By Greg Campbell, FACE THE STATE

On Tuesday, Estes Park, the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, became the latest Colorado municipality to ban medical marijuana centers, commercial grow operations and infused-product manufacturers. New regulations adopted after the last legislative session allow local governments to vote such businesses out of town, and Estes Park joined a growing number of cities and counties doing just that.

The difference with Estes Park, however, is that the small town did not have any dispensaries in the first place, nullifying the sometimes-messy question of whether to grandfather existing businesses or shut them down. Soon after the industry began exploding elsewhere in the state late last year, Estes Park adopted a moratorium before any dispensaries could take root.

The lack of existing businesses might help shield Estes Park from the threat of litigation, or at least keep it off the radar of proponents’ lawyers. Although allowed under the new legislation, the option to ban is held by many medical marijuana patients and advocates to be unconstitutional. Prominent MMJ lawyer Rob Corry of Denver had threatened to sue the town of Castle Rock if it goes through with a plan to shut down its only dispensary through a ban narrowly passed in September, and a coalition of lawyers sued El Paso County (unsuccessfully) to prevent a county-wide ban on the November ballot from being counted.

Numerous other jurisdictions face similar votes, with the results to be known after next week’s election. Should any of them succeed in shutting down existing pot shops, it could be an expensive victory for those who would celebrate it. As pointed out recently in Westword, affected businesses could sue the banning jurisdiction for the value of their operations.

“The court did say there are other ways you can recover,” lawyer Bob Hoban told the publication after a judge denied the request for an injunction in the El Paso County case. “And that’s where we’ll have to focus our efforts going forward, assuming we get an adverse election result. And this is important, because we think the issue of compensation for businesses that are shut down is fundamental—a constitutional right. It’s a taking.”

The estimated tab for El Paso county in that event? Westword says it’s somewhere in the range of $24 million.

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS

An El Paso County District Court ruling this week could set a precedent for municipalities to run ballot initiatives that would prohibit future and existing medical marijuana businesses, advocates fear.

El Paso County District Court Judge Timothy Simmons ruled on Wednesday that the controversial ballot initiative can remain on the ballot, despite a lawsuit by 16 medical marijuana businesses seeking to have the initiative removed from the ballot. Advocates argued that the initiative violates the state constitution after voters legalized medical marijuana in 2000.

Attorneys argued that new state regulations allow municipalities to regulate medical marijuana centers, but does not authorize municipalities to ban medical marijuana centers after approving them in the first place.

Simmons ruled that it would be improper for a court to interfere by imposing a pre-election judicial action. He denied the motion to stop the votes from being tallied.

“The electorate are entitled to believe that their votes will be counted, and they’ll know the results and that the election will mean something,” Simmons said in his ruling, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

Medical marijuana advocates fear that the ruling could set a precedent for other municipalities across the state to run similar ballot initiatives. There are currently 13 counties in Colorado considering bans on medical marijuana centers, according to Americans For Safe Access. El Paso is the most unique because the initiative would also close all existing operations.

Another 18 individual cities in Colorado are considering bans on medical marijuana centers, according to Americans For Safe Access.

An attorney representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit said it’s time for municipalities to consider medical marijuana centers businesses like any other business in Colorado.

“They seek the right to continue operating their businesses with the same authority they were granted by their government when they first opened their doors,” said attorney Bob Hoban. “The county’s actions here reflect an unconstitutional attempt at a regulatory taking. They can’t say ‘yes’ to such business, take our clients’ money, and then reverse course on a whim.”

Advocates are hopeful, however, that if El Paso County bans medical marijuana centers and closes existing centers, that the existing business owners will be entitled to monetary relief for destroying their business.

Steve Hammers, a plaintiff in the case, said it would be “devastating” for the county to close his business.

“When in American history has it been acceptable to let businesses start, invest, and then force them to shut down?” he asked. “It is blatantly unlawful to regulate, allow building permits, collect fees, and then vote to ban the industry.”

