Gov. John Hickenlooper said Wednesday that after a close review of a Denver district judge's decision in Lobato vs. Colorado, he will appeal the decision to the state's highest court.
"The judge's decision provided little practical guidance on how the state should fund a 'thorough and uniform' system of public education," Hickenlooper said in a statement. "Moreover, while the judge focused on the inadequacy of state funding, she did not reconcile this issue with other very relevant provisions of the Constitution, including the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, the Gallagher Amendment and Amendment 23."
Kathy Gebhardt, one of the lead attorneys who brought the suit, said she was disappointed but not surprised at the governor's decision.
"We believe we have proved there is a sense of urgency to fixing this problem, that kids have been attending substandard schools," Gebhardt said.
Prolonging the suit merely hurts kids now in Colorado schools, she said.
"Justice delayed is education denied," she said.
The State Board of Education, meanwhile, postponed until next week its own decision on whether to pursue an appeal.
After the board convened by phone in an hour-long executive session, chairman Bob Schaffer said the board would not make a decision until Tuesday. He did not offer any reason for the delay.
The governor and the State Board of Education are defendants in the case, so both can weigh in with direction, said Mike Saccone, spokesman for the attorney general's office.
Saccone said the legislature has appropriated up to $3.5 million to defend the state against the suit.
The suit was filed in 2005. It originated with a group of parents in the San Luis Valley but expanded to include districts from across the state.
The judge's ruling this month blasted the state's level of school funding as "unconscionable" and not meeting the Colorado Constitution's requirement of a "thorough and uniform" public education system.
The ruling handed the problem off to lawmakers to fix, and the judge said implementing her ruling would be delayed until the end of the 2012 legislative session.
In his statement Wednesday, Hickenlooper said he consulted with Attorney General John Suthers in reaching his decision.
"We look forward to a swift decision in this case so the people of Colorado and their elected representatives can participate in the school funding conversation," Hickenlooper said.
Karen Auge: 303-954-1733 or kauge@denverpost.com
But the head of the legislature's money-minding Joint Budget Committee stopped short of endorsing the plan to boost education dollars based on budget predictions.
"We're still in a very tentative situation economically," said Rep. Cheri Gerou, R-Evergreen. "We need to stay vigilant and careful with our budget."
Hickenlooper's budget-makers told legislators this morning they expect revenues for the current fiscal year to come in $231 million above expectations. That, plus an expected boost to next fiscal year's revenues, have the governor proposing the restoration to K-12 education funding, plus additions to the higher education budget and to a program that helps needy seniors pay their rent and heating bills.
"Everything syncs up with places we didn't want to cut," said Henry Sobanet, the executive director of the Office of State Planning and Budgeting.
The nonpartisan economists of the Colorado Legislative Council, who work for lawmakers, estimated this year's budget boost as only $148 million, though they are more optimistic than the governor's office about next fiscal year's revenues. But Natalie Mullis, the Legislative Council's chief economist, said the differences aren't significant.
She cautioned, though, that the extra money — which comes in a general fund budget of about $7 billion — doesn't mean Colorado is flush.
"It sounds like a lot of money," she said, "but it's really not because it doesn't include the cost of inflation and rising caseloads."
Still, reaction to the budget news today was, understandably, positive. One lawmaker joked that Sobanet was like "Santa's helper."
The Colorado Education Association called Hickenlooper's budget proposal, "a welcomed gift for Colorado kids this holiday season."
"Our students and schools so desperately needed a good-news day, and this is good news," Beverly Ingle, the CEA's president, said in a statement.
State Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, used the news as occasion to campaign for the "Colorado Works" package of jobs bills Democrats plan to introduce next legislative session.
"It's encouraging to see Colorado's economy continue to improve, but we need to keep working to create jobs and strengthen the economy," Shaffer said in a statement.
Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Amy Stephens, R-Colorado Springs, criticized Hickenlooper for not instead using the extra money to restore a $100 million property-tax exemption for seniors.
"While I am disappointed that Gov. Hickenlooper continues to propose a property tax increase on Colorado's seniors most in need, Colorado's slow economic recovery gives us reason for optimism," Stephens said in a statement.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com.
In the previous two rounds, Colorado was a finalist, but did not receive any funds.
North Carolina, Massachusetts, Washington, Delaware, Ohio, Maryland, Minnesota, Rhode Island and California were chosen to receive anywhere from $45 million to 70 million for the competition's Early Learning Challenge.
Colorado was one of 37 states to apply for a portion of the $500 million available through the program, and asked for nearly $60 million.
Its raw score of 233.4 points out of a possible 300 (77.8 percent) ranked 12th, about 10 points out of the money and 36.2 points behind top-scoring North Carolina.
