April 17, 2014
50 cents Jefferson County, Colorado | Volume 30, Issue 42 A publication of
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School funding measures move forward House passes bills pumping $500 million into K-12 By Vic Vela
vvela@coloradocommunitymedia.com A pair of funding measures that will provide schools with nearly $500 million in new revenue passed the House with bipartisan support last week. Although the bills received Republican votes, several House GOP members raised concerns that the efforts don’t go far enough in backfilling recession-era budget cuts, or giving school districts more control over financial and transparency matters. The bills passed the House on April 10, with lawmakers first giving overwhelming bipartisan support to the Student Success Act. The bill would provide $20 million aimed at helping kids meet mandated third-grade reading standards and adds
$13 million in funding for charter school facilities. The bill also incorporates $40 million in retail marijuana revenue that will go toward school construction in rural parts of the state. The legislation will also provide schools with $110 million of the money that was stripped away by the Legislature during lean budget years. “(The bill) begins the process of rebuilding K-12 funding that was struck hard during the past five years of Colorado’s recession, within the parameters of our current state budget,” said Rep. Millie Hamner, D-Dillon, a bill sponsor. The House also passed the annual School Finance act. The bill increases perpupil funding by 2.8 percent; funds an additional 5,000 seats for preschool and fullday kindergarten programs; and pumps $30 million into English language learning programs.
The House passed the Student Success Act on a 51-14 vote and the School Finance Act by a vote of 39-26. Lawmakers who voted against the bills were Republicans. House Republicans tried pulling money from reading and early childhood education programs, so that school districts could have greater flexibility in how the funds are spent, with few strings attached. “The school districts said, ‘Give us the money with no strings attached. Give us the money to decide how to use it ourselves,’ “ said House Minority Leader Brian DelGrosso, R-Loveland, during the School Finance Act debate. The Republican efforts failed, with members from the majority party arguing that it’s wrong to strip funding from the programs that need it. “Yes, every school district wants their money, but you and I are responsible about the future of Colorado,” said Rep. Sue Schafer, D-Wheat Ridge.
Republicans also spent a great deal of time arguing against a Democrat-sponsored amendment aimed at providing greater transparency over how school districts are spending state dollars. Republicans offered a softer transparency amendment, out of concern that Democrats were burdening school districts with too many requirements. That effort failed. Rep. Carole Murray, R-Castle Rock, a Student Success Act bill sponsor, was one of two Republicans to vote for the School Finance Act and the only one to vote for both school-funding bills. Murray told her Republican colleagues that she understands their concerns on those issues, but that she and others worked hard to “come up with the best possible bill we can.” “This is an amazing product that we have all been part of together,” Murray said.
Traffic plan speeds up By Hugh Johnson
Oz Snowboards proprietor, Adam Browning, and craftsman, Logan Silbert, stand in their warehouse, proudly showing off two of their creations, a regular snow board and a split board. Photo by Crystal Anderson
FOR A RIDE
Colorado-based manufacturer uses passion and innovation to craft snowboards By Crystal Anderson
canderson@ coloradocommunitymedia.com Adam Browning lives out his passions every day. Browning, the owner of Oz Snowboards, 4880 Robb St. No. 6, began living out his passion for snowboarding four years ago when he submerged himself into the industry. By teaching himself how to build
equipment, such as molds and snowboard presses, from scratch and testing out new shapes and designs on the mountain, Browning created his own boutique-style snowboard manufacturing company. “I’d bury myself in the industry, looking at pictures — it was fascinating to me trying to figure out how to make snowboards,” he said. “It comes down to doing something you really enjoy and it’s fun to learn about it. Over the course of a few years, Browning developed an innovative design concept, using aerospace-grade carbon fiber, which has separated himself and his company, from his competitors. “There’s no book out there that teaches
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you how to do it,” Browning said. “We have to build a better board off the bat to even compete because we’re scrutinized immediately.” Specializing in splitboards and snowboards, each product is handcrafted and designed by Browning and his team, using a tri-axial carbon fiber, USDA bio-renewable epoxy resin, a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified poplar core, and recycled plastics to create a light, fast, and flexible board. “The handmade quality is something different,” said Logan Silbert, an avid snowboarder and member of Oz Snowboard’s crew. “It’s definitely something different when you can ride something you’ve made yourself.” The company currently has five designs, VariX, Merican, Flobow, CQ and G-Pow, each based off of Browning’s 25 years of riding experience and made to complement the rider, fit the style of boarding and the riding conditions, such all-mountain, back country, rocker and park and pike. “The best way to describe our boards is that they’re well thought out,” Browning Pow continues on Page 7
Wheat Ridge city council discussed implementing the Neighborhood Traffic Management Program at the April 7 study session. Council opted to bring the issue to a vote at a future meeting. Speeding on residential streets in Wheat Ridge has caused some Wheat Ridge residents to complain to law enforcement. While the police department has done what it can in the past, a lack of resources and funding has limited the city’s ability to address the safety issues fully. The Neighborhood Traffic Management Program, or NTMP, would allow the city to allocate funds to mitigating traffic concerns and establish a public process for handling complaints. A few residents were on hand to describe their experiences. Kristine Disney who lives on Balsam street has been timing cars that speed by her house. She said that she got a petition signed by all but three neighbors residing on her street from 38th to 41st in favor of mitigating the speeding problem. “I was going to have you all close your eyes and visualize that you’re out in your yard and you’re working in your yard and you’re seeing cars going by that are going faster than 25 mph and try to imagine what that might feel like for yourself,” she said. With the NTMP in place, residents will have a few more options. They can request law enforcement provide neighborhood education or place temporary hindrances in place to mollify the issue and remind drivers to be more careful. These options include increased law enforcement and the use of speed display trailers, although there are only two trailers so there may be a waiting period. If a neighborhood wishes to install permanent traffic calming devices such as speed bumps or islands they must first write a letter and get five signatures. Afterwards the city will evaluate the area to test the validity of the claim. NTMP also introduces neighborhood meetings where the residents can discuss possible solutions. Finally, residents must create a petition with 80 percent of the property owners in accordance. Tim Fitzgerald, councilman of district three, advocated a balanced approach to the program as many Wheat Ridge residents use residential streets to commute from north to south and vice versa. Council will vote on the issue at a future meeting, discussing city funding and purchasing more speed trailers.