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

By Debi Brazzale, COLORADO NEWS AGENCY

Proposed military-training flyovers in southern Colorado could face a legislative challenge this January should the Air Force move forward with its plans, says a southern Colorado lawmaker.

The flyovers are part of a plan to conduct low-altitude training flights over parts of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico. The military is studying the possibility and has invited input from the communities in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico where the low-altitude maneuvers would occur.

Several lawmakers who gathered on the steps of the Pueblo County Courthouse in September to address the flyover issue told the Trinidad Times that they had deep concerns.

“It’s clear that 200 feet over wildlife, or over cattle, or over our community, is significant impact. It’s imperative on the Air Force to do a full environmental study, and not shortchange the citizens of southern Colorado,” said Rep. Sal Pace, D-Pueblo.

Rep. Ed Vigil, D-Fort Garland, agreed, adding that “We have a lot of sacred places in Colorado…that aren’t marked on the map. People that come to meditate, come to do some praying and stuff like that, enjoying just the solitude of just the sounds of nature, will be violated with all these noises.”

Democratic Rep. Wes McKinley, of Walsh, who also was on the courthouse steps with his colleagues last month, now says he plans on taking legislative action, if needed, when the General Assembly convenes in January to prohibit the flyovers if the military decides to move forward. McKinley says it is a quality-of-life issue.

“I’m looking into legislation that will stop the low-level flying because there is some case history of noises from low-level flying that has caused damage to some properties because of the noise,” McKinley said.

“The constitution guarantees us the right to be safe and secure and to pursue happiness. And if you’ve got airplanes rolling through your living room, in your house, that violates those things,” said McKinley. “We may have to do some reinstating of the constitution into our state law.”

He said he’s looking into current law that addresses “trespass in the air” for privately owned land, and he said preliminary research he and others have done indicates such a concept is not as far-fetched as it may sound.

Yet, Republican Rep. Bob Gardner, of Colorado Springs, a former Air Force lieutenant colonel, says such legislation not only would be unconstitutional–as there are federally recognized rules about air navigation–but also would tarnish Colorado’s longstanding relationship with the military.

“The problem with this legislation and doing it in such a confrontational way is that it sends a really negative message to the Department of Defense–that they are unwelcome in Colorado,” said Gardner.

Gardner acknowledged the dust-up’s parallels with another civilian-military standoff in Colorado, over a proposal by the Army’s Fort Carson, in Colorado Springs, to expand its Pinon Canyon training area in rural southeastern Colorado. Some ranchers, farmers and others have objected, and the General Assembly has attempted to rein in those expansion plans through legislation–passed over the objection of the El Paso lawmakers like Gardner, whose districts includes most of Colorado’s military installations.

“There’s this myth in Colorado that only Colorado Springs benefits from these activities, but the simple fact of the matter is that the military has a strong and positive effect on our economy,” said Gardner. “I would hope this does not turn into Pinon Canyon in the skies. It seems to me that there’s an awful lot of political grandstanding.”

Political grandstanding or not, McKinley says that there may be a battle ahead if the military wants to fly low over his district.

“If we need to legislate we definitely will,” vows McKinley.

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

By Peter Marcus, DENVER DAILY NEWS

Democratic House District 5 candidate Crisanta Duran’s campaign is tired of hearing about controversy that surrounded her role with one of the state’s most powerful unions.

As the former attorney for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 7, Duran has been forced to defend herself time and again over controversies that surrounded her and her father’s departure from the union. As longtime president Ernie Duran Jr. lost his bid for re-election last year, reports of nepotism and abuse of power surfaced.

Crisanta Duran soon after resigned from her job, but not before first threatening to challenge the results of the election her father lost.

Questions were raised at the time over whether it would have been appropriate to use membership dues to challenge the results. Duran also found herself defending her father for “lavish” spending, including expensive international trips, dinners and Broncos tickets.

But the Duran campaign would like to put all of that behind them and focus on the HD-5 race she is facing against Republican challenger Ronnie Nelson.

A spokesman for the Duran campaign, Dan Mahoney, points out that the Department of Labor found no wrongdoing in the controversy.

