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The News-Press 9
June 27, 2013
School election gearing up By Jane Reuter
jreuter@ourcoloradonews.com More than four months in advance of the Douglas County School District board election, the buzz already is building. Four seats are up for grabs on the now reform-friendly, all-Republican board in November, including those belonging to John Carson, Doug Benevento, Carrie Mendoza and Meghann Silverthorn. Carson is termlimited and cannot run for re-election. Two candidates — Democrat Ronda Scholting and unaffiliated Nicholas Land — filed with the Secretary of State to upend Silverthorn; no other candidates have yet come forward. Silverthorn said she plans to run again. Benevento and Mendoza haven’t yet put their intentions on the record. Regardless, the campaigning to either retain or replace current candidates is underway. Some of it in public. Much of it behind closed doors. The board’s efforts at education reform — including a voucher program, dissolution of the teachers’ union agreement and a pay-for-performance plan — have ignited controversy in the community. The Douglas County Republicans in February set up an education committee with a stated purpose to “recruit school board candidates” and create “strategy for school board election.” A second committee soon will begin interviewing potential board candidates. Former board candidate and DCSD spokeswoman Susan Meek, who is often critical of the board and district, recently announced she’ll devote her time to help candidates she supports get elected. A group called Voices for Public Education, sponsored by anti-school-voucher plaintiffs Taxpayers for Public Education, this month started a series of pro-public education speakers’ events slated to run between now and the election. Another group, originally launched only as a Facebook page called DougCo Champions for Kids, is sponsoring a series of public meetings designed to share the school district’s viewpoints on various issues. “I think there is so much misinformation out there it’s having an effect on teacher morale,” said board supporter Franceen Thompson, a district captain with the Douglas County Republicans and volunteer with DougCo Champions for Kids. “If we can just get the facts out there, and get a better understanding of what’s going on, I think that will help.” Teachers’ union representatives are speaking at house parties about ongoing DCSD issues and the upcoming election. “We talk about what’s happening,” said Brenda Smith, president of the Douglas County Federation teachers’ union. “We
present the information. We talk about our survey, the decline and the culture of climate, the number of teachers that have actually left.” The words of people on both sides of the county’s education issues are serious and often dire in tone. “Our education system in the county is really in danger,” Taxpayers for Public Education president Cindy Barnard, a voucher opponent, said before author Angela Engel launched the Voices series June 18. “In Douglas County, due to our demographics, we are at ground zero for this experiment in public education.” “In my opinion, we can’t afford to lose a single seat. Not one,” Thompson said. Statements both accurate and false are broadcast in public meetings and on a variety of Facebook pages. During a recent Coffee for Conservatives meeting in Franktown, organizer Margo Knutson said the union and its affiliates plan to spend $8 million during the school board elections. Smith said that’s not accurate. “The answer is, I don’t know yet. ... Teachers want a school board member that supports neighborhood schools,” she said. Smith said board members often incorrectly point to the union as the cause of parent-led protests and meetings. The union’s long-standing collective bargaining agreement with the district expired in 2012. “That’s what sells and they think that’s what gives it negativity,” she said. “Union or not, you have a very large population of teachers that are dissatisfied with the direction of the school district. They have a really hard time accepting that fact.” Douglas County Republican chairman Craig Steiner said he will make details about the group’s role in the election public in about a month. Though most board candidates in past elections were Republicans, Steiner said, “We’re not just of one mind.” “The school board’s been doing a lot of good things over the last four years and those things are consistent with what we’d like to see happen in education,” he said. “We’d like to see a school board continue to do those things, and we’re looking for Republicans that are there to support the things the board is trying to do.” Advocates on both sides of the school district issues sometimes use the same phrases to explain their concerns. Meek is among many concerned with district decisions who said she wants to restore the parent voice to the conversation. Thompson, meanwhile, said the atmosphere in the school district has changed for the better under the current administration and board. “Now I think parents have more of a voice than they’ve ever had before,” she said.
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Funeral Facts
J.R. Pinon Olinger Andrews Caldwell Gibson Chapel
Q. What is the best piece of advice you would give someone about funerals? A. Very simply: be prepared. I don’t mean merely expect to have a funeral, but to plan yours in advance – and in detail – with the help of a professional. The most difficult thing we see is families who are not prepared for the loss of a loved one. The surviving family members are forced to create a plan while they mourn, which can make an emotional situation worse. After all, there are over a hundred questions that need to be answered before a funeral can take place. That’s a lot to think about when you should be focused on coming together as a family. A lot of times, this difficulty prompts surviving family members to make plans for themselves, so they can spare their own loved ones from the added grief they just went through. If I could give a single piece of advice, this is what I would recommend to anyone. A plan can help your loved ones cope with the loss far better, allowing them to focus on what’s most important. We offer a free planning guide to help you complete this process, which you can then file with your funeral home so it’s ready when you need it. Jerald “J. R.” Pinon is the Location Manager at Olinger Andrews Caldwell Gibson Chapel, a member of the Dignity Memorial® network serving the Castle Rock community. He frequently offers funeral-related advice and counseling to area families. For information or to ask a question, contact J. R. at 303-688-3191. CastleRk_FF_ JR_Advice_5,04x4,125.indd 1
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