Former Denver School Board Members Endorse Ballot Initiative Campaign to Dismantle Bilingual Education in Colorado

Denver, CO---Two additional former members of the Denver Board of Education have now thrown their support behind the Colorado ballot initiative to dismantle bilingual education, already chaired by Rita Montero, herself a former member of the Denver Board of Education.

Supporters Laura Lefkowits and Lynn Coleman had both spent years working closely with Montero and former Superintendent Irv Moskowitz in a difficult attempt to reform Denver’s existing system of bilingual education.

According to Lefkowits, "We spent years of our lives trying to reform that entrenched system of Spanish-almost-only classes, yet once we left the Board, everything went back to business as usual, despite clear legal agreements to the contrary. There have been repeated violations of the Bilingual Plan throughout the execution of our newly reformed program." Coleman agreed: "The English for the Children initiative is the only hope for changing things."

Lefkowits had been a member of the Board from 1995 to 1999, while Coleman had served from the 1991 to 1997.

Representatives of the Colorado Attorney General, Secretary of State, and Director of the Office of Legislative Legal Services are scheduled to hold public hearings on the proposed initiative on Wednesday, December 5, 2001.