“If there’s a new allegation, we’d love to address it, otherwise it’s hearsay,” Mahoney said in an e-mail to the Denver Daily News.

Still, old controversy is not stopping challenger Nelson from continuing to poke at the issue. Nelson spoke at the Denver County Republican Headquarters this week, accusing his opponent of “union cronyism.”

He points out that Crisanta Duran’s father, Ernie Duran, hired several family members to high-paying positions that paid more than $100,000 per year. Crisanta Duran has defended her $133,410 former salary with the union, arguing that she had given up almost a third of her salary to “dedicate to the workers’ struggle in (contract) negotiations.”

Duran has said that her salary in 2008 was actually $71,511. But that is because she took six months off from work to campaign for Mark Udall, who ran a successful campaign for U.S. Senate.

Nelson says the campaign he is running is about “ethics” and “morality.”

“This is exactly what this election is about,” said Nelson. “This was never a question about whether those expenses and salary were legal or approved. It’s about ethics and morality. If Duran used union dues, some of which came from members making only $7.79 per hour, for $200 dinners and luxury hotel rooms, how can we trust her with taxpayer money? We already have too many politicians in Washington who think that the rules do not apply to them. Do we really want them taking over our Capitol here in Denver?”

Duran fought back yesterday, arguing that Nelson’s campaign is “desperate.”

“There is nothing new here, this was brought up a year ago and the Labor Department looked into the claims made against me by folks who have a vendetta against my father and they found no wrongdoing,” Duran said in a statement e-mailed to the Denver Daily News. “There’s nothing left to say here, this is old news and a clumsy attempt by my opponent just days before the election.”

“Quite frankly, I’m not surprised that he turned to dirty tactics because he’s failed to offer a single idea to get our economy back on track,” continued Duran. “At the end of the day, I have more experience, passion and innovative solutions to difficult issues that will better the lives of folks in HD-5. This is why I’m running for office and I challenge my opponent to run on the issues and to demonstrate his experience to the voters in the district.”

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

By Gene Davis, DENVER DAILY NEWS

As political candidates hurl last-minute ads — “too extreme” and “out of touch” will likely be proclaimed countless times until Election Day on Tuesday — some Denverites will be rallying this Saturday for a different cause: sanity.

The Rally to Restore Sanity Denver is a satellite party for the Washington D.C. event featuring Comedy Central staples Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Organized by a group of traditionally non-political activists, the Denver rally looks to bring attention to “the majority of Americans” who aren’t yelling at each other or calling people Nazis because they disagree with them.

“We are tired of being treated like children, we are tired of having people yelling all the time,” said Denver rally organizer Keira Havens. “And we’re tired of the political atmosphere that is very acrimonious and we kind of just want people to get along.”

The rally will have several speakers, appearances by politicians and feature a live streaming of the Stewart/Colbert rally. Havens said she wasn’t worried that the rally would turn into a soapbox for politicians looking to score a few last-second votes. Candidates, including Democrat gubernatorial candidate John Hickenlooper, will only have three minutes to speak and will likely have to answer a random question out of a hat, Havens said.

The Denver rally keynote speaker is Jamie Laurie, aka Jonny 5, of the local rock-rap hybrid band the Flobots. Laurie originally planned on going to Washington D.C. for the event, but decided to stay in Denver and encourage people to vote. He sees the rally as a counter movement that is in tune with the sentiment of the majority of people.

“I think it’s a very real call to return to a political conversation based on information, compassion, dialogue, and not purely emotion,” he said. “I think we’ve reached a point, as much as people might are about the issues that are important to them, people care one step more about how we have the conversation.”

Laurie acknowledged that he isn’t the first person that comes to mind when thinking of calm, reasonable dialogue. Laurie was an outspoken liberal force during the Democratic National Convention, appearing at numerous protests and rallies, and dressed up as a Tea Partier for last Halloween.

“I think I was part of the problem, maybe I was just writing off people,” he said of his Tea Party costume. “But I can have a conversation with someone, rather than yelling at them.”

