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Education Policy Center Newsletter

From The Independence Institute
April 8, 2009
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In this issue
-- K-12 Employee Pension Presentation Draws Overflow Crowd
-- Marya Promotes Need for Vigilance to Defend Homeschool Freedom
-- School Choice Crusader Explains Need to Save D.C. Vouchers
-- New Report Calls For Public Employee Union Financial Disclosure
-- GoBash, “Eddie” Tackle Education Reform Developments

Dear Friends,

We hope you enjoy our latest monthly update from the Education Policy Center.

Pamela Benigno, Director

Ben DeGrow, Policy Analyst
Marya DeGrow, Research Associate

K-12 Employee Pension Presentation Draws Overflow Crowd

After headlining a Friday event at our Independence Institute offices, University
of Colorado at Denver professor Dr. Michael Mannino presented his
groundbreaking findings on K-12 employee compensation to a special joint
meeting of the House and Senate Education Committee on March 25. An
overflow crowd showed up at 7:30 AM in the basement of the State Capitol, to
hear how the average Denver Public Schools retiree receives more than
$600,000 in deferred retirement income. Dr. Mannino is the author of the
Independence Institute report Deferred Retirement Compensation for Career K-
12 Employees (PDF).

The House Education Committee chair seized the opportunity to ignore the
report’s academic findings and opt for political grandstanding instead. Still, we
are hopeful that representatives of the Public Employee Retirement Association
(PERA) might take the report’s important findings and recommendations into
consideration later this year when they present an agenda to shore up the
underfunded pension program.

For more:
Ed Is Watching, Frivolous Attacks on Pension Reform Draw Attention (For Me,
Detention?)
Ed News Colorado, Teacher Pension Report Sparks Controversy
iVoices Podcast, “Retirement Windfall for Denver’s K-12 Employees”

Marya Promotes Need for Vigilance to Defend Homeschool Freedom

Following the release of her landmark issue paper Colorado’s Homeschool Law
Turns Twenty: The Battle Should Never Be Forgotten (PDF), our own Marya
DeGrow has been busy promoting the need for vigilance to defend home
education freedoms here in Colorado.

Marya interviewed home education veteran and volunteer parental rights

lobbyist Treon Goosen on an iVoices podcast to review how far homeschooling
has come and how the legal rights and freedoms still need to be defended. She
also appeared as a guest on the most recent edition of the Backbone America
radio program with John Andrews. In addition, she distributed hundreds of flyers
advertising her report to parents and supporters at last Friday’s Homeschool Day
at the Capitol.

For more:
Ed Is Watching, Homeschool Day at the Capitol: Marya DeGrow Spreads Message
of Vigilance

School Choice Crusader Explains Need to Defend D.C. Vouchers

The Education Policy Center was honored to have longtime school choice
crusader Virginia Walden Ford, executive director of D.C. Parents for School
Choice, as a guest on an iVoices podcast to explain what’s at stake with the
attack on the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program. With new evidence showing
the effectiveness of the voucher program in helping students improve their
reading skills, the cause to save this program from attacks by Congress is as
strong and urgent as ever.

For more:
Ed Is Watching, Virginia Walden Ford: D.C. Scholarship Program Under Attack by
Congress
Ed Is Watching, Keep Spreading the Message to Help D.C. Kids Keep Their
Scholarships
Ed Is Watching, Senate Vote Against D.C. Scholarship Kids Makes Me Want to
Throw Legos
Wall Street Journal, Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s Two Opposing Views on
School Vouchers

New Report Calls For Public Employee Union Financial Disclosure

Colorado unions that represent public educators and other government
employees don’t have the same requirements to disclose financial dealings as
unions representing most private-sector workers. Policy analyst Ben DeGrow
highlights the need for state law to improve this area of accountability in his new
issue backgrounder Setting the Standard for Pro-Worker Transparency (PDF). He
also recorded a 10-minute iVoices podcast to explain the basic issues at stake.

For more:
Independent Teachers, Colorado Education Association Members: Do You Know
How Your Dues Money Is Being Spent?

GoBash, “Eddie” Tackle Education Reform Developments

Our new GoBash blog highlighted some of the “good” and “bad” in recent
education reform developments:

Bad News for Families: State Cuts Printed Report Cards

Waivers for Public Schools: A Good Step for Reform
Bad Decision for Children Like Lexie: AZ Vouchers Struck Down

Among other topics, our prodigious 5-year-old blogger “Eddie” also has been
busy writing about public school choice, teacher tenure, and school finances:

Colorado Charter-Friendliness Gets a B, As 41,000 Students Wait to Get In

Tenure Reform Would Be Another Good Idea for Obama & Colorado to Embrace
State Board Members Criticize Supreme Court Ruling Made “For The Children”
Politician Double-Super-Killed School Spending Transparency: What’s to Hide?

To learn more about how to exercise your rights to educational options in

Colorado, as always, please visit our School Choice for Kids website.

Contact Information
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email: pam@i2i.org
phone: 303-279-6536
web:http://www.independenceinstitute.org
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