www.NorthSuburbanRepublicanForum.com April, 2015 www.NorthSuburbanRepublicanForum.org

Join us on Saturday morning, April 11th to hear from your local school board members. Find out what’s going on in their districts with Common Core, student testing, educational advances, funding for building maintenance, November elections, and, as always, they’ll also answer your questions.

The doors open at 8:30am with the meeting from 9:00am-11:00am. Admission is $3 for NSRF members and $5 for non-members. Plus, you can pay your 2015 yearly dues of $20 ($30 for a couple). We meet at Horan & McConaty’s Community Room, 9998 Grant St in Thornton from 9:00am-11:00am. Doors open at 8:30am. 

NSRF upcoming calendar in 2015:

May 9 -- Former State Senator Shawn Mitchell analyzes the 2015 Colorado Legislative session with our local House Representatives & Senator on what was accomplished.

May 25 – Walk with us in the Commerce City Memorial Day Parade and enjoy a BBQ lunch at the end of the parade with the Reagan Club.

June 13 -- Your local County officers & City Council members update us on what's happening in Adams County & the cities along with answering your questions

July 11 -- Penn Pfiffner of The TABOR Foundation discusses what TABOR is, how it works, and why Colorado is unique because of it.

August 8 -- RTD Directors Larry Hoy & Lorraine Anderson update us on FasTracks and mass transportation issues in the north metro area.

September 12 -- Water is now the "oil" of Colorado.  Learn about water rights, rain barrels, whether we have enough storage, and the legal structure of H2O from former Colorado Agricultural Commissioner Don Ament.  

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October 10 -- We've tentatively scheduled Colorado State Treasury Walker Stapleton to update us on all things dealing with the state Treasurer’s office and PERA.

November 14 -- We're working on scheduling a forum to explain an Article V Convention.  What is it?  Why is it important?  What's involved in the process and where do we currently stand on it?  Stay tuned!

The North Suburban Republican ForumNSRF Membership Application

We meet on the second Saturday of each month to discuss politics from 9:00-11:00am. Doors open at 8:30am. Get involved and join us!

A continental breakfast is provided with coffee, tea, orange juice, and pastries http://www.NorthSuburbanRepublicanForum.com

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This newsletter has a conservative Republican viewpoint. It may or may not reflect the views of the NSRF Board of Directors. It is intended for the thoughtful consideration of our members, to inform, educate, and as potential discussion starters.

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"One of the penalties of not participating in politics is that you will be governed by your inferiors."  - Plato 

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Here’s the articles that have been posted on our website: www.NorthSuburbanRepublicanForum.com since our last newsletter:

House shaking up state GOP structure One of the BEST explanations of how Obama won two elections What media bias? This is why Liberals need to stop freaking out over Indiana’s religious freedow law Free Legal self-help clinic on Wednesday, April 1st

GOP strategist Lisa Boothe takes down Democrats on executive amnesty The Commanding Heights 20 years ago a Hispanic reporter accuses a white man of racism Tax and Expentirue limitation act Article V information center Watch this video to see what life is like in a socialist country SD24 & HD30 townhall meeting Colorado Hispanic Republicans meet and greet Rep. Kevin Priola March newsletter update Adams County voter information Contact information for Colorado’s elected Federal officials Hillsdale College free course: “The Federalist Papers” Liberalism defined Aurora leaders are lobbying against an anti-Gaylord bill that doesn’t exist yet Pilot Election Review committee meeting Will you volunteer to bring our US Constitution educational materials to 5th grade teachers? Joint townhall meeting for SD24, SD21, and HD35 GOP elections results: House, Wilburn, and Meek in: Call, Baisley, and Fore out Have you checked your voter registration? Call, House GOP state chair race down to final hours Adams County pothole reporting CASE March 18th meeting A refresher from our February speaker, Hadley Manning Adams 12 Board of Education seeks applicants for Director District 4 position CFRW (Trumpeteers) at the Colorado State Capital Upending Elections: Colorado Supreme Court rules open season on Adams 12 Five-Star School Board

seat Colorado Hispanic Republicans Speaker series Branches of Government

Adams 12 Board of Education seeks applicants for Director District No. 4 positionDeadline to submit an application is midnight on April 8, 2015

The Adams 12 Five Star Schools Board of Education has declared a vacancy in the school director office for Director District No. 4 due to the Supreme Court ruling in Case No. 14SA235 (Figueroa, et al v. Speers, et al). This vacancy will be filled through an appointment by the Board.