Few details have been released about Stewart’s Washington D.C. rally, or Colbert’s “March to Keep Fear Alive” counter rally. But they will no doubt build on Stewart’s huge following for “The Daily Show,” which typically features the comedian commenting on the day’s news in a faux anchor format and conducting interviews with top newsmakers.

Organizers have declined to estimate what crowd Stewart and Colbert might draw at their rallies this weekend, but many youngsters seem intrigued.

“I love him, and love this show,” said Tahlia Selby, 19, a college student in New York. “If I could go to his rally and Colbert’s in Washington, I probably would.”

But while Stewart is certainly popular with younger Americans, his context is not all lost.

“I like him because he’s rather funny,” said Juliana Hein, 23, a human resources consultant in New York. “But people take him too seriously and forget he’s just a comedian.”

There are numerous satellite sanity rallies going on throughout the country, with Denver expected to be one of the five largest.

Where: Civic Center Park

When: Saturday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Information: SanityDenver.com

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

By Todd Engdahl, EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO

If history, voter registration and fund raising are any indications, the State Board of Education after Tuesday’s election will look similar to the board that’s been operating for the last two years.

The board has four Republicans and three Democrats now, and most observers expect those numbers won’t change, but there will be at least two new faces in seats that are being vacated.

The new group faces major tasks in the next year, including the hiring of a new commissioner, implementation of the educator effectiveness law and selection of a new testing system.

And the new board will face a changed political landscape, with a new governor and possible changes in party control at the legislature.

Here are snapshots of candidates in this year’s races:

2nd District

Kaye Ferry (R) – A businesswoman and active party member, she also served 19 years as executive director of the Vail Chamber and Business Association. (Website)

Angelika Schroeder (D) – An accountant and former Boulder School Board member and college professor, Schroeder was named to the board in 2008 to fill a vacancy and is on the ballot for the first time. (Website)

5th District

Karl Beck (D) – The Colorado Springs resident is studying to be a teacher and has worked in the non-profit sector. (Website)

Paul Lundeen (R) – A businessman and investment advisor from Monument, Lundeen also has worked in politics and journalism. (Website)

6th District

Debora Scheffel (R) – A resident of Parker, Scheffel has extensive education experience and specializations in literacy, special education and assessment. She’s a special assistant to the commissioner for literacy, dean of the school of education at Jones International University and formerly taught at the University of Northern Colorado. (Website)

William Townend (D) – A retired medical researcher who started his career as a teacher, Townend lives in Aurora. (Website)

History of SBE races

State board races are generally low-profile affairs, with very modest campaign spending and little visibility for many voters. (For example, in 2008 273,994 votes were cast for the two candidates in the race for the 6th District seat in the U.S. House, while 258,288 votes were case for the two SBE candidates in that district. There was a similar under vote in the 3rd District.)

Election results for SBE candidates historically mirror voter registration patterns in individual districts. A review of election results back to 1996 shows that Democrats have won every SBE election in the 2nd District, while Republicans always have won in the 5th and 6th districts. (District boundaries changed somewhat for the 2002 election because of the 2000 census.)

Among active registered voters, the 2nd District currently is 38 percent Democratic, while Republicans are at 47 percent in the 5th and 43 percent in the 6th. Unaffiliated voters are the second-largest group in all three districts.

In the last 16 years, all SBE incumbents who sought election (including those appointed between elections) were victorious.

This year, Schroeder, Lundeen and Scheffel lead in fundraising in their respective races (see this story for details).

Candidates on the issues

Education News Colorado surveyed the six candidates for their view on state education issues. Here’s a summary of what each said:

2nd DISTRICT

Kaye Ferry

• School funding: “My first guess would be that education has a lot of waste in the system. … Education, like every other component of government, needs to take a long hard look at how it operates and cut back like everyone else.”
• Selecting a new commissioner: “There’s no need to move at record speed, it’s far more important to pick the right person. It will have to be someone unafraid to confront the status quo because we know that hasn’t worked.”
• Common Core Standards: Favors rescinding Colorado’s adoption.
• Testing: “Education has to be about more than that [testing] but it also must have some methods for measuring not only what the students are learning but how we stack up against other states and other countries.” Open to Colorado participation in a multi-state testing program.
• Race to the Top: Would want to review the criteria if the program is extended but generally is concerned about losing control to the federal government.

