JeffCo school board decision draws questions re:transparency

The review is no longer necessary because the college entrance board is doing the review and they agreed with the board majority....AP history is being reviewed and incidently the students that took to the streets in most cases could not explain why they were ditching class with signs union reps handed them...and it wasnt thousands....

they were assisted by union reps....it has been admitted that many of the signs were given to the kids. They were also misled in many cases by teachers complaining about their pay and generally spreading sour grapes to get the kids emotions riled up. Most of the kids were not even in AP history....my question is who made the mis spelled signs we all saw? Was that union reps, teachers, parents or students?

I support that idea....the union spends hardly any money in Jeffco and spends a bunch in Washington on the liberal agenda. This is cronyism. The union should be about better work conditions for teachers and representing them well in negotiations and when one of them does something that gets them sued...instead the union tries to get them more money because that sells among the members-leaves them hi and dry on classroom sizes and training and frieks out when a strong board emerges who is actually representing the voters, the parents and the kids. What good is this kind of union anyway but false security?

Jeffco clerk confident recall will be part of November election
By Nicholas Garcia
Published: September 4, 2015

The Jefferson County clerk’s office expressed confidence Friday that a high-profile school board recall election can co-exist with a crowded November regular ballot and promised to address the Colorado Secretary of State’s concerns about whether it can pull it off.

“The staff and everybody looked at all the options possible,” said Beth Clippinger, spokeswoman for the clerk. “We talked to all the players in the game. This is the best possible plan for our voters and following state statute.”

The Secretary of State’s office sent a letter to the clerk Thursday raising concerns about the office’s decision to include the recall with the regular election.

Clippinger said the clerk’s office will respond early next with its game plan for combining the recall with the general election— an explanation required by law.

Read more at co.chalkbeat.org/2015/09/04/jeffco-clerk...ection/#.VexmG86kOf4

School board majority removes Jeffco PTA from District Accountability Committee
Published by LakewoodConnect
October 5, 2015

In a 3-2 vote Thursday October 1, 2015, the majority of the Jefferson County Board of Education voted to remove seats on the District Accountability Committee (DAC) that had been previously filled by the Jeffco Council PTA. Despite the attempts to retain these positions by board minority members Jill Fellman, and Lesley Dahlkemper, the decision was made to have no designated voice from the largest parent advocacy group in the district.

In her comments to the board, Jeffco PTA President, Angela Geier stated, “There are over 100 local PTA’s in the Jefferson County School District that serve on local School Accountability Committees. PTA members are informed, active and engaged. Excluding them from the DAC robs the district of a resource pool of experience that has benefited our district in many ways.”

Mountain-News-Events wrote: School board majority removes Jeffco PTA from District Accountability Committee
Published by LakewoodConnect
October 5, 2015

In a 3-2 vote Thursday October 1, 2015, the majority of the Jefferson County Board of Education voted to remove seats on the District Accountability Committee (DAC) that had been previously filled by the Jeffco Council PTA. Despite the attempts to retain these positions by board minority members Jill Fellman, and Lesley Dahlkemper, the decision was made to have no designated voice from the largest parent advocacy group in the district.

In her comments to the board, Jeffco PTA President, Angela Geier stated, “There are over 100 local PTA’s in the Jefferson County School District that serve on local School Accountability Committees. PTA members are informed, active and engaged. Excluding them from the DAC robs the district of a resource pool of experience that has benefited our district in many ways.”

This action promotes transparency how? Removing parents from the oversight committee and replacing them with members solely chosen by the three majority members to oversee the actions of the Board is sure to inspire confidence the School Board.

Haven't totally kept up but didn't 9 news say he wanted an advisory opinion from the Board as to whether they violated the sunshine laws or not? I don't see anything wrong with that.

But it does appear the JeffCO School Boards decision to dump the PTA people was the dumbest yet considering the already existing controversy. Don't have enough information on this one. Maybe getting rid of the agitators?

A source of information which I haven't seen mentioned before regarding Jeffco schools - www.jeffcoobserver.com .

Specifically related to DAC - www.jeffcoobserver.com/volume-3-issue-3/...-more-accountability

Volume 3, Issue 3 of the Jeffco Observer, which you can download from the home page, also includes a number of other interesting articles, including "Clearing up the Kindergarten Fog - Free for All or Free Based on Need?" on Page 6, "Is the Recall about Politics or Control?" on Page 9 and "Jeffco Recall Election Raises Timeless Issues" on Page 12.

Relevant article to this thread:
6 Scary Things You Need to Know about Colorado School Boards
1. School board candidates can accept unlimited amounts of money.
2. 2. State ethics rules and enforcement penalties do not apply to school boards.
3. Ads about school board candidates don’t have to be publicly reported like in other elections.
4. Colorado school board elections are magnets for out of state cash. For example, in the last Douglas County School Board election (2013), 74% of the contributions were from outside the county - half of that from outside the state. Almost all of the out of state money was from a Texas oil magnate and some guy named Jeb!
5. Voters don’t get timely info about the money behind school board candidates.
6. School boards can control budgets up to One Billion Dollars.

www.buzzfeed.com/pegperl/6-scary-things-...t-colorado-sch-1we9k