“Please put partisan politics aside and do the right thing”
DENVER— Today, Senate President Brandon Shaffer (D-Longmont) sent a second letter to members of the Legislative Audit Committee which included reports from media sources from around Colorado demonstrating the need for an audit of Colorado’s online schools. President Shaffer first called for an emergency audit of online schools on September 26, 2011 after serious problems with some of those schools were exposed in several investigative reports.
The members of the Legislative Audit Committee were initially asked to approve a small amount of staff hours to allow the Office of the State Auditor to examine the request and draft an audit plan for the Committee to approve. The request was approved on a 5-3 vote.
Today, in his letter, President Shaffer asked members of the Legislative Audit Committee to put politics aside and give serious consideration to the audit request:
“During a time of severe budget shortfalls in which crippling cuts to critical programs reduce the State's ability to provide essential services to the people of Colorado, there is no excuse to tolerate waste of limited resources.
This is not a political issue. It’s a simple matter of accountability and oversight. Please put partisan politics aside and do the right thing by approving this audit request.”
The next meeting of the Legislative Audit Committee is scheduled for November 7-8.
Below is the full text of the letter sent to Senator Lois Tochtrop (D-Thornton), Legislative Audit Committee Chair, and the other members of the Committee:
October 19, 2011
Re: Online School Audit Request
Dear Sen. Tochtrop,
I write to provide you with additional support for my request for an urgent audit of online schools. Within the past week more than a dozen credible news reports have exposed deficiencies in the oversight and performance of these schools. Many of the findings of these news accounts were unknown to me before I made my request. They demonstrate both the need and the urgency with which this audit needs to proceed. I enclose these accounts for your review.
There must be zero tolerance when the State receives less than full value for expenditure of public moneys. During a time of severe budget shortfalls in which crippling cuts to critical programs reduce the State's ability to provide essential services to the people of Colorado, there is no excuse to tolerate waste of limited resources.
This is not a political issue. It’s a simple matter of accountability and oversight. Please put partisan politics aside and do the right thing by approving this audit request.
Sincerely,
/s/ Brandon C. Shaffer
Senate President
Students at Landmark academy at reunion celebrate first annual latin culture week
Landmark Academy at Reunion , a tuition-free public charter school, recently hosted their First Annual Latin Culture Week, a week focused on educating students on the various aspects of Latin culture, from music and art to sports and celebrities, through unique activities. During the week-long celebration, students were able to step into the lives of the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans with Latin culture lessons through piñata making, cultural crafts, songs, traditional foods and more. Students made maracas and learned a traditional Mexican Hat Dance; created Aztec suns working with metal tooling; and studied different countries in Mexico , Central America and South America . Aztec dancers from the Colorado Folk Arts Council also visited with students and educated them on the spiritual and traditional aspects of Aztec culture through dance. “We reside in a community with strong Latin and Hispanic roots,” said Matt Carlton, principal of Landmark Academy at Reunion . “Our community culture is important to us at Landmark. By providing unique ways for our students to learn the various backgrounds of our diverse community they are able to understand and appreciate different cultures.” For more information about Landmark Academy at Reunion , please visit www.landmarkacademy.org.