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Read the qualifications for the position and details on the appointment process for more information. Applications must be submitted by midnight on April 8, 2015. Contact Frances Mullins, Sr. Executive Assistant to the Board of Education at 720-972-4007 or frances.mullins@adams12.org if you are interested in applying or if you have any questions.

The Board will interview qualified candidates at a special meeting on April 22, 2015 with the intent to make an appointment by the May 1, 2015 statutory deadline for filling the vacancy. If the Board does not fill the vacancy by May 1, the President of the Board must appoint a person to fill the vacancy. Until an appointment is made, the Board will comprise of four members.

http://www.adams12.org/node/6422

Map showing District 4http://www.adams12.org/files/boe/director_districts.pdf

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CMAS - English Language Arts and Mathematics Assessments (PARCC) In compliance with legislation, Colorado joined the PARCC consortia as a governing member in August, 2012.

PARCC is a multi-state assessment consortium that is developing shared English language arts (ELA) and

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mathematics assessments. About 20 states participate in the consortium. As a governing member, Colorado is committed to relying on the PARCC assessment system. PARCC has ELA assessments in grades 3-11 and

mathematics assessments in grades 3-8 with three high school assessments. PARCC has developed college and career ready determinations that will be based on the assessments given in 11th grade. - See more at:

http://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/newassess-parcc#sthash.SUE6e3Df.dpuf

General Assessment Information

The Colorado State Assessment System is designed to measure Colorado student’s mastery of the Colorado’s academic content standards. In December of 2009 Colorado adopted revised academic content standards progressing from early school readiness to postsecondary competencies reflective of both workforce readiness and 21st century skills.

In 2012 Colorado implemented the Transitional Colorado Assessment Program (TCAP) to reflect changes in the state adopted academic content standards and to provide information to teachers as they began incorporating the revised content standards in their daily instruction. In 2012 Colorado became a governing member of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) consortia which is currently developing new assessments in English language arts and mathematics for grades 3-8 and high school. The PARCC assessments are scheduled for implementation in 2014-15.

New general and alternate assessments for science and social studies were field tested in 2013 and are scheduled for implementation in 2014.

The attainment of English proficiency by English Language Learner’s (ELL) is measured annually by an English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessment. In the 2012-13 school year Colorado implemented the ACCESS for ELLs ® ELP assessment developed by the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) consortium.

The CO ACT assessment is designed to measure students' preparedness for postsecondary educational opportunities and is administered to 11th grade students in April and May. Because the CO ACT is equivalent to all other ACT assessments the results can be submitted for college entrance by the student to their college or university of choice.

- See more at: http://www.cde.state.co.us/assessment/generalinfo#sthash.eJtzVXpn.dpuf

NEGOTIATIONSThe Mapleton Education Association and representatives from Mapleton's Board of Education and District administration will meet in open negotiations on Tuesday, April 7, and Wednesday, April 8. Negotiations will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Colorado Education Association Uniserve office, 1235 W. 124th Ave., Westminster, 80234.

GRANT BRINGS NEW BUSES TO MAPLETONMapleton is getting a new set of wheels!For the first time in more than 20 years, Mapleton’s Transportation Department is getting a new set of wheels. Thanks to a generous grant from Noble Energy, in partnership with the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC), Mapleton Public Schools was able to purchase two new compressed natural gas school buses. Mapleton’s Board of Education accepted the grant funds in February. The CNG buses will be the first new buses received by Mapleton in more than two decades and will be delivered to the District in July.

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The goal of the Noble-RAQC grant program is to add school buses to Adams County that have fewer emissions, resulting in better air quality for children, and reduced fuel costs to cash-strapped school districts.  These buses offer the latest CNG technology and are proven to be effective and efficient for school fleets.

Adams 12 District-Wide Projects

Gross Sq. Footage

5,007,128

Enrollment 2013/2014

42,230

Construction Budget

$66,120,000

New School Construction

To accomodate population growth, two new elementary schools will be built; one in the northwest and one in the

northeast area of the district.

New Career & Tech Education Space

Expand the capability to serve students who seek Career & Technical Education opportunities.

Expand Middle School Space

Provide mobile classrooms to accommodate schools whose attendance exceeds their capacity.

School Condition Assessments

Assess building structures and systems to identify and remediate potential failures before they begin.

Athletics, Theater and Arts

Replace and/or renovate end-of-life structures, equipment and fixtures.

Non-School Facility Repairs

Address priority repair, maintenance and security issues identified in audits of office buildings and district athletic

venues.

