By Todd Engdahl, EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO

Colorado has lost its second bid for $175 million in Race to the Top funds.

According to The Associated Press, U.S. Department of Education spokesman Justin Hamilton said this morning the winners are Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C.

Colorado’s application proposed a detailed program for using the money to implement major but unfunded education reforms, including the Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids and the new educator effectiveness law.

Lack of federal funding is likely to extend the implementation timetable for those programs further into the future, given that the tight state budget situation will make it difficult to find extra funds for the projects outlined in the R2T application.

State officials were scheduled to meet with reporters later this morning.

The 18 states and the District of Columbia designated as finalists in July included Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina. Thirty-six states applied for round two.

Total requests came to $6.2 billion.

Finalists met in person with reviewers two weeks ago. Education Commissioner Dwight Jones said reviewer questions focused on Colorado’s ability to actually implement the reforms it’s proposing (see story).

Delaware and Tennessee were the only two round one winners; the other 14 finalists in that round made the cut in round two.

There were different tiers of possible award amounts based on state populations. Colorado asked for $377 million in the first round, during which tier limitations did not apply.
Details of Colorado’s application

The state’s 193-page application for $175 million pitched Colorado’s history of education reform measures, including the new educator effectiveness law that links student achievement with teacher evaluations.

The bulk of the funds would have been used for implementing new content standards and tests at the district level, creation of new educator evaluation systems, encouraging effective principals and teachers to work in low-performing schools and providing turnaround help for the state’s most struggling schools.

About $90 million of the $175 million would have gone directly to participating districts, as the program requires at least half the funds go to local education agencies.

The department signed memoranda of understanding (formal agreements to participate) with 114 districts and other education agencies, 64 percent of the 180 in the state. Those districts include 89.9 percent of the state’s students, 84 percent of schools and 91 percent of poor students. For the first round application, the state had agreements with districts including about 95 percent of the state’s students. The only two notable non-participants in round two are the Pueblo County and St. Vrain districts.

The Colorado Education Association participated in round one but boycotted round two because of concerns about the educator effectiveness law, SB 10-191, which it opposed. The Colorado unit of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents primarily the Douglas County Schools, signed on to round two.

In broad terms, the state’s application focused on these goals, as required by the federal government:

* Increase student learning through teacher mastery and delivery of common standards and assessments.
* Use, learn, and leverage high quality data to drive increased student performance.
* Ensure all students have access to effective teachers and principals.
* Turn around persistently lowest-achieving schools.

A state also is required to demonstrate how it will build a statewide system of accountability and support to accomplish and sustain those goals.

Colorado’s application promised, by 2014, to increase:

* College enrollment from 62.9 to 70 percent
* College retention from 66.3 to 75 percent
* 4th grade National Assessment of Education Progress math proficiency from 45 to 55 percent
* Higher school graduation rate from 74.6 percent to 90 percent
* 4th grade NAEP reading proficiency from 40 to 60 percent
* 8th grade math NAEP proficiency from 40 to 60 percent
* 8th grade reading NAEP proficiency from 32 to 52 percent
* Overall CSAP math proficiency from 54.5 to 85 percent
* Overall CSAP reading proficiency from 68.3 to 85 percent
* Reduce the achievement gap among all subgroups from 30 to 10 percent
* Those goals raised skepticism in some quarters, but state education leaders argue that Colorado has the infrastructure for reform in place but needs the funds to implement those programs.

Here’s a breakdown of how the state proposed to spend the $175 million:

* $13.6 million – Statewide implementation and administrative costs, primarily at the state Department of Education.
* $13 million – Funding the Content Collaboratives and Regional Support Teams to roll out new content standards and assessments to school districts, creation of an instructional improvement system on the department’s SchoolView website and extra support for small and rural districts.
* $5.8 million – Subsidies and incentives for districts to create and share curricula, for purchase of formative and interim tests and for state review of available interim tests.
* $15.2 million – Build out and support of an expanded SchoolView system, including teacher, principal and administrator portals; expansion of Colorado Growth Model data; and incentives for effective educators to provide instructional materials to others.
* $8 million – Money for state personnel and outside consultants to help districts develop and implement new educator evaluations systems and to identify measures of educator effectiveness, especially in currently untested grades and subjects.
* $5.1 million – Funding for the State Council for Educator Effectiveness and for districts to implement evaluation systems.
* $4.1 million – Development of effective teachers and principals with a focus on low-performing schools, including residency programs, increased numbers of national board certified teachers and hiring of Teach for America members.
* $4.3 million – Expansion of the department’s School Leadership Academy, including a Turnaround Leaders Academy.
* $3.2 million – Expansion of the number of students who take Advanced Placement classes and of the number of under-represented students who take college-prep classes.
* $884,000 – Funding for the department’s existing dropout prevention and student re-engagement program.
* $11 million – Creation of a school Turnaround and Intervention Unit within CDE to help districts conduct successful turnarounds of low-performing schools.

