August 27, 2015
Inside: Jeffco Schools Quarterly
VOLUME 92 | ISSUE 2
LakewoodSentinel.com J E F F E R S O N C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O
A publication of
Teachers, district at crucial moment Union, board face decisions that could open door to strike By Crystal Anderson canderson@coloradocommunitymedia.com This week is a momentous one within the Jefferson County School District, which could end up with a relatively stable school year, or an impending teacher strike. Through a series of meetings, teachers in the union are deciding whether or not to ratify a 10-month collective bargaining agreement. If they do, the board of education must then either accept or reject the agreement. Their decisions will directly impact the 46-year relationship the union has had with the district, the jobs of more than 5,000 teachers and Jeffco’s 86,000 students.
City races starting to heat up Divide hinges on issue of continuity of leadership By Clarke Reader creader@coloradocommunitymedia.com This year’s election season in Lakewood actually started last December, and the following eight months have seen 14 candidates enter the field. In the spring, yard signs started popping up like dandelions in residents’ yards and in front of businesses, and they’ve
only flowered as summer waned. And there’s still two months to go. This year’s municipal election will be a big shake-up for the city: In addition to a new mayor after eight years with Bob Murphy, half the council seats will open up due to term limits. Only the Ward 3 race features an incumbent (Pete Roybal). Change is coming to city leadership. Despite the importance of these choices, voter turnout for council elections has been declining in Lakewood. According to information provided
by City Clerk Margy Greer, in the 2011 election there were 106,600 registered voters with 46.98 percent turnout, and in 2013 there were 98,766 registered voters with only 30 percent turnout. “Things get started here so early because there is so much apathy among voters,” said Joe Margotte, owner of Chicago Style Beef and Dogs. Margotte has been involved in countless community projects and organizations, Races continues on Page 5
Project prepares food for Haitian orphanage About 600 volunteers package ingredients for nutritious meals By Tom Munds tmunds@coloradocommunitymedia.com Representatives of three organizations joined forces at the Rocky Mountain Roller Hockey Arena in Lakewood Aug. 22 and, in about four hours, packaged ingredients for thousands of meals being sent to an orphanage for special-needs children in Haiti. Activ8Sports, a Christian sports organization, spearheaded the activity and the enlistment of volunteers, while Rocky Mountain Hockey Arena provided the location, and Feed the Starving Children provided all the materials and ingredients for the events. “We felt this would be a good project for us, and we worked with Justin BaanHofman, who had organized a mobile pack project last year in cooperation with the Feed the Starving Children organization out of Minneapolis,” said Scott Food continues on Page 5
Colton Vigil operated the machine that heat seals the bags of ingredients for ready-tocook meals that will be sent to an orphanage for special needs children in Haiti. Vigil, a Lakewood resident, was among about 600 volunteers who took part in the Feed the Starving Children program called a mobile packing project. The volunteers packed more than 132,000 meals in the afternoon long effort. Photos by Tom Munds
Teacher contract ratification For the past four decades, the Jefferson County Education Association and the Jefferson County School District have come together to create a collective bargaining agreement, serving as a guideline for teachers and administration. However, a new board majority elected in 2013 has fought with the union over many issues. That majority — of Ken Witt, Julie Williams and John Newkirk — is facing a recall election, which has the union’s blessing. This year, negotiators met over the past five months for more than 150 hours to craft a new collective bargaining agreement. On Aug. 6, both parties signed a tentative agreement to accept the document, which has now gone to the union’s full membership for approval. Several teachers said accepting the proposed contract was the right thing to do, but they were disappointed in the 10-month length of the agreement, which is far shorter than a traditional multi-year agreement. “JCEA members should ratify — it gives us protection while we stand by the parents and community during the recall” of the board majority, said Colleen Keefe, a teacher at West Woods Elementary School in Arvada. “WNW (Julie Williams, John Newkirk and Ken Witt) will commit political suicide if they do not ratify the CBA themselves, and there isn’t enough Koch money to buy commercials to do that damage control.” The union’s voting deadline was 8 a.m. Aug. 26, after the newspaper went to press. (For coverage on the decision, go to coloradocommunitymedia.com.) Should the agreement be rejected, union representatives said they would request negotiating teams reconvene to create a new contract the membership could accept. Once accepted by the union, the contract will go to the Teachers continues on Page 5