Angelika Schroeder

• School funding: She didn’t comment in detail because board members are defendants in the Lobato v. Colorado school funding lawsuit but did say she feels constitutional change probably will be required.
• Selecting a new commissioner: Wants a new commissioner who can continue Jones’ strong relationships with a wide variety of education groups and interests. “While there remain some areas of needed improvement and alignment, I do not support bringing in a new leader to take us in a new direction. The current efforts have not had enough time or work to see them through.”
• Common Core Standards: “Using common core standards for our students just makes sense.”
• Testing: Supports a new testing system that has shorter tests, faster results and both formative and summative tests. Supports including results on a student’s transcript. Supports participation in multi-state tests while reserving the option for Colorado to withdraw.
• Race to Top: Would support reapplying but only if district backing of the state plan is stronger than was the case with the last application.

5th DISTRICT

Karl Beck

• School funding: “I really don’t think that it is the amount of money that is spent per student as much as how it is spent.”
• Selecting a new commissioner: “The commissioner should have experience both in business and education. … I think the replacement should be found as soon as possible.”
• Common Core Standards: “I truly believe that there should be some common core standards that are taught to all students in math, science and language arts.”
• Testing: “We must also remember that some of us may know the curriculum in question but do poorly on tests. One solution may be to develop other ways to test our students.”
• Race to the Top: Supports applying if the program is continued.

Paul Lundeen

• School funding: He says schools need to figure out how to “provide an increasing level of service when increased dollars aren’t necessarily available.”
• Selecting a new commissioner: “I would like to see a visionary who’s not afraid to challenge well-worn, shopworn conventional ideas.” He complimented Jones’ work but said, “Does that mean we stay exactly on the same path? Probably not.”
• Common Core Standards: “I believe that education should be local” and generally leans toward state standards.
• Testing: “Deserves more attention and study on my part.”
• Race to the Top: “We’re looking for funding wherever we can get it” but doesn’t want “to get sucked into some common denominator, a lower common denominator.”

6th DISTRICT

Debora Scheffel

Scheffel did not respond to EdNews’ questions. On her website she writes, “We must preserve what is best about public education and reform those aspects that do not serve our students and families well” and that focus needs to be placed on “parental choice and involvement, accountability, teacher empowerment and instructional excellence.”

In a May interview with the Colorado Statesman, Scheffel said she believes her special education background would be helpful on the board, supports the educator effectiveness law, wants to make sure the public is getting excellence in exchange for education funding and supports financial help for parents who place special needs children in non-public schools.

William Townend

• School funding: “K-12 education is not adequately funded under the present structure. …
  The best short-term solution is increasing operational efficiency. This should start with a complete and careful cost accounting, followed by a cost benefit analysis for all programs.”
• Selecting a new commissioner: “I would like to see a commissioner who is at least as committed to sensible change as Dr. Jones. I would like to see greater change. … I would certainly favor someone who would set individualization and use of 21st century technology as priorities.”
• Common Core Standards: Does not support state participation in the program.
• Testing: Supports quick turnaround testing that helps teachers work with students who are lagging and supports use of multi-state tests.
• Race to the Top: Favors reapplication only after a careful cost-benefit analysis.

All candidates who responded to the survey said they generally support the directions established by recent education reform legislation, including the Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids, the Innovation Schools Act, the new district accountability system and the new educator effectiveness law. Townend expressed some concerns about the innovation schools and educator effectiveness laws.

About the SBE

The board has operated in relative public harmony since the 2008 election, which brought one newcomer, Republican Marcia Neal of the 3rd District, to the board. Democrats Elaine Gantz Berman of the 1st District and Jane Goff of the 7th District also were elected that year but had been appointed earlier to fill vacancies. Chair Bob Schaffer, R-4th District was elected in 2006.

