If you were out and about yesterday afternoon during rush hour, you probably saw the hundreds of protesters at the intersection of Wadsworth and Alameda in downtown Lakewood.In fact, they were part of a larger group of over a thousand parents, teachers, and community members who lined Wadsworth Boulevard from 104th Ave in the north all the way to Chatfield Avenue in the south.
The sight of so many people out on the street appeared to impress commuters, large numbers of whom honked their car horns in support-- indeed, the honking of car horns was so loud that it could be heard three blocks away in the Belmar plaza. It continued for hours without pause.
The protesters were there to express their unease with recent actions by the Jeffco Board of Education, which is currently split 3-2 between a majority of three hard right conservatives and two more traditionally non-partisan board members. Among the concerns voiced by protesters were the way the board majority dismissed Jeffco's longtime, award-winning superintendent Cindy Stevenson, their decision to divert $3.7 million away from neighborhood schools and into charter schools, and a feeling that the selection of Dougco's Dan McMinimee to be Jeffco's new superintendent portends an era of radical change.
For decades, Jeffco's quality public schools have been a big part of why people have made the choice to live in Lakewood. Controversy, partisan agendas, and public anger have never been part of the equation-- until now.
Yikes!
It was a low turnout election. The school board majority got in with the votes of just 18% of registered Jeffco voters. So sad...
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ReplyDeletePlease be careful with your facts. I was one of the teachers out there, but we don't need to create hostility by posting incorrect information. This is a time that calls for us to mind our Ps and Qs, as the conservative backing for our board consistently uses incorrect information to further their cause, i.e. Julie Williams cute little posterboard. labeled "How much do they need" asserting that in Jeffco we have $11,000 per student (fact: it is actually closer to $6,500, and my mother just mentioned to me that, back in Illinois, they have a whopping $24,000! and why more money per student is a bad thing, I just really am at a loss to guess), that we teachers only have 20 students per class - A GROSS MISCALCULATION (I taught 6th grade at Stein Elementary, and few of those classes had only 20 kids, aside from interventionist classes which HAVE TO BE SMALL - I myself taught 32 in my room: that's 32 HIGH NEEDS, LOW INCOME, MINORITY students, and even 20 is often too many to really meet student needs) and, the most heinous of her miscalculations: that the average Jeffco teacher salary is $75,000!!!! WHAAAAAATTT??? I want to recruit my fellow teachers to join me in sending this woman our pay stubs. BEFORE TAXES, my salary is 33,000. I'm still $30,000 in debt from the state university I went to. I room share to save on rent. I do not spend frivolous amounts of money. I work my BUTT off, and am still living paycheck to paycheck. I want to ask her how much SHE MAKES and how much SHE NEEDS. She has never been a teacher either.
ReplyDeleteBut back to this article: "Among the concerns voiced by protesters were the way the board majority dismissed Jeffco's longtime, award-winning superintendent Cindy Stevenson" - they did NOT in fact, dismiss her. They DID run their campaign on the idea of firing her, but she resigned of her own will, because she could not make any headway or come to any agreements with this stubborn board majority. These people attack any little inconsistency they see. We are smart enough to avoid these oversights. Incorrect information, no matter how slight, is not going to help us right now. We are asking for honesty, respect, transparency and accountability. That means we must be exemplars of these traits/virtues, and not give this Dougco mentality wiggle room to sneak in anywhere.