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DENVER DAILY NEWS
Gov. Bill Ritter yesterday announced a new plan to re-balance the state’s current budget and close a nearly $60 million revenue shortfall through revenues from medical marijuana applications and cuts to the Department of Corrections.
Higher-than-anticipated June revenue and additional Medicaid funding from the federal government kept the budget gap from being significantly wider, the governor’s office said yesterday.
“Today’s balancing plan continues the same strategies we’ve utilized throughout the downturn,” Ritter said in a statement. “We are preserving essential services, protecting the safety net, minimizing pain and requiring shared sacrifices and shared solutions from everyone. This is a responsible plan that continues to position Colorado for a healthy and sustainable recovery.”
Over the past three fiscal years, Ritter and lawmakers have closed recession-induced shortfalls of $4.3 billion.
The primary components of Ritter’s latest budget-balancing plan include:
Ą Cutting $1.3 million from the Department of Corrections and imposing a $4.9 million, or 1 percent, across-the-board reduction in personnel costs by keeping positions vacant and delaying hiring; and
Ą Transferring $53 million from other accounts into the state’s general fund to cover operating expenses. The transfers will come from $9 million from the Medical Marijuana Program Fund and $20 million from accounts that support local communities with discretionary grants funded by severance tax and federal mineral lease revenues, along with $11.4 million from a grant reserve fund.
Ritter’s office points out that it makes sense to go after medical marijuana revenues given the huge spike in applications over the last year. The state anticipates ending the year with 150,000 applicants for medical marijuana cards Ń up from 41,000 in 2009, according to the governor’s office. A marijuana card costs $90 per year.
The governor’s plan allows the state to maintain a 2.1 percent, or $150 million, general fund reserve in case of worsening revenue conditions, according to Ritter’s office. The next revenue forecast is due Sept. 20.
Republicans yesterday blamed Democrats for a tax-and-spend agenda that they say is adding to the state’s budget deficit.
“The Democrats’ partnership with Washington is not working for Colorado taxpayers,” Senate Republican Leader Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, said in a statement. “Colorado businesses and families cannot afford any more financial burdens because Democrats in the state Legislature and Gov. Ritter speculated on federal funding and guessed wrong.”
Republicans say Ritter and Democrats expanded Medicaid eligibility, adding hundreds of thousands of people to its rolls while increasing the state’s caseload, which has widened the budget gap. The GOP points out that in 2001 Colorado’s Medicaid caseload was around 275,000, while during last year’s budget it grew to over 476,000. One estimate projects Colorado’s Medicaid/CHIP enrollment to grow by 44 percent over the next four years to 897,000, say Republicans.
“The promise of increased federal Medicaid funding was one of the arguments used to sell Obamacare,” said Kopp. “Under the expanded eligibility rules in Obamacare, Colorado taxpayers will be forced to bear the financial burden of the Democrats’ out of control entitlement spending.”
“We cannot afford this unsustainable partnership with Washington any longer,” Kopp continued. “It is time we created real priorities in the state budget and stopped the budgeting gimmicks that have plagued the budget setting of the majority party.”
Ritter, however, said $76.8 million in higher-than-estimated individual and corporate income tax revenue, and $144 million from a six-month extension of the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, helped ease this latest round of budget balancing. Unlike his foes in the Republican Party, Ritter praised Washington for helping Colorado by providing schools with additional education funding, including $160 million for local districts in Colorado.
The governor acknowledges that further cuts may be necessary following the September forecast. Ritter said he is preparing for the possibility of additional cuts, and has placed a hold on $40 million in local grants funded by severance tax and federal mineral lease revenue.
The September forecast will also be used to help shape Ritter’s Fiscal Year 2011-12 budget proposal, which will be submitted to the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee on Nov. 1. Previous forecasts have indicated a $500 million to $1 billion shortfall in FY11-12, meaning more tough decisions will be made.
“While Colorado’s economy is showing signs of stability and encouragement in areas like the New Energy Economy, tourism and health care, we face more struggles and more difficult choices in the months ahead,” Ritter said. “All options must be on the table in order for us to keep our budget balanced.”

