Schaffer denies conflict in Denver charter school vote

Julie Poppen, Rocky Mountain News

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Some Colorado Board of Education members were split Monday over whether fellow board member Bob Schaffer's vote on a charter school issue posed a possible conflict of interest.

Some Democrats criticized Schaffer, a Republican, last spring when he voted to require the Denver Public Schools Board of Education to reconsider a vote to terminate the Life Skills Center of Denver, a fledgling charter school.

Subsequently, it was learned that David Brennan and his wife had each given the maximum allowable donation ($2,300) to Schaffer's 2008 U.S. Senate campaign a month after Schaffer's tiebreaking vote.

Brennan runs Ohio-based White Hat Management, which operates several Life Skills charter schools, including the one in Denver. Brennan also contributed to Schaffer's failed U.S. Senate campaign in 2004

Based on the state board's action, the DPS board reconsidered its vote and agreed to extend the troubled school's contract for one year with stipulations.

Assistant Attorney General Tony Dyl, who met with four state Board of Education members Monday, said Schaffer's vote didn't seem to constitute a conflict of interest.

"I suspect this is not conflict of interest but more of an election law issue," Dyl said.

Dyl said later he would confer with the board to see if members wanted him to research the issue further.

Board member Elaine Gantz Berman paused before answering a question about Schaffer's vote and his failure to disclose any connection to the charter school.

"I like to err on the side of disclosure," said Berman, a Democrat. "If you disclose, people can't come to other conclusions."

Board member Randy DeHoff, a Republican, said he had no concerns about Schaffer's ethics. He said that even if Schaffer knew about the contribution, "it had nothing to do" with his vote, which was consistent with his values.

Schaffer, who didn't attend Monday's meeting, said Monday evening that he had no conflict because the issue was between the DPS board and the board of the charter school, for which Brennan is only a contractor.

Schaffer also pointed out that Brennan contributed to his U.S. Senate campaign, not his state Board of Education campaign, and the contribution came after his vote.

poppenj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5176