ponder:

•  When Ken Witt demands access to the district's IT systems, emails, student records & data can he get it? He would love to review every employee's email. He could identify his enemies and review their children's records. Will he have the legal right to do this? If he doesn't, who will have the guts to tell him no?
• When Witt and friends demand that only their choice of textbooks are used, can he do that?  Who is representing the students' rights. Who can tell them no?
• Can Witt and friends demand to see employee records without cause, just to harass employees, or to share this information with anyone they like? Who will stop them? 
• On Monday will Witt, Newkirk and Williams begin firing people? Will they start dismantling programs and offices that have served students and parents well for years? 
• When Witt demands a key to the Education Center or to a school can he get it? He could search through employee desks. Do you think Jeffco security people would have the guts to stop him?
• When they demand to censor communications from the district to the public can they do that? Will staff lose their jobs if they stand up to Witt & friends and say "I will not lie for you." When will Witt and Newkirk shut down the district's Twitter or Facebook page because they are afraid of open communications. Will they send out misleading information to the media?
• When Witt, Newkirk and Williams decide to turn your neighborhood school into a conservative Charter School, who will stop them?
• When Witt, Newkirk and Williams decide to bankrupt neighborhood schools to take money from the budget to start privately-supported, politically-motivated Charter Schools, is there anyone who can stop them?
• Will the district's legal representation, Kaplan & Earnst, get fired. Then who will stand up for the students and staff.
• Will staff be able to defend rights of the community against the new evil masters? Who does staff take orders from?

Honestly, the more I write this the more frightened I get.  This sounds like a story from history that no one likes to talk about.

HELP!

BTW, I am not a union member, just a concerned parent.