Leaving the board are Peggy Littleton, R-5th District, after one full term and Randy DeHoff, R-6th District, vice chair, the board’s longest serving member and former head of the Charter School Institute. He was first elected in 1998.

Members are part-time, unpaid and can serve two six-year terms. (Map of districts.)

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

By Greg Campbell, FACE THE STATE

Longtime library personnel in Boulder aren’t the only public employees rushing toward retirement this year ahead of legislatively mandated changes in cost-of-living increases set to take effect next year in their retirement system. In fact, although figures are still preliminary, it’s estimated that the number of public employees retiring statewide in 2010 could hit a 10-year high.

“What you’re going to see is that we peaked in 2004 and kind of dropped off and remained pretty steady,” Katie Kaufmanis of Colorado PERA, the Public Employees’ Retirement Association, said of the number of public employees leaving the workforce each year.

This year, however, the number is climbing to within reach of the 2004 peak and may well exceed it.

From 2000-2002, PERA figures show the number of state, school and local government employees retiring at a rate of around 3,700 per year. The number shot up in 2003 to 4,700 and spiked in 2004 at 5,100. Since then, the numbers have averaged 4,500 per year.

As of Sept. 30, 4,700 public employees have retired so far this year, an average of 522 per month. If the trend continues, the number of retirees could easily top 6,000 by year’s end.

Kaufmanis said there’s no one explanation for the sudden rash of public employees cashing in their chips, but undoubtedly, the chance to be eligible for the highest allowable cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, in 2011 is one of them.

In the last decade, PERA retirees received a 3.5 percent annual COLA, an adjustment reaped from the market performance of the PERA Trust Fund. But a new law passed by the legislature in early 2010 changed both the payment schedule and the amount of future increases in order to keep the fund sustainable in light of the economic crisis. The legislation zeroed out COLAs for 2010 and capped future increases at 2 percent annually. If the trust fund loses money—or has a “negative investment year,” in PERA lingo—the COLA will be either 2 percent or the annual consumer price index, whichever is lower, for the following three years.

Those who retire before the legislation kicks in at the beginning of the year are eligible to receive a prorated COLA in July 2011. With the fund currently performing well, according to Kaufmanis, a 2 percent boost to benefits in July seems likely. Those retiring between Dec. 31 and June 30, 2011 would fall under the new legislation and wouldn’t qualify for a COLA until July 2012. And there’s no guarantee the fund will perform well enough in 2011 to earn them a 2 percent increase.

But Kaufmanis cautioned that no one factor can explain the sudden urge to retire.

“I did kind of an informal poll here with the people who work with our members and what we’re hearing is just a variety of things,” she said. “‘It’s time for me to go,’ ‘I’ve got my time in,’ ‘if there is a COLA in 2011… I want to be eligible for that,’ but I think a lot of it has to do with the public sector work environment. A lot of people are just saying ‘I’m tired of being a public employee; I’m going to take some time off and maybe the economy will improve and I’ll go do something else.’”

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

By Todd Engdahl, EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO

The committee that’s been studying the future of state colleges and universities finished its work Wednesday with unanimous approval of a strategic plan that warns of the looming crisis facing higher education and recommends increased tax support for the system.

“I think it’s a product that we can all be proud of. I hope it just doesn’t end up on somebody’s shelf,” said committee co-chair Jim Lyons.

The plan will be formally presented to Gov. Bill Ritter and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education at a meeting Nov. 4. The ball then will be in the commission’s court to refine the strategic plan if it chooses, adopt it and make recommendations to the legislature.

“We will use it to the very best of our ability,” Jim Polsfut, a member of the steering committee and also chair of the CCHE, said Wednesday. “I don’t know of any particular disagreement by CCHE members right now.”

The 12-member steering committee included Polsfut and CCHE member Greg Stevinson, and several other commission members served on the four subcommittees that developed preliminary recommendations for the steering group.

Ritter, who kicked off the whole process late last year by appointing the steering committee, isn’t running for office so won’t be involved when the debate about the future of higher education shifts to the Capitol next year.

