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The Colorado State Board of Education today announced its priorities for the 2009 session of the General Assembly, focusing on ways to stabilize and increase funding and improve data gathering and analysis.
The priorities are:
1. Efforts to improve the "long-term financial stability" of education funding and develop a "comprehensive school finance solution";
2. Additional funding to improve the state Department of Education's data and information systems and personnel, with a goal of fostering "efficient data sharing";
3. Revisions of the required format for the annual School Accountability Report and changes to the state's school accreditation provisions to reconcile public reporting and actions required by these state accountability provisions and those mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act;
4. Continued funding for implementation of "proven, evidence-based programs and strategies for closing the achievement gap";
5. Expansion of "effective dropout prevention and recovery strategies";
6. Completion of a thorough review of model content standards prior to the adoption of any new statewide assessment tools;
7. Continued development and oversight of high-quality online programs, schools of choice, and other educational innovations to ensure strong student results;
8. Increased access to early childhood education and family literacy programs; and
9. Increases in the state's Permanent Fund, maximization of trust income, exemption of school trust land revenues from the Taxpayers Bill of Rights.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Ritter Says State to Get Grant to Help With Renewable Energy Transformation
Gov. Bill Ritter announced today that the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) has been selected to receive a $397,700 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance renewable energy in Colorado.
GEO will use the grant to develop technical, financial and policy frameworks to expedite the construction of an additional 1,000 megawatts of renewable resource capacity onto the Colorado electricity grid.
“This DOE grant is another important step forward for Colorado’s New Energy Economy,” Ritter said. “It will help us connect Colorado’s abundant solar and wind resources to our transmission grid."
The objectives of the nine-month grant are to prepare a set of concrete policy recommendations that will:
(1) directly address major permitting, siting and environmental barriers to the integration of renewable energy development and transmission expansion;
(2) connect several gigawatts of renewable energy from the 10 Renewable Resource Generation Development Areas identified in a 2007 “mapping” report conducted for the governor’s office and state legislature;
(3) support both regulated and public utilities to expand the current level of planned transmission investments to the Generation Development Areas; and
(4) be replicable in other states to substantially expand and create an aggregated, regional, renewable energy market.
One thousand megawatts of renewable energy will provide enough power to serve 330,000 homes.
The governor's office did not indicate when the federal grant would actually be received by the state.
GEO will use the grant to develop technical, financial and policy frameworks to expedite the construction of an additional 1,000 megawatts of renewable resource capacity onto the Colorado electricity grid.
“This DOE grant is another important step forward for Colorado’s New Energy Economy,” Ritter said. “It will help us connect Colorado’s abundant solar and wind resources to our transmission grid."
The objectives of the nine-month grant are to prepare a set of concrete policy recommendations that will:
(1) directly address major permitting, siting and environmental barriers to the integration of renewable energy development and transmission expansion;
(2) connect several gigawatts of renewable energy from the 10 Renewable Resource Generation Development Areas identified in a 2007 “mapping” report conducted for the governor’s office and state legislature;
(3) support both regulated and public utilities to expand the current level of planned transmission investments to the Generation Development Areas; and
(4) be replicable in other states to substantially expand and create an aggregated, regional, renewable energy market.
One thousand megawatts of renewable energy will provide enough power to serve 330,000 homes.
The governor's office did not indicate when the federal grant would actually be received by the state.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Scanlan to DC to Talk Bark Beetles
West Slope Rep. Christine Scanlan (D-Summit County) is headed to the nation's capital to argue for more money to help Colorado fight the bark beetle epidemic that is killing large numbers of coniferous trees in the state's high elevation forests.
There is growing evidence that the bark beetle problem could spread across the west if not effectively addressed. Some experts have said that dead tree stands pose a threat of devastating wildfire and create hazards sufficient to jeopardize the region’s vital infrastructure.