District Infrastructure

Replace obsolete phone system and install site-by-site security alert and response system.

Land for Future Schools

Procure land or property rights in order to assure the ability to serve future students.

Charter Schools

Support the capital needs of district charter schools.

http://www.adams12.org/bond_mill_2014/district_bond_projects

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Brighton 27-J 2015-16 Schedule Changes

High Schools: Brighton and Prairie View high schools will move to a split schedule beginning in the 2015-16 school year. Under the new schedule, high school students will attend school in overlapping shifts. The daily schedule will be from 7 a.m. to 5:10 p.m. with freshmen and sophomore students starting at an earlier time and juniors and seniors arriving later. Both high schools will offer specific schedule details through their websites as well as at upcoming parent-teacher conferences and eighth-grade check-it-out nights. High school students and staff will no longer have Early Release Wednesdays but, in an effort to preserve valuable staff professional development time, students will not have classes the second Wednesday of each month from September through April. The 27J Transportation Department will offer multiple morning pick-up and afternoon drop-off times for bus-riding high school students. Breakfast and lunch service will continue to be offered to students. This split schedule will be in place for a minimum of four to five school years.  Middle Schools: No planned changes for the 2015-16 school year. However, due to overcrowding at Prairie View Middle School, incoming PVMS sixth-grade students will have a limited opportunity to open enroll at Stuart Middle School in Commerce City. Transportation will be provided for these students to Stuart through the eighth grade. Elementary School: No planned changes for the 2015-16 school year.

2016-17 Schedule Changes Elementary and middle schools: Calendar changes for the 2016-17 school year and beyond will be implemented on an as-needed basis. Details on these potential schedule changes, which could include extended-day and four-track year round schedules, will be released in April 2015 along with a list of schools that could be impacted.

 These changes and proposed schedule changes are based on School District 27J's continued enrollment growth. Faced with a school capacity problem, especially at the high school level, School District 27J hired an independent consultant in 2014 to explore other options for School District 27J including alternative schedule opportunities.

The School Facilities and Capital Contingency Plan was written by Western Demographics, a group of independent experts who help school districts manage crowding issues. The district has seen steady sustained growth for more than 10 years. This growth forced the district to close open enrollment to out-of-district students at four schools for the 2014-2015 school year. Enrollment growth is expected to accelerate to a rate of 600 to 1,000 students per year over the next five years.

Based on School District 27J's unsuccessful 2014 bond election, which would have alleviated district overcrowding with the construction of a third district high school, two new elementary schools and the completion of construction on an existing elementary school, the district is now moving forward with the implementation of this plan. School District 27J is now considering the possibility of a 2015 bond election to address these same needs. A final decision will be made by the School District 27J Board of Education.http://www.sd27j.org/domain/1590

Jeffco Board of Education Rejects Alternate Plan for Jefferson Articulation Area

On April 2nd, 7News ran a story that was entirely factually inaccurate that initially suggested that Jeffco Schools would re-examine a plan that the School Board voted down two weeks ago. Jeffco Schools is working with 7News to correct the misinformation, but please be assured that the District plans to move forward with the Jefferson Plan, the plan the community embraced, as voted last board meeting.

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At the March 19 Board Meeting, the Jefferson County Board of Education withdrew a motion to consider an alternate plan in the Jefferson Articulation Area. The board also voted unanimously to complete the original Jefferson Area Plan, which will result in the creation of a 7-12 Jefferson High School. Wheat Ridge 5-8 Middle School's 7th and 8th grade students will move to Jefferson High School for the 2015-16 school year, and the district will establish a Stevens Elementary K-6 School on the current Wheat Ridge 5-8 campus.

Over the past week, Jeffco Schools heard additional public comment about an alternate plan at three meetings in the Everitt, Maple Grove, and Manning communities leading up to the March 19 special board meeting.

"Our parents, students, and staff spoke overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the Maple Grove community together and proceeding with the original Jefferson Area Plan," said Board Member John Newkirk, who rescinded his motion for the alternative option. "Ultimately, the goal for any plan is to provide students with greater choice in education, to be responsive to our communities' needs, and to ensure every Jeffco Schools student has access to an excellent school."

With the original plan moving forward, Sobesky is scheduled to move to Stevens Elementary campus to expand needed Special Education services in support of the growing demand for these services in Jeffco Schools.

http://www.jeffcopublicschools.org/

http://www.northsuburbanrepublicanforum.org/calendar/

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