Don Elliman, an ex officio member of the steering committee, noted the unpredictable future facing the proposed strategic plan. “If the new administration doesn’t buy into it, you don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell.” (Elliman is state chief operating officer and a key Ritter advisor.)

Although the report was virtually done except for last-minute tweaks and printing, committee members couldn’t resist reprising discussions that have dominated the process since the panel’s first meeting, held nine months to the day before Wednesday’s final session.

The steering committee’s work and the proposed strategic plan surfaced a number of touchy issues, including funding, the role of the CCHE, the organization and capacities of the state system and the missions of individual colleges.

Here are highlights from (and background on) the last-minute conversation Wednesday:

Funding

Polsfut wondered if the committee should be more specific about possible sources of additional revenue for higher ed. (The plan lists possible sources but makes no recommendations.)

“I think there are some jurisdictional limits on what we can say,” said Lyons, meaning those decisions should be up to CCHE and the legislature. “I think we’ve reached the limit.”

The other co-chair, Dick Monfort, said he felt the panel should specifically recommend that a funding proposal be made to voters in 2011. Members agreed with that idea. “No reason we shouldn’t hold their feet to the fire,” said Lyons, speaking of legislators, who would have to decide on any state-proposed ballot measure.

Monfort also raised the issue of whether the report should go into more detail about how money is allocated to individual colleges, but Lyons said, “I think it would be usurping the CCHE.”

‘Governance’ vs. ‘oversight’

Steering committee members have made it clear they favor a stronger CCHE, an idea resisted by some college presidents and trustees. In an effort to ease that sensitivity, the panel agreed to scrub the strategic plan of the word “governance.” Lyons said, “We’re emphasizing coordination and oversight in place of regulation. … Governance for individual institutions will remain the same.” (All state colleges currently have their own appointed boards of trustees. The University of Colorado, Colorado State University and community college boards oversee multiple campuses.)

The plan recommends that CCHE launch a study of each college and university’s role and mission and make recommendations to the legislature. Some college leaders, such as Metro State President Steve Jordan, believe the state system currently is weighted too much toward research universities at one end and community colleges at the other.

Several panel members agree with Jordan’s view that the state needs to increase capacity at four-year institutions to serve the needs of the minority and first-generation students who will be the largest group of new students in the future.

Some universities, particularly the University of Colorado system, vigorously disagree with the notion that they aren’t able to serve new kinds of students and are fearful of a potential funding shift that could affect them.

Support of graduate programs

The proposed plan favors – in concept – giving more state funds directly to students (currently done in a partial fashion through the College Opportunity Fund) and less directly to institutions (known as fees for service). That prospect that makes some institutions, particularly those with expensive graduate programs, uneasy.

(The plan also suggested that colleges be funded partly on the basis of performance – like graduation rates – but not until after overall financial support of higher education increases.)

The strategic plan specifically mentions only two expensive graduate programs – CU’s Anschutz Medical Campus and Colorado State University’s veterinary medicine program – as services that might need direct state support.

There was some discussion Wednesday about whether the committee should expand that list, but it decided not to do so. “The specific balance has to be decided by the CCHE,” said member John Bliss.

Metro’s Jordan has been the most supportive of the strategic plan’s direction, while leaders at CU, the University of Northern Colorado, Mesa State College and, to a lesser extent, the Colorado School of Mines have raised more concerns.

(Read the institutions’ formal comments here.)

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

By Debi Brazzale, COLORADO NEWS AGENCY

Trust in government is at an historic low, minority Senate Republicans said today, and, they say, they have a plan to restore that trust—through amplifying accountability and transparency in government.

The plan, billed as an “Agenda to Restore Trust in Government,” is the fifth and last in a series of announcements by the Senate GOP touting its agenda for the 2011 legislative session.

Specifics of the agenda include creating better

Web-based spending reports; an interactive citizen-participation website; ending the fast tracking of “controversial” legislation, and a requirement that all bills to be posted for 24 hours prior to a final vote.

In promoting the plan, Sen. Al White, R-Hayden, said it’s about ease of access for the public when it is seeking information about legislative activities.

