Colorado Lawmakers Threaten Power of School Boards

AP | 18 June 2003

[whipitgood]

Colo. Officials Enter Charter School Fray

.c The Associated Press

DENVER (AP) - State officials are threatening to take away the power of local school boards to approve charter schools after one district refused to endorse a proposed Montessori school, citing budget constraints.

Officials in the 1,900-student Steamboat Springs school district say they face a $332,000 deficit and cannot afford a second charter school.

Colorado is one of only a handful of states where local school districts approve new charter schools. State education officials and lawmakers want to set up another agency, similar to those in other states, that parents can go to in order to establish a charter school.

``We're not going to allow school districts to be the final arbiters in these decisions,'' House Majority Leader Keith King said.

But the school districts argue that the state constitution ensures local control.

``This is not rocket science,'' said Debra Oberbeck, president of the Jefferson County School Board. ``We have a Colorado Constitution that says school boards have the authority to decide what is best for the entire constituency of the district.''

Charter schools, which are often founded and run by parents who want a more specialized education for their children, operate within school districts and get taxpayer support but are run independently of local school boards. There are 100 such schools in Colorado.

Steamboat Springs is not the only district struggling to fund charter schools.

A study last year showed that Jefferson County schools lost $6.9 million because of its 12 charter schools.

The Boulder Valley School District lost $3.5 million to charter schools last year. Boulder Valley, which has five charter schools, has slapped a moratorium on any new charter schools.

[whipitgood]

"Officials in the 1,900-student Steamboat Springs school district say they face a $332,000 deficit and cannot afford a second charter school."

Maybe it's time for school districts to face up to the fact that people are opting for other educational choices whenever they can. Perhaps bringing back discipline, dress codes, academic standards, and traditional values isn't such a bad thing after all.

[beaversmom]

I'm hoping the you know what is about to hit the fan as far as school choice goes. Here's hoping the legislature will take the power away from these school boards.

[beaversmom]

I'm hoping the you know what is about to hit the fan as far as school choice goes. Here's hoping the legislature will take the power away from these school boards.