“We’ve worked very hard the last two years to educate the public about the bark beetle scourge and to address the problem as best we can with our limited resources,” Scanlan said at a press conference in Keystone on Sunday. “We’ve been as creative as possible. But at some point duct tape just isn’t enough. Congress needs to supply the hammer and nails.”
Scanlan, who vice-chairs the state interim committee on wildfires, will be meeting with members of Congress and the U.S. Forest service next week in support of a request for additional resources to mitigate the bark beetle emergency.
Scanlan will join Rick Cables, Chief Forester for the Rocky Mountain Region, and Jeff Jahnke, the Colorado State Forester and Director of the Colorado State Forest Service in Washington.
At the request of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Cables compiled an estimate detailing the funding needed to address the bark beetle emergency more aggressively. He estimates millions of dollars are needed to mitigate the threat to human life, property and to protect vital infrastructure and resources, including the power grid and various watersheds. Additional resources will be applied to treating affected areas by quarantining and removing diseased and dead trees as quickly as possible.
The mountain pine beetle infestation, which is expected to last for another 3 to 5 years, is already having a devastating impact: 1.5 million acres are already affected. 38 recreation sites remained closed this summer because of the infestation and 3,500 miles of roads and additional 950 miles of trails are under threat of closure.
During the previous two years, a bipartisan group of lawmakers have worked to pass a variety of measures expanding mitigation and protecting Colorado’s watersheds and infrastructure through quarantine and deforestation efforts. The legislature has also created incentives to encourage industry to take advantage of the additional volume created by the epidemic.
The pine beetle epidemic is expected to kill nearly all the lodgepole pine covering 2.2 million acres in the region. The infestation of the insects, which are not dying in winter because temperatures in recent years are not as cold as they have historically been, has moved to lower elevations in the past year and now threatens Colorado’s ponderosa pine forests.
There is growing evidence that the bark beetle problem could spread across the west if not effectively addressed. Some experts have said that dead tree stands pose a threat of devastating wildfire and create hazards sufficient to jeopardize the region’s vital infrastructure.
“We’ve worked very hard the last two years to educate the public about the bark beetle scourge and to address the problem as best we can with our limited resources,” Scanlan said at a press conference in Keystone on Sunday. “We’ve been as creative as possible. But at some point duct tape just isn’t enough. Congress needs to supply the hammer and nails.”
Scanlan, who vice-chairs the state interim committee on wildfires, will be meeting with members of Congress and the U.S. Forest service next week in support of a request for additional resources to mitigate the bark beetle emergency.
Scanlan will join Rick Cables, Chief Forester for the Rocky Mountain Region, and Jeff Jahnke, the Colorado State Forester and Director of the Colorado State Forest Service in Washington.
At the request of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, Cables compiled an estimate detailing the funding needed to address the bark beetle emergency more aggressively. He estimates millions of dollars are needed to mitigate the threat to human life, property and to protect vital infrastructure and resources, including the power grid and various watersheds. Additional resources will be applied to treating affected areas by quarantining and removing diseased and dead trees as quickly as possible.
The mountain pine beetle infestation, which is expected to last for another 3 to 5 years, is already having a devastating impact: 1.5 million acres are already affected. 38 recreation sites remained closed this summer because of the infestation and 3,500 miles of roads and additional 950 miles of trails are under threat of closure.
During the previous two years, a bipartisan group of lawmakers have worked to pass a variety of measures expanding mitigation and protecting Colorado’s watersheds and infrastructure through quarantine and deforestation efforts. The legislature has also created incentives to encourage industry to take advantage of the additional volume created by the epidemic.
The pine beetle epidemic is expected to kill nearly all the lodgepole pine covering 2.2 million acres in the region. The infestation of the insects, which are not dying in winter because temperatures in recent years are not as cold as they have historically been, has moved to lower elevations in the past year and now threatens Colorado’s ponderosa pine forests.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Ritter Criticizes Federal EIS on Oil Shale Development
Gov. Bill Ritter criticized the final environmental impact statement issued by the U.S. Department of Interior in connection with proposed oil shale development in the state today, saying the program is inconsistent with Colorado's commitment to renewable energy and that the Bush Administration is not cooperating with his administration.
