July/August 2010

Month: 
July
Year: 
2010

HALFWAY THROUGH SUMMER

Can you believe that summer is half over? I’m seeing it as my flower gardens fill out and my vegetable garden reaches the point where I can harvest plenty of zucchini, green beans, peppers, and lettuce. It also means that it is time for us to fill out our primary election ballot. Don’t forget that ballots must be received by the county clerk as of Tuesday, August 10. You can either mail the ballot with one first-class stamp, or in Senate District 19, drop it off at Arvada Motor Vehicle, 6510 Wadsworth Boulevard, or Westminster City Hall, 4800 West 92nd Avenue.

 

LEGISLATIVE COFFEE

Please come to my next Legislative Coffee this Thursday, August 5, 7:30 – 9:00 a.m. at Panera’s, 7739 Wadsworth Blvd. I hold these informal meetings on the 1st Thursday of each month throughout the year. Because I don’t have to rush off to the State Capitol from June through December, the coffees last a little longer than the ones during the session, so we have lots of time to chat about whatever topics you choose.

 

WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING AS YOUR SENATOR

These are some of the things I’ve been doing as your State Senator since my last newsletter:

  • Held a meeting of the Education Subcommittee of the Economic Opportunity/Poverty Reduction Task Force.

  • Worked with the Colorado State Accountability Network (CSAN) to provide feedback to the Colorado Department of Education on the new Accreditation Handbook.

  • Attended the monthly 3rd Friday Issues Breakfast sponsored by the Arvada Chamber of Commerce.

  • Held my monthly Town Hall Meeting [see article below].

  • Spoke on a legislative panel at the annual conference of the Colorado Association of Career and Technical Educators.

  • Participated in a meeting of the Economic Opportunity/Poverty Reduction Task Force.

  • Met with the Commissioner of Education to plan for better parent involvement in education through the implementation of SB 09-90 (my bill from last year).

  • Took a legislators’ “bioscience tour” at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

  • Attended a conference on Preventing Teen Pregnancy in Louisville, Kentucky, sponsored by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

  • Attended a lecture on Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School given by its author, Dr. John Medina.

  • Attended the annual conference of the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE) [see article below].

 

REVIEW OF LAST TOWN HALL MEETING

At my Town Hall meeting on July 17, 2010, a presentation was made by Kathy Hartman, Jeffco County Commissioner. The first thing she discussed was the county budget. She explained that half of county tax revenue comes from property taxes; the rest is primarily from fees and grants. The grant money is mostly from the state Department of Human Services and the federal Department of Health and Human Services for specific social services programs. The county also pays for roads, libraries, public safety, and the jail. This year’s property taxes are based on property assessments made in 2008 – because assessments are done every other year. Although property values went up from 2006 to 2008, they fell in the last two years, so the county expects a 7% decline in revenue for the 2011-2012 budget. Accompanying the revenue decline is a 2% increase in operating costs and a $2.5 million increase in health benefits costs. About 70% of the county budget pays for employees, and the County Commissioners are trying to retain most of them, especially people like the sheriffs, in whom much has been invested for training. Thus, cuts being considered are in things like non-mandated programs, technology, facilities management, and the fleet. There will be no money for raises for county employees. Public input will be taken before the next year’s budget is finalized.

 

Commissioner Hartman pointed out that if Proposition 101 (on the November ballot) passes, the county will lose $25 million per year and 25% of the budget for road maintenance. As a result, Jeffco might be forced to consider closing county libraries an additional 1-2 days per week and deferring road maintenance for 5 years.

 

The good news is that Jeffco has replaced the 35-year-old, cramped, poorly ventilated Table Mountain Animal Shelter with the new Foothills Animal Shelter, which will open at the end of August. The animal shelter serves as a place for stray animals to be cared for, put up for adoption, or reunited with their families, and for the protection of abused animals. The facility accepts pit bull terriers banned in other jurisdictions, trains them, and puts them up for adoption if they pass a temperament test. The shelter accepts donations at www.tablemountainanimals.org or www.cedar4mayor.org.

 

CASE CONFERENCE

The annual conference of the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE) was excellent, as usual. This was the 10th year that I have attended the conference, the first 8 years as a member of the State Board of Education, and the last 2 as a member of the Senate Education Committee. The keynote speakers made some excellent points that I’d like to share:

  • Steven Berlin Johnson, “Everything Bad is Good for You: What the Google Generation Needs to Learn – And What They Can Teach Us” – Students are gaining vital 21st century skills through their use of amazingly complex technology in social networking, video and Internet games, and access to websites.

  • Jennifer James, Ph.D., “Thinking in the Future Tense: Education in 2010” – Technology is bringing about the most unprecedented change the world has seen, which is creating great anxiety and cognitive dissonance (discomfort caused by the discrepancy between one’s beliefs about what is real and what actually is), leading to ambivalence, a breakdown of our culture, mistrust, “tribalism,” disrespect for professionals, and anti-intellectualism. Dr. James said “When you don’t understand the education system, you try to measure it to death.” She said that schools should teach more economics and encourage students to learn debate techniques.

  • Andrew Hargreaves, Ph.D., “The Fourth Way” – Our national education system has tried three different and unsuccessful approaches over the last few decades to improve education. Dr. Hargreaves proposes “the fourth way,” based on 6 principles, which include the following: determining an inspiring and inclusive vision for our education system; increasing the engagement of parents, students, and the community; making a greater investment in education; and using “mindful” learning and teaching techniques (which involve being more caring, open-minded, and authentic, as well as having a sense of collective responsibility). Dr. Hargreaves says that “using fear as a motivation does not work for sustainable change.” He says, “Build on the best of what you have and learn from one another; don’t have outsiders come in and make top-down changes.” He does not believe that Race to the Top is the right approach.