Bill encourages schools to seek autonomy

By Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Friday, February 1, 2008

Groff says the goal is cutting through red tape.

Colorado Senate President Peter Groff on Thursday introduced a bill that encourages schools statewide to seek more freedom in hiring, scheduling and spending - and allows them to sidestep the teachers union to get it.

"It's about clearing out a lot of the bureaucracy that we have created and the districts have created," said Groff, D-Denver, "all of which, at the time we did it, probably sounded really good."

The Innovation Schools Act of 2008 was welcomed by Denver City Council President Michael Hancock and a half-dozen Denver school principals during a news conference at Manual High School.

"The status quo is simply unacceptable," Hancock said. "Our schools are struggling. We need to think creatively . . . about how we're going to purposely address the education of our children."

Groff's bill follows attempts by Bruce Randolph School Principal Kristin Waters and her staff to gain autonomy for their school in north Denver. With 67 percent of teachers in agreement, the school asked to be freed from district policies and union rules.

DPS board members enthusiastically agreed to the plan, but the Denver Classroom Teachers Association did not, stalling the effort. DCTA President Kim Ursetta said the district, school and union are scheduled to continue their talks Tuesday.

Under Groff's bill, union approval would not be necessary. Instead, a school - or a group of schools - would submit a plan to the local school board for approval. If the board agrees, it could then seek to become a "district of innovation" from the State Board of Education and the education commissioner.

Winning that designation would free the school from state rules governing the hiring and dismissal of teachers, among other regulations. It would also allow the school to be removed from any collective-bargaining agreement or union contract.

However, the bill says removal from a union contract would require approval by a majority of staff in the school.

"I vote with the union 99 percent of the time," Groff said. "But there are times when we need to ask . . . 'What's in the best educational interest of the child?' "

The Colorado Education Association, the state teachers union, issued a statement saying, "there is no research to show that abandoning state laws and collective-bargaining improves student achievement. We oppose several parts" of Groff's bill.

Randolph's autonomy bid was followed by a similar proposal from Manual. The union board may vote Monday on that plan.

Hancock said 18 schools in the northeast Denver area he represents, including Montbello High School, want more autonomy.

"We wanted to let the public and the legislators know this bill has some support in the community," he said, "and we hope they'll look on it favorably."

Bill 130

* To read the bill, log on to www.leg.state.co.us/ and click on Senate Bill 130

* To read more legislature news 22

• February 1, 2008

  6:25 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  vudumom writes:

  This is not going to work. The schools are still at the mercy of School Boards who are total control freaks.Adams 12 denied a Charter School application to Heritage Academy,an excellent school.They did it so they can keep total control over everything.
  What make Mr.Groff think that School Boards are going to be any easier than unions to get real school progress made or changed? It looks good on paper but the School Boards are sometimes worse at allowing change.They are filled with control freaks.

• February 1, 2008

  7:33 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  mrs_ollie writes:

  I applaud Groff and Hancock for bringing this forward. This bill may not pass, but it can open eyes and doors for future bills to redistribute the power away from the teachers unions.