This round of funding focused on initiatives that address children's early education, including kindergarten readiness, and also developmental health.
"The state's Race to the Top application was developed through a collaborative process that brought together the state's smartest child advocates," said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper in a prepared statement. "This extensive planning helped create a clear roadmap for pursuing the best educational outcomes for our state's kids. Colorado is a national leader when it comes to education reform and we remain committed to supporting our teachers and students in every way possible."
Federal officials praised the winners for innovative ways of combining elements like pre-reading skills with health screenings, exercise and nutrition, and noted how they took steps to engage parents to help their children succeed.
Reviewers of the applications gave extra weight to states that had already begun implementing their programs over those that simply described plans for the future.
In a nod to the states left out of the funding, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said progress in early learning won't be limited to the nine winners.
"By pushing everyone to raise their game, we intend to foster innovation in early childhood programs around the country and certainly share the best practices of these nine states with others who are eager to learn," she said. "The only way America can out-compete the rest of the world is if we out-educate the rest of the world."
Colorado's application focused on supporting professional development and incentives for employees at early-learning centers and day-care facilities, and also in assisting those centers to start aligning use of assessments allowing families to provide input.
Application leaders had stressed that the work would go on regardless of the outcome of the award, but would be spurred to move faster with the federal money.
The application also boasted Colorado current work creating early-learning standards for children from birth to age 8.
Currently, early-learning standards apply only to children ages 3 to 5.
"Colorado has seen so much progress already in the quality of early learning programs that help ensure every child starts school ready to learn," said Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia. "We will continue to build on the solid foundation already set for creating a stronger workforce, providing families with the tools and resources they need and to building community capacity to serve young children and their families."
The union, Colorado Education Association, who did support this round's application, also released a statement on Friday, emphasizing that the support continues.
"Today's announcement on Colorado's most recent Race to the Top application is obviously disappointing," said Beverly Ingle, Colorado Education Association President. "As the professionals working every day to teach and support Colorado's public school students, we know how critical early literacy and childhood development are to success in school. We strongly supported the Race to the Top application and are proud of the effort Colorado has made."
In the second round of the competition, Colorado officials were critical of judges who gave Colorado a wide margin of differing reviews. Just a month ago, the department rejected a formal Denver Post request for the names of the reviewers.
Colorado is also still awaiting an announcement of awards for another portion of race to the top funds that was made available only for the finalists of the second round. Colorado would be eligible for $17.9 million of that award, focused on K-12 education.
Because the grants are smaller than in the first two rounds, the original Race to the Top applications from the second round had to be updated to limit the scope, but the main projects could not be new ideas.
Colorado chose to focus on two projects: implementation of new state standards and of educator- evaluation systems.
Yesenia Robles: 303-954-1372 or yrobles@denverpost.com
Colorado Charter School Institute
Mark Hyatt, executive director of the Colorado Charter School Institute for the last two years, will leave to become chief operating officer of the Character Education Partnership in Washington, D.C.
Hyatt oversaw a 50 percent increase in enrollment among the Charter School Institute's 22 schools, which now have 10,500 students.
"He launched a strategic plan that will ensure the institute continues to enhance its reputation as a model authorizer and leader in school reform," said CSI board chairman Wayne Eckerling in a statement.
Ethan Hemming, who has been deputy executive director since April, will become interim executive director. He previously worked for 13 years in the Denver Public Schools, with part of that time spent overseeing 28 charter and six innovation schools.
In his new role, Hyatt joins a national, non-profit that provides curriculum resources to promote character education.
Animas High School in Durango, CO. is pleased to announce the school’s selection as a 2011 John Irwin Schools of Excellence award winner. This prestigious award recognizes the highest-performing and most-improved public schools in the state as determined by CO. School Accountability Reports. The annual reports rate schools on academic performance and growth based on standardized test results. The Irwin School of Excellence award is granted to the top 8% of all elementary, middle and high schools in the state of Colorado.
Animas High School, a free public charter school of choice, is in year three of operation serving 181 students in grades 9 through 11. Animas will open enrollment for next year’s 9th grade, the Class of 2016, on Monday, January 2, 2012. For more information about Animas High School, please visit the school’s website at www.animashighschool.com or call 970-AHS-AHS4 to set up a tour, learn about upcoming enrollment events or receive more information about Animas High.
"Once again our students have demonstrated that they are capable of amazing outcomes. Whether it’s through project based learning, community exhibitions or their performance on annual state assessments, our school continues to raise the bar related to student achievement, growth and success."
-Michael Ackerman, Head of School, Animas High School
"Congratulations on AHS earning the prestigious Irwin Award. You’ve set a new standard of excellence for your wonderful school!"
-Mark Hyatt, Executive Director, Colorado Charter School Institute