The Colorado General Assembly convenes its annual session on Wednesday, January 14, 2009. That “regular session” is then limited by the Colorado Constitution to run for no more than 120 calendar days or the first week of May. If an issue of critical state importance arises at any other time the governor may call Colorado’s 35 state senators and 65 state representatives into “special session” to address that issue or issues. 

Concerning BVSD, the upcoming session is expected to focus upon school funding issues especially an anticipated restructure of the state’s school finance formula. Other issues around school funding will be dictated by voters’ action this fall – especially Amendment 59, known as the SAFE Amendment. SAFE is an acronym for “Savings Account for Education.” The thrust of this amendment would be to take public education out from under 1992’s TABOR Amendment except for that part of TABOR requiring voter approval of tax increases.

During the regular session, the annual state budget is also debated, amended and ultimately approved. This bill contains hundreds of pages and is by far the lengthiest of all the state legislature’s bills.  Not surprisingly, it is referred to at the State Capitol and in the media as “The Long Bill.” It funds the majority of Colorado government operations and provides more than half the funding for Colorado K-12 education with the remainder mostly coming from local property taxes and federal programs. Additionally, other non-fiscal policy issues can arise that are of importance to Colorado’s 178 public school districts in general and BVSD in particular.

Because of the critical fiscal and policy importance of the legislature’s deliberations to the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), the Board of Education, upon the recommendation of Superintendent Chris King, retains a professional lobbyist to represent and advocate for the positions of BVSD at the Capitol. That lobbyist for BVSD is Tanya Kelly-Bowry. Tanya brings a strong background in education and legislative representation to her position. Since 2004, she has been an associate vice president of federal and state government relations for the University of Colorado system.

Day-to-day oversight of Tanya’s contract with BVSD is provided by BVSD Director of Communications and Legislative Policy Briggs Gamblin. Briggs also has prior legislative lobbying experience for Colorado higher education, Colorado Common Cause and Colorado environmental organizations.

Most importantly, Boulder Valley Board of Education members Jean Paxton of Broomfield and Patti Smith of Boulder provide ongoing Board oversight to make certain that district lobbying efforts proceed within the parameters set by the annual Board-approved legislative platform. This platform (available for viewing on the BVSD website: www.bvsd.org) is under preliminary revision for the Board to study in November and, with whatever changes they make, final approval in December.

Two notable changes in BVSD’s legislative delegation are the departure of House Majority Leader Alice Madden (D-Boulder) and Senator Ron Tupa (D-Boulder) due to term limits. While all candidates running to replace these two legislators are highly qualified, Rep. Madden and Sen. Tupa deserve sincere thanks for their support of excellence and equity in Colorado public education. They will each be missed by BVSD.

Watch future editions of the BVSD Key Communicator for updates as this public process moves forward. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Briggs at briggs.gamblin@bvsd.org.

The Boulder Valley Board of Education voted on September 9 to approve a pilot program to temporarily return to its previous regular meeting starting time of 6:00 p.m. instead of its current 6:30 p.m. start time. This pilot program will begin with the October 14, 2008, board meeting. It will be reviewed by the board in January 2009 to see if 6:00 p.m. should continue as the meeting start time on a permanent basis. 

The 6:00 p.m. start time was changed to 6:30 p.m. in March 2005 to accommodate the work schedule of a board member whose term has since concluded. The 6:00 p.m. start time was the regular start time from February 1999 through February 2005.

“From October through January, the board will gather whatever input the community wishes to give us about our start time,” stated Dr. Helayne Jones, board president. “We are looking to strike a balance between the wishes of community members who attend or watch our meetings and the schedules of those district staff required to be on hand during the meeting.

Dr. Jones further stated that community members who wished to participate in the Public Participation component of a board meeting would be able to sign up to speak until 6:30 p.m. when the board goes to the 6:00 p.m. start time.

Community members who have questions or comments regarding a change in the board meeting time to 6:00 p.m. should contact the Boulder Valley Board of Education either by email, fax or telephone. Individual board member contact information can be found in the Board of Education section of the BVSD website.    

Please note that the September 23, 2008, regular Board meeting will still begin at 6:30 p.m.

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Nine Boulder Valley School District schools were named to a list of “Denver’s Top Schools” according to the September 2008 issue of 5280 magazine based in Denver.

Those BVSD schools recognized were (in alphabetical order):

• Boulder Community School of Integrated Studies (BCSIS), Boulder
• Boulder High School, Boulder
• Columbine Elementary School, Boulder
• Fairview High School, Boulder
• Monarch High School, Louisville
• Horizons K-8 School, Boulder
• Lafayette Elementary School, Lafayette
• Peak to Peak Charter School, Lafayette
• Southern Hills Middle School, Boulder 

According to the magazine, their list was created “using a combination of empirical data, panel recommendations, and nonquantitative evidence.” While numerical rankings e.g. graduation rates, the Colorado Department of Education’s school accountability rankings, and standardized test results were factored in, the magazine emphasized other factors as well.

These other factors, according to 5280, included: “having a strong educational culture and mission, demonstrable leadership and vision from the school’s teachers and administrators, active parental involvement in and out of the classroom, growth and stability (demonstrated by enrollment and retention rates), evidence of learning (demonstrated by positive statistical trends over time), personal attention for students, extracurricular activities, community service and interaction, academic tradition, and student engagement with teachers, parents and each other.”

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The first High School of Business™ program in Colorado is up and running in BVSD's Monarch High School this fall, thanks in large part to a generous sponsorship from Colorado Bankers Life (CBL) Insurance Company. The school is delivering the High School of Business (HSB) curriculum to three Business Foundations classes, which include 26 ninth graders and 28 10th graders who have the potential of completing the HSB program by 2011.

"Colorado Bankers Life Insurance Company is honored to be a founding corporate sponsor for the Colorado High School of Business," said Stephen J. Clabaugh, President and CEO of Colorado Bankers Life. "We consider it a privilege to help make a difference in the lives of the students, teachers and administrators." 

Along with Chairman Tony Trani and several others of their CBL colleagues, Clabaugh visited Monarch High August 14 to help unveil a plaque they gave to the school as part of their sponsorship. This is only the sixth High School of Business™ to be launched in the nation so far.

"Monarch High School is honored to have CBL provide the sponsorship that makes our High School of Business a reality," said Rudy Sumpter, Monarch High teacher and Chairperson of the Department of Career and Technical Education. "The plaque they provided to us is an exquisite symbol of our partnership in education." 

In addition to their five-year financial commitment, Colorado Bankers Life will provide speakers, mentors and summer internship opportunities in connection with the Colorado High School of Business™ program.

Begun by MarkED, a non-profit consortium of 40 state education departments and other organizations, the High School of Business™ program offers students a rigorous curriculum of business courses intended to position them for success in areas of business administration.

"We believe the High School of Business™ will provide our students with the skills and knowledge that will be of immediate use to each student so that they may become fully contributing citizens in our community," said Mark Sibley, assistant principal at Monarch High School.

Visit the MarkED website for more information about the High School of Business program.

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