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Ritter's overall look at schools could bulldoze two bills

Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News

Published March 8, 2007 at midnight

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Bills to tweak high school graduation standards may run afoul of Gov. Bill Ritter's preference for a more comprehensive look at school reform.

A bill awaiting action by a House committee would increase the amount of math and science needed for graduation. A bill before the Senate would require mastery of English.

Ritter has said he wants a committee to look at everything from preschool through graduate school. The committee could be formed within the next four to six weeks, said Evan Dreyer, Ritter's spokesman.

Dreyer stopped short of saying Ritter will veto the bills. But minor fixes to the school system could interfere with the more comprehensive approach, he said.

"His (Ritter's) desire is that we do have comprehensive and broad conversations about how best to move forward and make progress," Dreyer said. "Piecemeal steps are a little bit risky because when you get to the comprehensive stage, you may have to undo a previous step, or it may actually be an obstacle to comprehensive reform."

Ritter will follow the same broad strategy on health care, Dreyer said.

A bill by Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, would require four years of math and three years of science for high school graduation - far more than is required by any major school district now. Penry's Senate Bill 131 made it through the Senate with bipartisan support and is in the House education committee.

Penry said a comprehensive look at schools is justified.

"But it shouldn't stop us from meaningful steps in the short term," he said.

State leaders "have been studying and commissioning reports (on schools) for a generation," Penry said. Meanwhile, "many schools have been languishing in mediocrity."

Penry's bill is strongly opposed by rural school districts that have difficulty hiring math and science teachers and by arts advocates who say their courses will lose resources and enrollments to the additional math and science courses.

Local school board members say the measure interferes with their role of setting graduation standards for their districts.

A House hearing on Penry's bill has been delayed while lawmakers and interested parties seek a compromise. Ritter's aides are monitoring the discussion, but not taking part, Dreyer said.

Another bill, SB 73 by Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, would require school districts to test students for English mastery before they could graduate. Local boards would determine what would be on the test.

Romer's bill is awaiting debate by the full Senate.

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