JeffCo school board decision draws questions re:transparency

I'm disappointed to see Sheila Atwell making the false claim that this will cost taxpayers $500,000 for this recall. No, it will not - there are no special elections being held for this, their names just go on this year's ballot. And saying that she's "surprised that it took 17 days to get enough signatures when it should've only taken a week" - most petitions take the full amount of time (months) to get enough signatures. Um, yeah. I think there are also more unhappy voters than they realize.

As posted in our Recall thread : Jeffco Petitioners Collect 75,000 Signatures To Oust School Board Members . Sure, many of those will be tossed out for being duplicates and invalid voters, but 75,000?! Holy buckets.

As I said on a local FB group when this story was posted:
As an Unaffiliated voter parent of two children who attend Jeffco Public Schools and who is in no way associated with the teachers union I fully support putting these 3 back on the ballot for a greater percentage of the county voters to decide based on their performance since being elected. I am very unhappy at their lack of transparency, hiring a lawyer to represent themselves when there still isn't a lawyer to represent the District, hiring a Superintendent at a vastly higher salary than our previous one who had much more experience, the way they've been spending our taxpayer dollars, the fiasco with trying to change the AP History class curriculum (and Sex Ed classes were on the agenda after that), and their lack of working with their fellow colleagues on the board. Politics should not be the focus when on the board for public education. And I've heard the complaints that past boards did the same thing in that liberal-leaning board member majorities didn't work with conservative board members and I Don't condone that either, but that's neither here nor there in regards to this election-hopefully it has now been a learning example for both sides. I'm totally fine with a mix of conservative and liberal as long as they put politics aside and work together for the best for our school district.

The fact is, our schools have been ranked as some of the best in the country, the best teachers wanted to work here, and our test scores at some schools were fantastic. And all that was accomplished under those supposed "liberal" "pro-Union" boards; I think that says something. The union isn't out to destroy our schools, they are not the enemy. Look at what these 3 have done and decide if you think they've worked for the better of our schools.

This recall will not cost extra, the candidates just get added to this year's ballot. It has raised awareness and action within and without for our schools and having more people actively engaged, no matter what their personal leanings, and getting out to vote always makes for better governing - at every level. We the voters have a duty to become informed and to Vote.

RenegadeCJ wrote: 2 quick questions regarding your post ScienceChic.

1) How will they do the recall and new election in one election. Don't they have to do a recall election, then do a special election to bring on new board members (or vice versa)? I haven't researched how it works with the school board.

2) Your statement about the board hiring a super for a "vastly higher salary than our previous one" has been debunked. He is being competitively paid. completecolorado.com/pagetwo/2015/07/08/...re-than-predecessor/

The board has always been bought and paid for by the unions. That is never a good thing. Negotiating salaries and benefits with someone you put in the job makes for bad business, and bad schools. This recall is about one thing. The unions are losing their power and they are freaked out about it.

To answer your first question RenegadeCJ: it goes on the regular Nov ballot since we're less than 90 days out and the candidates up for recall have stated that they will not challenge it. If they had, it would've gone to a special election that could've cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
5 candidates challenging school board members targeted by recall
By Gabrielle Porter
Thursday, August 20, 2015

Recall foes have until Sept. 2 to protest

The recall process currently is in the waiting period — opponents of the recall have until Sept. 2 to lodge a protest that shows the conduct of those who circulated the petitions was “substantially misleading.”

If a protest is filed in writing, Jeffco Clerk and Recorder Faye Griffin will appoint an official to preside over a hearing, and members of Jeffco United for Action must prove that the grounds on which they asked for a recall were accurate.

If the recall is not challenged, the school district will schedule a recall election 30 to 60 days after the waiting period ends, unless it is 90 days or less before the November election, in which case the question goes on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

All three of the board members targeted by the recall have said they don’t intend to step down to avoid an election.

Thank you for the information on the pay disparity. I agree that it is not as disproportionate as made out to be.