Legislative session wraps with tenure bill's passage

Aurora legislators reflect on bills cleared and killed

By SARA CASTELLANOS
The Aurora Sentinel
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
http://aurorasentinel.com/articles/2010/05/12/news/doc4beb4ef68e8e3388619197.txt

AURORA | Colorado lawmakers ended the final day of their legislative session by passing a bill that will change the way education officials are evaluated - one of the most contentious proposals introduced this year.

The bill's passage Wednesday means that half of teachers' evaluations will be based on performance, and the other half will be based on students' growth on standardized test.

It will also change teacher tenure rules so that evaluations for tenured teachers will become more frequent, and they'd lose their tenure status if they received two consecutive "ineffective" ratings.

The House approved the legislation on a 36-29 vote on third reading Wednesday morning, and it passed out of the Senate with bipartisan support on a final vote of 27–8.

Opponents of the bill say it would increase the number of teacher jobs lost, while supporters say it would strengthen the state's faulty education system.

"This is an unfunded mandate," said Margie Adams, parent to a Cherry Creek Schools student. "We don't have any money, we have cut so many programs, and then to go back and ask us to come up with a way to evaluate all teachers is just wrong."

The bill was co-sponsored by several lawmakers, including state Sens. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, and Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, who represent parts of Aurora.

"We have to think about what's best for all our students, and the passage of this bill will put us on the right track to make positive changes for the students in Colorado," Spence said before she cast her vote. "It will offer the opportunity to get a great teacher and a great principal in every school in Colorado."

Rep. Nancy Todd, D-Aurora, staunchly opposed the bill.

In other end-of-session activity, a bill to regulate the more than 1,000 existing medical marijuana dispensaries in the state was passed Tuesday. The bill, which allow cities to ban dispensaries at their discretion, was another contentious proposal that was hotly debated in the Capitol.

Some of the other noteworthy bills that were passed during this year's legislative session were the bills that lifted existing corporate tax loopholes, credits and exemptions. They also included taxes on soda, candy and Internet sales.

Republicans were adamantly opposed to those bills, but they would save the state about $2 billion per year according to data from state spokespeople.

"The Democrat majority passed 14 separate tax increases, including taxes on senior citizens, Internet commerce and a range of restaurant foods," said Rep. David Balmer, R-Aurora, in a statement. "I strongly opposed these tax increases that will cost Colorado jobs."

The Legislature also passed a bill that will cut more than $300 million from K-12 education.

A proposal to cap annual interest rates on payday loans at 45 percent, down from the 300 percent annual interest that payday lenders typically charge, will also head to Gov. Bill Ritter's desk for final approval.

But not all of the bills put forward by local legislators will have a chance to become law this year.

A bill that would have banned American Indian mascots in high schools and the proposal that would have allowed a supermarket to buy the license of a neighboring liquor store from its owners were both killed this session.

State Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, introduced several bills this session regarding regulations for the quasi-governmental agency, Pinnacol, a Denver-based workers' compensation insurance fund company.

Some of her bills were passed, including the proposal that will provide notice to injured workers about what their rights are, and the bill that would prohibit financial kickbacks to encourage denial of claims and medical care.

"The progress we've made from the status quo has been pretty successful," Carroll said. "It's a very significant improvement for injured workers."

Carroll's proposal that would have required reasonable standards for when it is appropriate to conduct surveillance of injured workers was killed this year.

Carroll's bill to prevent developers from using public subsidies to build on empty, agricultural land that is in good condition passed earlier in the session and awaits Ritter's signature.

She said this was the most challenging legislative year she has experienced.

"This is the toughest budget year I've seen," she said. "We've had to do very harmful cuts. It was a very contentious and difficult session, and a very tough one when people start to feel the impacts of the budget cuts."

Printable Version of this Page