"The Bush Administration is engaging in last-minute maneuvering in its waning days rather than developing a comprehensive, meaningful and responsible long-term energy policy for America’s future," Ritter said. "Finalizing an Environmental Impact Statement without any clear understanding of the environmental, community, economic and energy impacts of commercial-scale oil shale development is irresponsible, short-sighted and premature."
Ritter emphasized that his administration is not opposed to all energy development.
“As the national debate over America’s energy future continues, we must be clear that Colorado is committed to helping meet America’s energy needs," Ritter said. "We are issuing about 35 new oil and gas drilling permits a day. We are building a New Energy Economy that is bringing thousands of new jobs to Colorado. And our research institutions are developing cutting-edge, new energy technologies."
“But with the Department of Interior’s action today, the federal government has once again failed to act as a responsible partner for Colorado. This does nothing to address gas prices at the pump today and has the potential to do much more harm than good.”
"The Bush Administration is engaging in last-minute maneuvering in its waning days rather than developing a comprehensive, meaningful and responsible long-term energy policy for America’s future," Ritter said. "Finalizing an Environmental Impact Statement without any clear understanding of the environmental, community, economic and energy impacts of commercial-scale oil shale development is irresponsible, short-sighted and premature."
Ritter emphasized that his administration is not opposed to all energy development.
“As the national debate over America’s energy future continues, we must be clear that Colorado is committed to helping meet America’s energy needs," Ritter said. "We are issuing about 35 new oil and gas drilling permits a day. We are building a New Energy Economy that is bringing thousands of new jobs to Colorado. And our research institutions are developing cutting-edge, new energy technologies."
“But with the Department of Interior’s action today, the federal government has once again failed to act as a responsible partner for Colorado. This does nothing to address gas prices at the pump today and has the potential to do much more harm than good.”
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Ritter Orders Flags Lowered to Honor Slain Prosecutor
Gov. Bill Ritter today ordered U.S. and Colorado flags lowered to half-staff across the state on Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008, to honor the death of prosecutor Sean May.
May’s funeral is set for 11 a.m. Thursday in the Temple Buell Theatre at the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
May, 37, was killed Aug. 27 outside his Denver home. He was a chief trial deputy in the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which serves Adams and Broomfield counties. He worked for the DA’s Office for seven years.
His wife, Corin, is pregnant with their first child. Donations may be made to the Sean May Memorial Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank branch.
May’s funeral is set for 11 a.m. Thursday in the Temple Buell Theatre at the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
May, 37, was killed Aug. 27 outside his Denver home. He was a chief trial deputy in the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which serves Adams and Broomfield counties. He worked for the DA’s Office for seven years.
His wife, Corin, is pregnant with their first child. Donations may be made to the Sean May Memorial Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank branch.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
AG Sues U.S. Department of Defense on Behalf of DPHE
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment today filed suit in U.S. District Court requesting the court require the U.S. Department of Defense, its Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment Program and the Department of the Army to treat and destroy chemical weapons stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot by Dec. 31, 2017.
The lawsuit comes after the respondents notified the state of their intention to appeal an Administrative Order issued by the state on June 17, 2008.
The lawsuit requests the court grant the same remedies as were indicated in the order. The state’s order called for the destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile by Dec. 31, 2017, four years earlier than the Department of Defense’s current proposed date of Dec. 31, 2021. The order also required that secondary waste currently stored under a separate permit be treated and destroyed by the same date of Dec. 31, 2017.
“Given recurring delays by the Department of Defense for completing treatment and destruction of these wastes, the division is seeking an enforceable schedule for their timely treatment," Gary Baughman, director of the Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division at the state Department of Public Health and Environment,
said. "We believe the 2017 deadline is more than reasonable to complete treatment and
destruction of the chemical weapons.”
