November 2009

Month: 
November
Year: 
2009

 THANKS, AND NO THANKS

 

I think November is one of the best months of the year. On November 11 we remember our veterans; I really appreciate the risks they took and sacrifices they made for our country. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday – not just for the great food, but also to have the time to think about what I’m thankful for. One thing I’m very thankful for this year is that I was appointed to be the Vice Chair of the Senate Education Committee. I am also pleased that I will continue serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.

 

However, there are a couple of dark clouds hovering over November 2009. First is the state budget situation; the Governor’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 is aptly named “Tough Choices, Shared Sacrifice,” addressing another $1.2 billion revenue shortfall. Second is the death from ovarian cancer of Elaine Calzolari, the first and only female Sergeant-at-Arms in the State Senate and most recently the Senate calendar clerk; Elaine and I were friends long before she was hired to work for the Senate in 2001 [see photo below].

 

TOWN HALL MEETING

My next Town Hall Meeting will be Saturday, November 21, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Standley Lake Library. The topic will be “financial literacy” for adults to survive these tough economic times. The speakers will be Tim Dore from the Colorado Credit Union Association and Jennifer Waller from the Colorado Bankers Association.

 

JOIN ME FOR COFFEE (OR BREAKFAST)

Don’t forget to join me on the first Thursday of every month at Panera Bread Café, 7739 Wadsworth Blvd., 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. for coffee (or tea or breakfast). The next one will be on December 3. I don’t have agendas for these and I don’t put on programs – so take advantage of the opportunity to chat with me about issues of concern to you.

 

WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING AS YOUR SENATOR

Here are some of the things I’ve done since mid-October, when the last newsletter went out:

  • Held my monthly Legislative Coffee.

  • Participated in the final 2009 meeting of the Poverty Reduction Task Force.

  • Attended the Colorado Children’s Campaign annual luncheon to listen to keynote speaker Marian Wright Edelman, who spoke passionately about children’s poverty.

  • Continued meeting with the Drug Policy Task Force.

  • Continued meeting with the Early Childhood Commission. [See article below.]

  • Attended a meeting of the P-3 Subcommittee of the P-20 Council.

  • Participated in work sessions of the Race to the Top committees.

  • Attended the monthly meeting of CoPINE (Colorado Parent Involvement Network for Education). [See article below.]

  • Attended the Metro North Chamber’s quarterly Development Breakfast.

  • Went to Little Elementary School to see them receive the $2,000 PTA Challenge Grant from the Jefferson Foundation.

  • Attended the Jeffco Human Services Department’s legislative breakfast.

  • Greeted the throngs of parents attending Jeffco’s first Special Education Advisory Committee meeting.

  • Went to the monthly meeting of the Jeffco Schools’ Strategic Planning Advisory Council.

  • Attended the Joint Budget Committee’s briefing on the Judicial Department.

 

EARLY CHILDHOOD/SCHOOL READINESS COMMISSION (ECSR)

The ECSR Commission wrapped up its business for 2009 with five bills that members of the early childhood community called “the best package of bills we’ve ever seen.” I’m sponsoring one of them, which proposes the continuation of quality services in kindergarten for children who had been in the Colorado Preschool Program or Head Start. One of the other Commission bills begins the process for the development of a “universal application form” for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), Medicaid, food stamps, and other public assistance programs for families. Another extends the eligibility period for CCAP to a year, to coincide with Head Start eligibility, rather than the current 6 months, allowing children to remain in their preschool class without interruption if their parent’s financial or educational situation changes.

 

CoPINE

The Colorado Parent Involvement Network for Education is an informal group of advocates that proposed the ideas in SB 09-90, the Parent Involvement in Education Act, which I sponsored this past year. SB 90 creates the State Advisory Council for Parent Involvement in Education (SACPIE), which will be meeting on November 19 for the first time. Members of SACPIE were appointed by the State Board of Education, the Department of Higher Education, and the Department of Human Services. Its job is to advise various education entities in the state on effective strategies for parent involvement, in order to help improve student achievement, reduce the dropout rate, reduce achievement gaps, and improve college attendance and graduation.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

These are some of the meetings I will be attending or hosting in the next month:

  • Nov. 12 – Jefferson Economic Council’s presentation of its 2010 Economic Forecast; meeting of Joint Finance Committee; Symposium on Juvenile Justice; Consumer Health Initiative’s dinner; maybe also JBC briefings on Department of Law and Treasury.

  • Nov. 13 – Colorado School Finance Project; Race to the Top final public input meeting.

  • Nov. 16 – Joint Finance Committee meeting; JBC Hearing for Judicial Department; Jeffco Legislative Forum Training.

  • Nov. 17 – West Chamber’s Elected Officials Reception; JBC Hearings for Department of Law and State Treasury; public input meeting for PERA.

  • Nov. 18 – JBC Briefing on the Department of Higher Education.

  • Nov. 19 – Giving a legislative update at the Colorado Special Education Advisory Committee; JBC Briefing on the Department of Public Safety; first meeting of SACPIE.

  • Nov. 20 – Arvada Chamber of Commerce’s Issues Breakfast; Drunk Driving Task Force; Teacher of the Year Reception; special reception for Rabbi and Senator Foster.

  • Nov. 21 – Westminster Legislative Breakfast; my Town Hall Meeting.

  • Nov. 30 – JBC Hearing for Department of Public Safety.

  • Dec. 1 – Early Childhood State Partnership meeting.

  • Dec. 2 – Jeffco League of Women Voters’ Legislative Breakfast; JBC Hearing for Department of Higher Education.

  • Dec. 3 – My legislative coffee at Panera’s; JBC Briefing on Department of Education; on a panel presentation at the Colorado Association of School Boards conference.

  • Dec. 7 – Jefferson County Commissioners legislative breakfast; Colorado State Accountability Network training in Westcliff.

  • Dec. 8 – US 36 Commuting Solutions legislative breakfast.

  • Dec. 11 – JBC Hearing for Department of Education; Colorado School Finance Project.

 

 

 

 

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