“As families and businesses are trying to navigate their way through this difficult economy, we cannot expect them to search through mountains of information to find out what we are doing in the General Assembly,” said White. “This new transparency plan will give Colorado taxpayers easy access to our legislative efforts at the Capitol.”

Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R- Berthoud, says the GOP effort would translate into a stronger voice for citizens.

“This plan will create an unprecedented level of accountability for state lawmakers in Denver,” said Lundberg. “Citizens will now be given the tools and resources to make a direct impact on legislative efforts.”

The plan won some plaudits across the aisle from ruling Senate Democrats. Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, says that she is on board with the Republicans when it comes to empowering the public with more information.

“Any public function should be transparent,” said Carroll, pointing out strides that have recently been made in transparency by the online posting of the state budget.

Carroll, echoing Lundberg, also applauds efforts to engage the public in the legislative process at the Capitol.

“Taking advantage of technology to make it easier for more members of the public to give more input is a good thing,” says Carroll.

Earlier this fall, the Senate Republicans released an Agenda for Economic Recovery, an Agenda to Reform & Restrain Government, a Pledge to Colorado Taxpayers, and an Agenda to Support Colorado Families.

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >

By Greg Campbell, FACE THE STATE

Come early next year at the Boulder Public Library, hardly anyone will be minding the store, and it looks like recent changes to the state employee-retirement system are at least partly to blame.

Since July, the library has experienced a significant brain drain at the administrative level, with six of its top personnel either having resigned or planning to resign by year’s end—and half are leaving to beat a new deadline pushing cost-of-living increases into 2012 for eligible public-employee retirees.

The exodus includes the library director, who left over the summer to move to North Carolina; an award-winning IT manager, who took a job in another library district; the interim director (whose official job title is arts and cultural planning manager) and the assistant director, who both plan to retire at the end of the year; the finance and business manager, who will leave after Thanksgiving; and an appointed member of the Library Commission with years of knowledge about library matters.

That leaves only two members of the administrative team who aren’t planning to leave, but city spokeswoman Jennifer Bray says the city hopes it will be business as usual for library patrons.

“We’re working on the succession planning right now for what will happen when these people are gone,” she said. “The public should not feel any effects of these vacancies.”

If that’s true, it will be an extraordinary accomplishment by the remaining administrators, who will be required to wear numerous hats to keep the $7.5 million agency with four locations running smoothly until the staffing level is restored. Bray said the city is currently looking for a director, developing plans for others to cover the duties of those leaving by year’s end, and waiting for the adoption of the city budget before deciding how to fill other vacancies.

While some of the vacancies were created by job opportunities in other communities, Bray said that three executives— Jim Marshall, the retiring finance manager; Lynn Reed, the assistant director; and Donna Gartenmann, who’s now the acting director—are retiring to take advantage of legislatively-mandated reforms to shore up the state-run Public Employees’ Retirement Association (PERA).

“Employees who retire under PERA prior to Dec. 31, 2010 will be under the current legislation, which makes them eligible for a possible prorated cost of living adjustment on July 1, 2011,” Bray said. “Employees who retire after that, between Dec. 31 and June 30, 2011, will be under the new legislation, which will result in them not being eligible for a cost of living adjustment until July 1, 2012.”

The legislation, Senate Bill 1, which was signed by Gov. Bill Ritter in February, was designed to ensure PERA’s long-term sustainability in light of the economic downturn. The fund provides retirement and other benefits to 460,000 state, school and local government employees. In a letter to Ritter on Oct. 30, 2009, PERA chairman Mark Anderson wrote that the proposed changes were “designed to have little or no short-term impact on member behavior.”

But that’s clearly not the case at the Boulder Library.

“I think it is a serious concern when you lose this many senior staff in a short amount of time,” said Sam Fuqua, the vice chairman of the Boulder Library Commission. “There have been personnel cuts, there have been positions going unfilled.

“You get the sense that it has been a stressful time for the library staff.”

Stay ahead by signing up for State Bill E-News! >