The order and the lawsuit both require the military to file a chemical waste treatment plan within 60 days of the effective date of the final decision.
This plan will describe the methods to be used to treat and destroy all hazardous waste weapons and other agent wastes at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.
A chemical waste treatment plan also requires a complete project schedule depicting the tasks required for the destruction of the wastes by Dec. 31, 2017. Some of these tasks then could be designated by DPHE as enforceable milestones in the waste treatment plan.
The chemical weapons contain mustard agent, an acutely toxic hazardous waste causing severe skin and lung inflammation, which is known to cause cancer and birth defects.
Long-term storage of hazardous waste is prohibited under state hazardous waste regulations, except when additional quantities of the waste are required to facilitate proper treatment or when an alternate schedule for its treatment is in place under a compliance order.
According to the compliance order, the mustard agent-filled weapons are not being stored for the purpose of accumulating adequate quantities for appropriate treatment, as the Pueblo Chemical Depot currently stores hundreds of thousands of waste chemical weapons at the site.
In 2002, the Department of Defense decided to destroy weapons at the Pueblo Depot by chemically neutralizing the mustard agent and then biologically treating the resulting waste. A contractor was selected to design and build the facility, the first phase of Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant permitting was completed, and construction of the plant was scheduled to begin. Under the initial design and operating plans for the facility, destruction of the chemical weapons
would have been completed by April 29, 2012.
However, in the fall of 2004 the Department of Defense terminated the design and construction plans for the facility and ordered that the facility be redesigned to meet a lower cost estimate. The contractor subsequently redesigned the facility to the lower cost estimate in 2005 and provided the Department of Defense with an implementation schedule to complete weapons destruction in nine years.
Despite previous security and safety concerns related to long-term storage of the weapons in Pueblo, the Department of Defense lengthened the time for completing weapons destruction in order to cut costs. Current Department of Defense-generated treatment schedules for destruction of the mustard weapons at the Pueblo Chemical Depot extend out as far as 2021.
State health department representatives have been working with the Army and Defense Department to bring storage of the chemical weapons in the stockpile into compliance with the regulations. The parties also have been working with the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives Program to design, construct and permit the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, where the chemical weapons will be treated.
The lawsuit comes after the respondents notified the state of their intention to appeal an Administrative Order issued by the state on June 17, 2008.
The lawsuit requests the court grant the same remedies as were indicated in the order. The state’s order called for the destruction of the chemical weapons stockpile by Dec. 31, 2017, four years earlier than the Department of Defense’s current proposed date of Dec. 31, 2021. The order also required that secondary waste currently stored under a separate permit be treated and destroyed by the same date of Dec. 31, 2017.
“Given recurring delays by the Department of Defense for completing treatment and destruction of these wastes, the division is seeking an enforceable schedule for their timely treatment," Gary Baughman, director of the Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Division at the state Department of Public Health and Environment,
said. "We believe the 2017 deadline is more than reasonable to complete treatment and
destruction of the chemical weapons.”
The order and the lawsuit both require the military to file a chemical waste treatment plan within 60 days of the effective date of the final decision.
This plan will describe the methods to be used to treat and destroy all hazardous waste weapons and other agent wastes at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.
A chemical waste treatment plan also requires a complete project schedule depicting the tasks required for the destruction of the wastes by Dec. 31, 2017. Some of these tasks then could be designated by DPHE as enforceable milestones in the waste treatment plan.
The chemical weapons contain mustard agent, an acutely toxic hazardous waste causing severe skin and lung inflammation, which is known to cause cancer and birth defects.
Long-term storage of hazardous waste is prohibited under state hazardous waste regulations, except when additional quantities of the waste are required to facilitate proper treatment or when an alternate schedule for its treatment is in place under a compliance order.
