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October 2, 2015 VO LUM E 1 4 | IS S U E 45 | FREE
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Board hopefuls don’t diverge sharply Three take part in forum for Littleton Public Schools seat
By Jennifer Smith jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com Candidate Robert Reichardt probably summed up the race for Littleton Public Schools Board of Education best: “This is three 50-year-old white guys.” Indeed, their answers to questions put to them during a Sept. 22 forum at Littleton High School, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, revealed very few differences between Reichardt, Richard Boorom and Jim Stephens. They all have kids who have gone through the district and have spent time volunteering in classrooms and district-level committees. They all say they support the teachers, and that “pay for performance” is a flawed plan. They all say vouchers are unnecessary in LPS
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because there’s already plenty of school choice. They agree that Common Core has value, though much of it has been usurped by politics. And they all stress that they’re in no way trying to turn the district into the battlegrounds Jefferson and Douglas counties have become, and that partisanship should be left at the door of the boardroom. “It doesn’t really have a role, but it’s not realistic because we all have biases,” said Boorom, who has been the president of the for-profit Argosy University
in Denver for the last five years. “But if the purpose is really all about the kids … I believe the best way to influence the lives of our learners is through our teachers.” Reichardt, an education-policy analyst whose mother was a teacher, agreed. He called “picking fights” with teachers unions “silly.” “There’s no place for partisan politics, but there’s a lot of room for debate,” he said. “We should talk and debate about what’s best for kids. This is a scary time for parents and children, and it’s a scary time for voters.” Stephens, a retired technical consultant who chaired the district’s successful mill-levy campaign in 2013, said the culture throughout LPS has been about kids first, not politics, since a “Back to Basics” slate got elected in 1993. It was promptly replaced by voters four years later. “We honor all voices,” said Stephens. “We had a very interesting experience in the 1990s when we stopped doing that,
and we’re not going back there.” The three men did offer different answers when asked what their first priorities would be. “I think the low-hanging fruit that would have the biggest impact the most quickly is internal communication, telling our own successes,” said Boorom, who lives in Littleton’s Coventry neighborhood. A benefit, he said, is that if more people knew LPS has the same programs as better-advertised ones in neighboring districts, students wouldn’t be lost to them. Reichert, who lives in Littleton’s Aberdeen Village neighborhood, said the district could be more parent-friendly. He said no-student days can create havoc for parents and could be made more convenient for them, and that more guidance could be given to parents wondering which school would be the
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If you don’t try new things, you’ll never push that envelope to stand out.” Rob Hanna, South Suburban executive director
Golf courses and parks, like deKoevend Park in Centennial, are among the facilities that will now be overseen by SSPR’s new Executive Director Rob Hanna. Photo illustration
South Suburban chief Rob Hanna hopes to turn good into great at the district By Jennifer Smith jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com
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ob Hanna might be considered a bit of an oddity among staff and board members of South Suburban Parks and Recreation District: He’s bad at golf. “I’m a terrible golfer,” laughs the district’s new executive director. “I’ve managed courses for 20 years, but I can’t break 100.” He now oversees four of them, plus a disc-golf course, along with all the district’s facilities, parks, trails and open space. And though he and his family are active — two teenage boys keep them busy with baseball, football and lacrosse — his career arose more out of a love of planning than for recreation. “I was on the city-manager track,” he said. “There just really wasn’t an opportunity on the Front Range that interested me. … Then when I read the article about Dave Lorenz retiring, I thought this would be the best of both worlds. It’s a perfect fit.” Hanna was the director of parks, recreation and golf for the Town of Castle Rock before the SSPR board of directors voted unanimously to hire him on June 17. “We are excited that Rob will be leading South SuburTurf continues on Page 11