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Fewer snow storms and a little ingenu-ity from one of my colleagues mean thatat least 420 more kids will have child careassistance this year. Councilwoman At-LargeCarol Boigon worked with the Mayor to winCouncil approv-al last week of a $2.1 milliontransfer fromthe city’s contin-gency fund to theDepartment of Human Servicesfor child care.Another $357,000was transferredfrom the samefund to home-less outreach ser-vices.These are trying times not only forDenver’s residents, but for the city’s budgetas well. The city is cutting $56 million fromthis year’s budget on top of the $30 millionthat we had to cut last year. This has led tomandatory furlough days for city workersand reductions across the board.The Department of Human Services has been especially hard-hit. After being told bythe state to spend down their reserves, thedepartment was hit by big increases in childwelfare and public assistance caseloads. Asa result, the department has had to cut its budget by $36 million over a two-year periodand had to freeze its caseload of kids gettingchild care assistance, something this budgettransfer will reverse.The city, meanwhile, has $16 million incontingency funds set aside for this year,some of which is typically used for extrasnow removal costs associated with bigger-than-expected storms, which so far have notmaterialized. Beyond this contingency fund,we also have an additional $120 million inreserves to maintain critical services in emer-gency situations.The transfer of funds for child care meansthat many low-income kids who are eligiblefor assistance but on the waiting list due thedepartment’s spending freeze will be placed.This will not only help the kids succeed laterin school, but allow their parents to work,which in turn helps our tax revenues.It’s ingenuity like this, that will help keepall of us going through these tough times.2009 holds both challenges and promise forDenver. City government is the governmentthat is closest to the person, which means thatresponsive and quick solutions to people’sproblems are a must. Our economy relies onthe efforts of our city to continue to look fornew and existing opportunities to maintainand grow our prosperity. We will likely con-tinue to face hard budget choices this yearand beyond. For me, though, investing thewindfall from less snowfall was an easy call.
— Dong Linkhart is a Denver CityCouncilman at-large
Less Snow Mean’s Childcare’s A Go
Comment by Ed Augden
During the 2009 state legislature’s session,consideration is being given to proposed leg-islation that would allow the Charter SchoolInstitute to establish charter schools in anyschool district, with or without being sanc-tioned by that district. This continues thepattern by the state legislature of ignoringthe state constitution and the needs of thevast majority of students in our already cash-strapped and under-funded public schools.In a previous session, legislation waspassed that allowed the creation of charterschools by the state board of education in anylocal school district even if that meant divert-ing funds from regular schools. Regular stu-dents apparently have no such advocacy.Although history is often ignored, itslessons are instructive. State per pupil expen-ditures has declined since the early 1970sfrom amongst the top ten states to the bottomfive. During these times, there has been acampaign for vouchers and against regularpublic schools falsely depicting them as fail-ing. Such characterization ignores the vari-ous factors that impact student achievement– large schools, large class sizes, inadequateinstructional materials, poorly paid teachers,malnutrition, chronic absenteeism, poverty,illicit drug use, teen pregnancy and the listgoes on.Another history lesson is important.During the 1980s, twice the voters reject-ed state initiatives for school vouchers.Undeterred, the voucher advocates becamecharter school advocates and persuaded thelegislature, controlled by Republicans, to cre-ate charter schools. At-risk children were to be a focus. To date, most charter schools existfor the privileged and the lucky. At-risk stu-dents remain where they’ve always been, inthose “failing, government schools.”As a public school teacher, now retired, Iused to believe that if Democrats controlledthe state legislature, the public schools wouldget much-needed funding to compensate forthe many budget reductions over the pastthirty years or more, and Republican fiscalmismanagement. Instead, a preponderanceof Democratic state legislators appear to beignorant of that history and many are nowcharter school champions. When that his-tory is presented to them, it’s dismissed aswhining.So, who, then, will champion the rightsof those students who are left behind inthose “government schools,” those “failingschools?” Charter school supporters, flushwith cash from corporate sugar daddies,have a loud voice this year at the legisla-ture. Children in outdated, crumbling schoolswhere students have literally had the floorcollapse below them, have no sugar daddies.Who champions their cause?Who stands up for the student whosesingle parent, working two or three jobs eachday, is unable, or too tired, to attend a meet-ing where a lottery will be created to deter-mine what students will be admitted to thenearby charter school? How is it determinedwhat names will go into the lottery? Whatdoes it say about this state when the qual-ity of a child’s education is dependent upon being selected by lottery to attend a charterschool? Why not focus upon reforming ALLthe public schools?This school year, Denver Arts andTechnology Academy (DATA), on a failingtrajectory for its nine years of existence, willclose. I believed when it opened, it would ulti-mately fail. And, even before any analysis candetermine reasons for its failure, the DenverBoard of Education has apparently approvedyet another charter school for the same site,Cesar Chavez Academy, that has operateda similar one in Pueblo, but apparently notwithout its own problems. Still, the efforthas powerful friends. Padres Unidos, a localcharter school lobbying group, lent their sup-port. Padres Unidos should be rememberedfor their successful effort to oust Dr. DarleneLeDoux as principal of North High School because the group was unhappy with thepace of reform at North. What followed wastwo years of stagnation and regress under theleadership of principal Jo Ann Trujillo-Hayswho was well meaning, but unsuccessful inher reform movements. So, with that failureto their credit, Padres Unidos, seeks to placea charter school at North as well. I fear thateffort will also ultimately fail, but not withoutDPS spending valuable tax dollars. Who will
Public schools for the many
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