Blog #3 – Buses & Playing Fair
August 30,
2018
You may have
heard that Sheridan is involved in a lawsuit involving rules for school bus
transportation in Colorado.
Allow me a
moment to offer a bit of background.
In case you
had not noticed, Sheridan is flanked to the north and to the west by two very
large school districts.
In fact, I
worked as a principal in both Denver Public Schools and Jeffco Schools so I know
a thing or two about the relative scale.
Here’s one way to compare Sheridan and Denver.
In Denver, the
school district operates 750 buses.
In Sheridan,
we have nine.
Of course there is far less territory to cover and only five schools here in Sheridan. We are small (but mighty). And that’s one of the things we all love about this district, the small-town flavor right here in the big city.
In Colorado, as I hope most of you know, you can enroll in a school even if you don’t live within the official school district boundaries. This open enrollment makes it possible for parents to choose the best school for their children—for any reason at all.
Students who
live within a district receive a bus ride if they live beyond walking zones set
by the board of education. However, if a student lives outside the school
district then the family provides the ride to school (or uses public
transportation or carpools, something).
In the last
legislative session, right in the closing hours, lawmakers passed a bill that
would turn this simple rule into utter chaos.
The new law would let school buses pick up students anywhere—including across district lines.
In other
words, Denver could send its buses far beyond district boundaries to bring kids
to their schools. (Each student means
money, of course; district funding is determined by the number of students
enrolled.)
Now, which
district would be better equipped if it came to such a free-for-all?
The district
with 9 buses? Or the one with 750?
So Sheridan
recently joined a lawsuit to challenge this law. There were serious problems
with the way the legislation was tacked on to another bill at the last moment;
even Gov. Hickenlooper acknowledged these irregularities when he signed it (and
he did so reluctantly).
There’s a very clear requirement in the state constitution that all bills address a single subject. This transportation change was tacked onto a bill dealing with educational barriers for foster children.
Our partners in the lawsuit are other school districts and individuals—including Jeffco Schools, Englewood, and the Colorado Association of School Executives, among others.
By the way, Jeffco Schools Superintendent Jason Glass called the proposal a potential “seismic shift” in education policy in the state.
I agree. I’d say it’s an 8 on the Richter scale. Yes, a potential earthquake.
We are fighting this issue on the technical aspects of the bill’s drafting process this time around.
If the sponsors of this bill attempt to propose a bill next year that follows proper constitutional procedures and also engages in a full debate on the merits of the idea, we will be happy to look at the proposal and weigh in. In case you’re wondering, we will oppose any idea that does not result in fair competition.
This battle has nothing to do with school choice. We are firm believers in school choice and a parents’ right to pursue what’s best for the needs of their children.
But let’s work together on a level playing field.
Final note: Our share of the legal costs for the lawsuit—a question about this surfaced at a recently board of education meeting—is $3,000. While every expense deserves careful consideration in Sheridan, that’s a small price to ensure that common sense prevails. Let’s keep this issue an earthquake-free zone.