Herald Highlands Ranch 4/4/13
Highlands Ranch
Douglas County, Colorado • Volume 26, Issue 20
April 4, 2013
A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourhighlandsranchnews.com
Overhaul of school finance advances Republicans balk at $1 billion cost By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
Backcountry Wilderness Area equine ambassadors Bella, left, and Buster get in the Easter spirit March 30 at the HRCA Easter-egg hunt at Northridge Park.
Horses, bunnies and eggs, oH my! photos by ryan boldrey
Five-year-old twins Piper, left, and Ellie McSkimin spend some quality time with the Easter Bunny following the yearly festivities at Northridge Park.
This year’s Highlands Ranch Community Association Easter-egg hunt once again brought a crowd to Northridge Park, where young ones raced around the scene to grab colored eggs. Families got pictures with the Easter Bunny as well as with Bella and Buster, the Backcountry Wilderness Area’s two Percheron draft horses, which were in full Easter spirit with dyed pink and green manes and tails.
Commissioners reclaim library appointments Trustees to be recommended, approved by elected officials By Rhonda Moore
rmoore@ourcoloradonews.com The Douglas County commissioners took over the process of nominating and appointing library trustees, with a 3-0 vote at the March 26 commissioners’ meeting. Prior to the change, the Douglas County Library District Board of Trustees had, since the early 1990s, recommended new appointments for ratification by commissioners. With adoption of the new policy, two of the three commissioners will act as a nomination committee for new trustees when positions open, and a two-thirds majority vote of the commissioners will be required to approve the recommendation. The commissioners’ decision was preceded by nearly two hours of public comment, most of it critical of their proposal. Of the handful of people who supported the commissioners’ decision, half were rejected library trustee applicants, or were related to someone who applied but was not selected as a trustee. The now-discarded process of the library board handling its own nominations is one
of two protocols allowed under state law, which prohibits an elected trustee board. The second option is to have county commissioners appoint trustees, as they do with the planning commission and other pub- Repella lic volunteer boards and commissions. Critics of the commissionerappointed process fear it will politicize the library board. Commissioners adopted the process to create greater accountability to taxpayers, said Commissioner Jill Repella, District 3. “The first thing that goes through my mind and my heart is how disappointed I am that the word `politics’ is being thrown around in this issue,” Repella said. “This is about governance to me. It is a very large budget of taxpayer dollars. If something goes wrong, I ask who’s responsible. “Ideally a separate government should be an elected body,” she said. “This is the only connection to an elected body the citizens have. We are taking it from a weak link to a stronger link.” The commissioners’ solution was to create the two-commissioner nomination committee for a trustee nomination. The committee will submit its recommendation
to the three-member board of county commissioners for ratification. The commissioners’ resolution was designed to mirror the provisions allowed in state statute, said county spokeswoman Wendy Holmes. The prevailing concern was that its effect could change the future of the library district. “The library board of trustees doesn’t need fixing,” said Carla Turner of Larkspur. “There is no evidence that a change in protocol or procedure is going to add any value to the process or improve the number one library in the nation.” Commissioner Jack Hilbert, who in past weeks expressed discontent with the controversial viewpoints expressed by library director Jamie LaRue, made no comments at the March 26 public hearing. LaRue’s wife, Suzanne LaRue, pointed out the positive gains made at the district, despite adverse economic conditions. “We have gotten through the recession in a manner that is the envy of every library in the country,” LaRue said. “Even libraries in Arapahoe County and Denver are laying off people. We have services that serve the needs of everyone. I think (commissioners) should investigate the library’s board and how they do things in the selection process and see there is nothing shady going on there.”
A bill that would lead to immense changes in how Colorado schools are financed passed the Democratic-controlled state Senate on April 2, following a partyline vote. Democrats see the “School Finance Act” as an opportunity to modernize an antiquated school finance formula, and to create a more equitable structure by which districts are funded. But Republicans argue that Report the 200-page bill does nothing to put in place the reforms that the state’s education system needs. And they cringe at the $1 billion price tag that accompanies it. Senate Bill 213 would fund full-day kindergarten, provide preschool for at-risk children, and would increase needs-based programs for special education and for students who are learning English. The bill also expands funding for students who are involved in gifted and talented programs at schools, and it gives school districts the opportunity to have extended school years and school days, if they choose to do so. In addition, the bill would make changes
Capitol
Schools continues on Page 12
New member joins Metro District board Background includes much special district experience By Ryan Boldrey
rboldrey@ourcoloradonews.com John Warnick has been appointed to the Highlands Ranch Metro District board of directors to fill a seat vacated by Kelly O’Sullivan, who resigned in February. Warnick, one of two candidates who challenged O’Sullivan for her seat in the May 2012 election, was appointed by the board out of a pool of four candidates who expressed interest in serving the southwest district after O’Sullivan’s resignation. Warnick An owner of a construction management business, Warnick has master’s degrees from the University of Denver in construction management as well as real estate with an emphasis in finance. He moved to Highlands Ranch in December 2011, but has an extensive backWarnick continues on Page 12
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