1-Color
March 13, 2014 Douglas County, Colorado | Volume 27, Issue 17 A publication of
highlandsranchherald.net
District survey still being weighed School leaders say implementation must be carefully considered By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com Community members repeatedly have requested a return of the once-annual Douglas County School District parent and employee surveys.
School board president Kevin Larsen recently said the idea is not off the table, but that it must be thoroughly examined. A parent survey has not been done since 2012, and DCSD discounted those results as too small to be statistically valid. Some parents believe the surveys are needed to gauge community satisfaction with the district’s policies and direction, and they again asked for their return during the March 3 Board Unplugged meeting at Parker’s Cimarron Middle School. “It’s something I think we could look at,”
Larsen said after the meeting. “To just say we’re going to do a survey, I think that’s got to be very carefully considered. How do we do that so the results we get from it truly represent the whole community and have meaningful, valid results we can base some things on? It really needs to be cross sectional, representative of everybody’s viewpoints.” Larsen also noted the board was elected based on an education reform platform, and a survey’s results likely wouldn’t prompt a change in direction.
He also said the key components of DCSD’s education reform — including pay-forperformance, the market-based pay scale and other policies — already are in place. “I don’t think we’re going to be dealing with so many changes,” he said. “We’re trying to just refine what we’ve already laid out.” Regardless, the Strong Schools Coalition is among many who continue to advocate for a survey. Coalition president Laura Survey continues on Page 7
Childc are tax credit advances Bill aims to help low-income families with child care costs By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Isaac Johnson, 2, is curious as he traipses around the snow-covered playground at Redstone Park. Temperatures had been in the 50s all week until the March 7 snow.
SNOW PROBLEM
Everett Johnson, 6, takes all the snow with him as he goes down a slide on March 7 at Redstone Park, where he enjoyed a late winter snowfall with his family.
As a relentless snow kept falling, earlier than predicted, in Highlands Ranch, roads and parks were relatively empty on March 7. But the wintery weather didn’t deter Todd Johnson and sons Everett, 6, and Isaac, 2, from suiting up and heading out to Redstone Park to play. Temperatures dropped steadily, raining at a high of 43 degrees after dawn before hitting the freezing mark by afternoon. March is the snowiest month along the Front Range, racking up an average of more than 11 inches. Photos by Hannah Garcia
Apple Award winner teaches skills for a lifetime Journalism educator credits kids for program’s successes By Jane Reuter
jreuter@coloradocommunitymedia.com Mountain Vista High School journalism teacher Mark Newton knows most of his students won’t work in the rapidly changing profession on which he’s focused his life’s work. But he’s confident the skills gleaned through a better understanding of journalism will bolster them on any path they choose. “Sure, I want journalists,” Newton said. “But I realized a long time ago it really doesn’t matter what you’re going to do. I’m working to create people who will use the skills of journalism to set themselves apart in whatever they want to do. They’re going to understand the First Amendment, freedom, responsibility. The skills of journalism are what every employer wants.” That passion for his subject matter and students earned Newton the 2014 Secondary Teacher Apple Award from the Douglas County School District, announced during a March 1 ceremony at the downtown Den-
Mountain Vista High School journalism teacher and Apple Award winner Mark Newton consults with senior and VISTAj copy editor AJ Stowell. Courtesy photo ver Sheraton. The MVHS journalism program, called the VISTAj, includes the yearbook, a broadcast program and a news magazine. The
National Scholastic Press Association selected its Eagle Eye newsmagazine for the 2013Pacemaker Award — its highest honor. Award continues on Page 7
Low-income families who struggle to pay for child care could get some relief, under a Democrat-sponsored bill that cleared its first legislative hurdle on March 5. But Republicans on the House Finance Committee called the effort a “Band Aid” approach to a problem that they believe is not up to government to solve. House Bill 1072 would create child care tax credits to families who make less than $25,000 a year in federally-adjusted gross income. The credit would be equal to 25 percent of a taxpayer’s child care expenses. The new credit — which is capped at $1,000 — would only be available to those who do not qualify for existing child care tax credits that are tied to federal returns. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, a bill sponsor, told the committee that parents in poverty often face two choices — either give up their career endeavors to take care of their children or use a large portion of their incomes to pay for child care. “This bill will increase self-sufficiency by allowing parents to stay in the workforce,” Pettersen said. “Our child care expenses are one of the most expensive in the nation.” Marlana Wallace of the Colorado Fiscal Institute, a nonpartisan economic think tank that supports the legislation, said that Colorado ranks as the fifth least affordable state for infant care and that child care costs often soak up as much as half of a lowincome family’s income. Only those who support the legislation provided testimony, including Megan Smith, an Alamosa single mother of a 7-year-old child. Smith said she moved to Colorado from Chicago to attend Adams State University five years ago and that she initially struggled to pay for child care. Smith said that she now has a good-paying job with the university and currently wouldn’t qualify for the tax credit. However, she told committee members that she remembers what it was like to struggle and that she hopes the legislation could help others going forward. “If I had that kind of assistance... it would have been a huge impact,” she said. “Every little bit helps.” Supporters of the bill said the legislation would fix a loophole that disqualifies many low-income families from receiving a tax Care continues on Page 8
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