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Whether as a lawyer, a politician or a man battling pancreatic cancer for six years, Tom Farley will be remembered for his brilliance, humor and tenacity.

Farley died Monday afternoon at Parkview Medical Center, an institution he served as legal counsel for more than 30 years, The Pueblo Chieftain reports. He was 75.

Former Congressman Ray Kogovsek was with his longtime friend just minutes before Farley died, surrounded by family.

In other coverage

The Fort Collins Coloradoan: Longtime Puebloan Tom Farley, a member of the CSU System Board of Governors, died Monday afternoon after an illness, a university spokeswoman said. Farley served as a state representative from Pueblo from 1967-1975 and was an attorney and senior partner in Petersen & Fonda in Pueblo specializing in education and health-care law.

Rocky Mountain Collegian: Tom Farley, a CSU-System Board of Governors member who was battling cancer, died Monday afternoon at age 75. The governor appoints members of the board under usual circumstances. In the event of a death or resignation of a board member, the other members will choose someone to fill the empty seat and serve through the remainder of Farley’s term, which was slated to end on Dec. 31, 2011.

GOV. RITTER STATEMENT REGARDING DEATH OF TOM FARLEY

Gov. Bill Ritter issued the following statement today regarding the death of Tom Farley, a member of the Colorado State University System Board of Governors:

“Tom was a long-time friend whose heart always belonged to Pueblo. He was an incredible public servant, having served in the state Legislature, on the Colorado Wildlife Commission, the state Board of Agriculture and most recently on the CSU board. He was a fierce advocate for higher education and was enthusiastic about every cause and every issue he tackled. Combine his passion and commitment with a great sense of humor, and he was just a wonderful person to be around. He served the state in invaluable ways and he will be sorely missed. Jeannie and I send our deepest condolences to Tom’s family, friends and colleagues.”

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Source: 7News

By Andrea Rael and Don Knox
STATE BILL COLORADO

DENVER — 7News Investigative Reporter John Ferrugia called State Bill Colorado this week to complain about its story on the origin of the plagiarism allegation against former Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis.

In a half-hour conversation with a reporter, Ferrugia insisted that State Bill’s conclusion — the story likely originated from a tipster — overreached.

“It’s a mystery,” State Bill said Aug. 2 of how The Denver Post and 7News discovered material copied from a 26-year-old water article. “But [the source] probably wasn’t a reporter.”

State Bill arrived at that conclusion because neither media outlet had claimed credit for the discovery. The Post and 7News also did not disclose who did discover the similarities.

Ferrugia also challenged a sentence in the State Bill story that read, “The person or people who tipped off The Post and 7News have so far managed to stay in the shadows.”

“You made that up,” Ferrugia said over the phone. “Real journalists” go out and find information, he said.

Anyone could have found out whether McInnis had plagiarized if they had only looked on Google, Ferrugia said. State Bill’s story came to the same conclusion, speculating that besides Republican and Democratic strategists, academics and lawyers could have made the link. But as the story noted, no one has come forward to claim credit.

For that matter, Ferrugia still isn’t talking. Asked again this week how 7News learned of the plagiarism, he declined to say.

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By Todd Engdahl, EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO

The investments of the Public Employees’ Retirement Association rebounded in 2009, rising 17.4 percent in value after a plunge of 26 percent in the recession year of 2008.

Net assets of PERA at the end of 2009 were $32.9 billion, compared to $29.5 billion at the end of 2008.

The pension system has 465,653 members, more than half of which are employees or retirees of school districts and state colleges.

PERA’s 2009 financial picture was discussed in depth Monday at a meeting of the Legislature Audit Committee, along with an audit of the agency’s books. No significant accounting problems were found by the audit.

Reform of the pension system was a major issue last winter for legislators, who ultimately passed Senate Bill 10-001, which reduced annual increases for retirees, increased employer and employee contributions and changed eligibility rules for some government workers.

PERA executives, auditors and actuaries repeatedly noted Monday that the new law has helped put the system on the road to financial solvency over the next 30 years. The law currently is being challenged in court by a group of retirees.

While PERA had a good run last year, agency documents noted that the market drop has hangover effects. The agency’s three-year investment return is calculated at -1.5 percent, the five-year rate at 3.9 percent, the 10-year rate at 3.3 percent and the 25-year rate at 9.3 percent. The agency’s long-term plans for solvency assume an average 8 percent rate of return over 30 years.

