Here's some background on ProComp from the Rocky Mountain News [September 17, 2005, "Statements filed for, against DPS pay plan"]. From the article, "The new pay plan, known as ProComp, would pay teachers based on factors such as improving student achievement and working in challenging schools. It is supported by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and others including Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. Kim Ursetta, president of the teachers' union, disagreed with (Abrán) Sandoval's statement. She pointed to a four-year pilot program that found teachers who wrote clear learning objectives for their students saw improvement. She also said incentives for teachers are based on objective data. For example, factors such as poverty rates are used to define hard-to-staff schools, and any teacher agreeing to work in such schools gets the extra pay."
State Senator Ken Gordon: "There is a provision in Colorado's Constitution that limits the state's ability to provide needed services following a recession. Our spending on services declines during a recession, as it must, but this provision, called the 'ratchet,' will not let us recover after the recession is over. During the last legislative session, Democratic legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Bill Owens reached an agreement on how best to continue providing services such as education, a health-care safety net and roads and bridges. That agreement resulted in Referendums C and D." [Rocky Mountain News, September 17, 2005, "Speakout: Proponents walk state to stress importance of passing Refs C, D"].
Bob Ewegen: "The tide of battle is turning in favor of Referendums C and D on the Nov. 1 ballot. That's due at least as much to the divided and vainglorious opposition than to the supporters of the campaign...C and D are rising in the polls, though the numbers remain close. My secret source, a posting by Dan Willis at Coloradopols.com, reports the numbers are now 48-44 in favor of C and D. That's far from a lock but clear progress over the tiny 43-42 lead Referendum C enjoyed in The Post's August poll."
Peter Blake has some background on mixing campaigning and opposition to Referendum C in his column in today's Rocky [September 17, 2005, "Blake: Is Holtzman skirting campaign rules in ad against Ref C?"].
Category: Denver November 2005 Election
9:12:44 AM 
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