DPS Board Backs Funding Increase

But officials denounce 2 other ballot plans---taxcut 2000 and curb on bilingual education.

Denver School Board members weighed in on statewide November ballot proposals Wednesday, giving thumbs up to one and thumbs down to two others.

Before starting their monthlong summer break, they gave a unanimous stamp of approval to a quest to increase state education funding by at least inflation plus 1 percent annually for the next decade, then by at least 1 percent after that.

They came down against a tax-reduction plan termed Taxcut 2000. If approved, it would reduce state and local tax revenue by more than a billion dollars by 2004.

“Institutions such as this grow out of citizens’ frustration with the government’s seeming inability to address their concerns,” board member Bennie Milliner said.

The panel also unanimously condemned the English for the Children initiative, which would curtail bilingual education.

“This not only limits local control to determine what local school boards can do, in the case of Denver we are under a court order in terms of what we must be doing,” board member James Mejia said.

In other business, the board:

* Approved contracts for the Denver Arts and Technology Academy and the Challenges, Choices, Images, Literacy and Technology Learning Center. Both are charters schools.

* Approved the job changes: Carla Santorno will become curriculum / instruction interim chief; Lawrence Lindauer will become superintendent’s office executive director; Marge Tepper will become interim assistant superintendent of secondary education.

East High Assistant Principal Kathy Callum will temporarily take Haas’ place. Patrick Sandos of the pay-for-performance design team will temporarily take Manzanares’ place.

Marrama Elementary Assistant Principal JoEllen Davis will become Centennial Elementary principal.



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