According to the compliance order, the mustard agent-filled weapons are not being stored for the purpose of accumulating adequate quantities for appropriate treatment, as the Pueblo Chemical Depot currently stores hundreds of thousands of waste chemical weapons at the site.
In 2002, the Department of Defense decided to destroy weapons at the Pueblo Depot by chemically neutralizing the mustard agent and then biologically treating the resulting waste. A contractor was selected to design and build the facility, the first phase of Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant permitting was completed, and construction of the plant was scheduled to begin. Under the initial design and operating plans for the facility, destruction of the chemical weapons
would have been completed by April 29, 2012.
However, in the fall of 2004 the Department of Defense terminated the design and construction plans for the facility and ordered that the facility be redesigned to meet a lower cost estimate. The contractor subsequently redesigned the facility to the lower cost estimate in 2005 and provided the Department of Defense with an implementation schedule to complete weapons destruction in nine years.
Despite previous security and safety concerns related to long-term storage of the weapons in Pueblo, the Department of Defense lengthened the time for completing weapons destruction in order to cut costs. Current Department of Defense-generated treatment schedules for destruction of the mustard weapons at the Pueblo Chemical Depot extend out as far as 2021.
State health department representatives have been working with the Army and Defense Department to bring storage of the chemical weapons in the stockpile into compliance with the regulations. The parties also have been working with the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives Program to design, construct and permit the Pueblo Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, where the chemical weapons will be treated.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Jones Appoints School Leadership Board
Colorado education commissioner Dwight Jones today appointed members of the new School Leadership Academy Board, which was created by the General Assembly in the 2008 session.
The legislation authorizing the board requires the state to put in place a "School Leadership Academy Program," including a principal academy that would aim to improve the recruitment, training and ongoing professional development of school leadership in the state.
“We know there is a direct relationship between the knowledge and skills of the school principal and the quality of the learning environment," Jones said. "The members of this board will oversee the development of an important new resource for current and future school leadership.”
The leadership academy board's function is to advise the state Department of Education in overseeing the leadership academy program. Fourteen members will be appointed. Those confirmed to date are:
* Lynn Rhodes, Dean of Education, University of Colorado at Denver
* Floyd Beard, Executive Director, East Central Board of Cooperative Educational Services
* Bruce Caughey, Deputy Executive Director, Colorado Association of School Executives
* Jim Eck, Senior Director, McCREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning)
* Linda Barker, Director of Teaching and Learning, Colorado Education Association
* Jane Urschel, Deputy Executive Director, Colorado Association of School Boards
Additional members will be appointed in the coming weeks.
The 14 board members will serve three-year terms. The board will set policies and procedures for the leadership academy program, monitor the program, define criteria for the department to use in selecting participants for the academy, determine curricular components of the program, and report annually to the Colorado State Board of Education.
The legislation authorizing the board requires the state to put in place a "School Leadership Academy Program," including a principal academy that would aim to improve the recruitment, training and ongoing professional development of school leadership in the state.
“We know there is a direct relationship between the knowledge and skills of the school principal and the quality of the learning environment," Jones said. "The members of this board will oversee the development of an important new resource for current and future school leadership.”
The leadership academy board's function is to advise the state Department of Education in overseeing the leadership academy program. Fourteen members will be appointed. Those confirmed to date are:
* Lynn Rhodes, Dean of Education, University of Colorado at Denver
* Floyd Beard, Executive Director, East Central Board of Cooperative Educational Services
* Bruce Caughey, Deputy Executive Director, Colorado Association of School Executives
* Jim Eck, Senior Director, McCREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning)
* Linda Barker, Director of Teaching and Learning, Colorado Education Association
* Jane Urschel, Deputy Executive Director, Colorado Association of School Boards
Additional members will be appointed in the coming weeks.
The 14 board members will serve three-year terms. The board will set policies and procedures for the leadership academy program, monitor the program, define criteria for the department to use in selecting participants for the academy, determine curricular components of the program, and report annually to the Colorado State Board of Education.
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