And PERA’s portfolio didn’t do as well in the first six months of 2010, when a loss of $1 billion was posted. The system reported an overall gain in net assets, to $33.8 million, because employer and employee contributions of $3.6 billion more than offset the investment losses and $1.7 billion in benefit payments.

Actuaries hired by PERA board reported that PERA’s four divisions are funded at the following percentages:

* State division (includes many higher education members) – 67 percent
* School division (includes all K-12 employees except DPS) – 69.2 percent
* Local government division – 76.2 percent
* Judicial division – 77.3 percent

The funded percentages of all divisions declined slightly from 2008 because of the carryover effect of investment losses.

The actuaries reported that the state, schools and local government divisions are projected to reach full funding in 30 years, based on current financial assumptions. Full funding of the judicial division won’t come in 30 years.

The 2009 financial report doesn’t include the Denver Public Schools pension system, which didn’t become part of PERA until Jan. 1, 2010, and will be included in the annual financial report a year from now.

In other coverage:

Associated Press: Colorado’s pension fund is back on track toward solvency after state lawmakers became the first in the nation to cut retiree benefits to prevent its pension system from going broke, auditors said Monday. The next few years may be bumpy, however, because of losses from 2008 that are still being absorbed by the pension fund.

Pera

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State Bill Photo: Jamie Cotten
Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, the party’s nominee, appeared at the rally with his unsuccessful challenger, former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff.

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet and his Democratic challenger are making nice after a bruising primary as the party faces an even tougher challenge next — keeping the seat in Democratic hands, The Denver Post reports.

Bennet, a rookie senator appointed to the seat last year, defeated Andrew Romanoff in Tuesday’s primary. The two shook hands on the Capitol steps Thursday, and both urged Democrats to unite to defeat the Republican nominee, Ken Buck.

Democrats can’t afford any more bickering. Republicans in Colorado outnumber Democrats, and Bennet received fewer votes Tuesday than the loser of the GOP contest, Jane Norton.

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STATE BILL COLORADO

An Alexandria, Va.-based GOP organization claims Republican candidates are besting incumbent Democratic rivals in a number of races, but there’s not yet enough movement in the Senate or House to gain control.

The Republican State Leadership Committee says Republicans are ahead in four Colorado House races and three Colorado Senate races. The GOP needs to gain six seats in the House and four in the Senate to gain a majority. None of the races was identified.

The committee revealed the results of internal polling through its REDMAP, or “REDistricting MAJority Project.” New political boundaries will be drawn during the next legislative session, making statehouse control a priority.

The report, dated July 2010, said in part:

The REDistricting MAjority Project (REDMAP) is a program of the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) dedicated to winning Republican control of state legislature that will have the most impact on Congressional redistricting in 2011. This inaugural REDMAP report is intended to more fully explain how the RSLC views a path to success in the 2010 state legislative races, how that will impact policy on a state level and examine what it means for long-term Congressional redistricting. This report, and its outlook, assumes that REDMAP fully funded, an assumption that is consistent with the current state of fundraising.

Democrats have controlled both houses of Colorado’s legislature and the governor’s office since the election of Gov. Bill Ritter in November 2006. Ritter announced in January that he wouldn’t run for a second term, but his proposed Democratic successor, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, is well ahead in the polls.

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By Andrea Rael, STATE BILL COLORADO

DENVER—Today for the first time in history, Colorado has two Latinas serving in the state Senate now that state Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, has been sworn into office. The swearing-in was performed by Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey.

Giron was selected by the vacancy committee to fill the spot left by Sen. Abel Tapia, who resigned to head The Colorado Lottery.

Giron joins Latina state Sen. Lucía Guzman in the Senate. Giron said it was an honor to have her swearing-in ceremony attended by former Latina state Senators Polly Baca and Paula Sandoval.

“I do recognize that I have some awesome shoes to fill,” Giron said. “I am proud that a Latina—a daughter from a blue-collar family—can grow up to be a leader in our state. We have so many unique skills and perspectives. We all come from many different places but I believe we have more in common, including the bettering of our community and the bettering of Colorado.”

Giron cited her previous work in the offices of Democratic Senators Ken Salazar and Michael Bennet as a “good experience for making better policies.”

Senate President Brandon Shaffer said Giron, who was raised in Pueblo, has more than 30 years of community service in her career.

“I know she will be a strong voice for Pueblo and for the Latino community throughout Colorado,” Shaffer said.

