State House Republicans today blasted the House Democrat Leadership for blocking efforts to make the Governor's Council for Educator Effectiveness more transparent and open to the public.
“These are important meetings for the future of education in Colorado and it's incredible to me that anyone would want to keep these meetings from being as transparent as possible,” said House Republican Caucus Chair Amy Stephens. “These meetings should be broadcast far and wide so that all stakeholders, parents, teachers and community members can follow these critical conversations.”
Three of the four members of the House Services Committee agreed to allow meetings of the Council to be held at the capitol and broadcast online. However, Rep. Tom Massey, was informed that Democrat leadership in the House intervened to prevent the Council from being granted that ability.
The Council's initial meetings have been held at the offices of the Colorado Education Association in Denver and have not been broadcast. The CEA vocally opposed the bipartisan teacher and principal effectiveness bill that created the Council in state statute, Senate Bill 191, sponsored by Rep. Carole Murray, R-Castle Rock.
“Why would these meetings be held at the offices of a special interest organization that has been openly hostile toward increasing accountability in our schools?" asked Murray. “These meetings shouldn't just be open to people who live in Denver. Our teachers across the state should be able to attend and share their feelings honestly without fear of being intimidated by union bosses.”
House Education Committee Ranking Republican Tom Massey, also a member of the House Services Committee, said he was surprised that leadership intervened in the decision.
"This is a decision that the House Services Committee had purview over and a majority of the members of the Committee saw no problem with allowing these meetings to be broadcast from the capitol,” said Massey. “It will be very disappointing if politics ends up trumping transparency, especially on an issue as important as the education of our children.”
The next Council meeting is scheduled for Friday, August 20.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
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