Also in attendance at Giron’s ceremony was Susan Daggett, wife of the incumbent Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, Michael Bennet.

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Charles W. “Charley” Pike

STATE BILL COLORADO

The legislature’s legal services committee will meet next week to discuss a successor to Legal Services Director Charley Pike, who announced his retirement in late July.

Pike has served in the post since 2003. The Office of Legislative Legal Services is one of four legislative service agencies. The other three legislative service agencies are the State Auditor’s Office, Joint Budget Committee, and Legislative Council.

The committee will meet Tuesday in executive session to discuss applications and again Aug. 23 to interview candidates.

According to a report on the National Conference of State Legislatures website, Colorado will look at internal candidates first before it decides whether to conduct a broader search.

On a 4-3 vote, the Joint Committee on Legal Services chose to search internally first, because they have some strong internal candidates, are relatively happy with the direction of the office and want to focus their efforts on reviewing candidates that they know are viable.

Also according to the report, Pike apparently will have an advisory role in the process.

Charley mentioned that he would be uncomfortable providing opinions on the half dozen or so candidates that would come from his office. He didn’t want to favor one at the expense of the others or interfere with the committee’s decision. Representative Claire Levy sympathized that she understood his reluctance, but noted that Charley was in the best position, as director and supervisor of the staff, to educate the committee on the strengths, weaknesses and potential of the candidates. Charley, ever the good staffer, noted that he would always be responsive to the committee and find a way to provide helpful information and advice.

The full committee agenda is published below.

Agenda Web

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By Todd Engdahl, EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO
Race to the Top reviewers Tuesday pressed Colorado’s delegation for details on how the state can successfully implement its ambitious education reform plans.
Education Commissioner Dwight Jones, interviewed by Education News Colorado after the delegation’s 90-minute meeting with reviewers, said, “I felt good about the session overall. … It seemed like the review panel liked Colorado’s plan and felt it was very ambitious.
“They liked the ambition but had quite a few questions about how you implement it in a local-control state,” Jones added.
Colorado, 17 other states and the District of Columbia were named round-two R2T finalists on July 27, and delegations representing each finalist met with reviewers in Washington this week.
Jones, Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien, Aurora Superintendent John Barry and Colorado Department of Education executives Nina Lopez and Diana Sirko represented Colorado.
In response to the implementation question, Jones said, “We really kind of stuck to how we outlined it in our plan,” emphasizing the regional support teams, content collaboratives and other structures that Colorado has proposed to implement new standards and tests, improve teacher performance and help struggling schools if the state wins R2T funds.
The bulk of the funds, if Colorado wins a grant, would be used for implementing new content standards and tests at the district level, creation of new educator evaluation systems, encouraging effective principals and teachers to work in low-performing schools and providing turnaround help for the state’s most struggling schools. About half the funds would go to participating school districts.
Colorado was an unsuccessful finalist for round one of R2T last spring and went through a similar interview process. Jones said he felt the first reviewer panel didn’t understand the strategies as well as the second panel did.
Jones also said the second five-member panel “spent a lot of time talking about SchoolView,” the state’s Web data portal. Colorado’s application proposes to rely heavily on SchoolView as a communications tool with districts and teachers.
The panel seemed impressed by the state’s new educator effectiveness law (Senate Bill 10-191), and Jones said O’Brien talked at length about that and other recent reform legislation during Colorado’s presentation. (The delegation had 30 minutes to make its case, followed by an hour of questions from reviewers.)
Jones said the presentation was similar to the pitch CDE leaders made to school districts around the state earlier this summer as they tried to sign up local participants in the state plan.
The reviewers seemed comfortable with the percentage of students represented by participating districts (about 90 percent) but also asked “how this would go with the unions,” Jones said.
The Colorado Education Association supported the state’s first application but boycotted the second because of SB 10-191. The Colorado unit of the American Federation of Teachers supports the second application. Jones said the panel told reviewers CEA has promised to support implementation if Colorado receives a grant.
Asked how the panel felt after the session, Jones aid, “I think the feeling was very cautiously optimistic, [but] it’s anybody’s guess as to what ultimately happens. Praising his team, Jones said, “I really felt like Colorado was well represented at the table.”
Colorado has requested $175 million in R2T funds. About $3.4 billion is available, but the 19 applications total more than $6.2 billion. All finalists scored above 400 on a 500-point scale. Scores may be adjusted up or down following the interviews. Winners are expected to be announced in early September.

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