The Supreme Court of Colorado struck down the voucher program in Douglas County. It is unconstitutional, the justices said.
After a radical group won control of the public schools of Douglas County in Colorado, they enacted a plan for vouchers. Being a relatively affluent community, there was no baloney about “saving poor kids from failing schools.” The point was privatization of public funds intended for public schools.
Here is the story, as told by the nonpartisan group that brought the suit, called Taxpayers for Public Education.
Contact: Cindy Barnard
(303)905-3803
CO Supreme Court Strikes Down Vouchers
Douglas County Program Found to Violate State Constitution
“Denver, CO June 29, 2015) In a landmark legal decision today, the Colorado State Supreme Court struck down the Douglas County School District (DCSD) voucher program. In the case of Taxpayers for Public Education, et al., v. Douglas County School District, et al., the Court found that the program violates the Colorado Constitution.
“This is a great victory for public school children in Colorado,” said Cindy Barnard, President of Taxpayers for Public Education (TFPE), one of the plaintiffs in the case. “The DCSD voucher program took taxpayer funds, intended for public education, and used that money to pay for private school education for a few select students. The decision means that money set aside for public education in Colorado can only be used the way it was intended to be used- for the betterment of education in Colorado public schools.”
“In this groundbreaking case, Michael McCarthy and Colin Deihl of the Denver office of Faegre Baker Daniels represented Taxpayers for Public Education pro bono. Other plaintiffs and intervenors in the suit included children and parents of the Douglas County School District, Douglas County citizens and several local and national organizations that support a strong and vital public education system.
“As we celebrate this important victory, we have to continue to closely watch the leaders of the Douglas County School District as they look to implement other programs and methods to intentionally erode the quality of public education in their own district,” said Barnard.
“Details of the Court’s ruling can be found on the Taxpayer for Public Education website at taxpayersforpubliceducation.org. ”
###
About Taxpayers for Public Education:
Taxpayers for Public Education, (TFPE), is a Colorado-based, bi-partisan, 501c4 organization. The members are Colorado taxpayers and parents of children enrolled in public schools. TFPE supports public education and believes that a strong public education system is instrumental in building and maintaining an extraordinary workforce that will keep American companies and American entrepreneurship viable and robust to meet the challenges in the years ahead.
For more information, please visit: http://www.taxpayersforpubliceducation.org.
Contact:
Cindy Barnard
President, Taxpayers for Public Education
(303) 905-3803
cindrabarnard@q.com
Anne Kleinkopf
Director, Taxpayers for Public Education
(720) 219-6253
annekleinkopf@msn.com
Michael McCarthy
Attorney, Faegre Baker Daniels
(303) 607-3670
Mason Barnard
Plaintiff/Former Douglas County Student
(303) 518 – 7939
###
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Have you seen this one?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/04/28/report-millions-of-dollars-in-fraud-waste-found-in-charter-school-sector/?postshare=431435584392094 >
LikeLike
Michael McCarthy and Colin Deihl of the Denver office of Faegre Baker Daniels represented Taxpayers for Public Education pro bono.
Wow, I am impressed. Douglas County has been the darling of people who hate public education. You know things are bad when the news of Douglas Country wierdness hits this blog… along with the remarkable outcome of this case.
LikeLike
Oops, they screwed up and tried to save affluent kids from high achieving schools.
Gotta get their Schtick right!
Great News!
LikeLike
HA Hurley,
Maybe the moral is that even rich kids need to escape their public schools and use public money for religious schools.
LikeLike
Why do you refer to them as “radicals”? Radical what? We continue to dump more and more and more $$$ into the public education system and get very return for our investment. It is a well-known fact that a higher percentage of private school graduates go onto college than do public school grads.
This has little to do with Secularism and much more to do with government saying “Send US your money because WE know what’s best for your kids.” It’s just masked by Secularism. The better word is Socialism.
LikeLike
Bret,
The voucher advocates who took control of the Douglas County School Board are radicals because they want to destroy a traditional community institution with deep roots in our society. Conservatives conserve, not destroy.
Private schools get higher graduation rates by choosing the kids they want and excluding the ones they don’t want. Private schools are not known for accepting students with disabilities or students who don’t speak English or students whose family is poor. The public school must accept them all. Any school which selects its students will have better stats than any school that does not select.
LikeLike
Not to mention, private schools charge tuition (with a handful of scholarships), so they are generally attracting more affluent people. College graduation is highly correlated with affluence, so it’s not surprising that schools with more affluent families see more kids graduate from college.
LikeLike
“It is a well-known fact that a higher percentage of private school graduates go onto college than do public school grads.”
And in other news, the stars revolve around the earth.
LikeLike
Nobody can take your nonsense seriously. Private schools are basically junk, with lousy salaries for teachers, and as long as they pick and choose who attends, they can’t be taken seriously as “superior.”
LikeLike
This really is good news for the students in Colorado. But we still need to pay attention to our school board elections. Don’t think for a minute that the reformsters are done.
LikeLike
Yes, but we are working hard to beat them back in Jefferson County, right next to Douglas County. A group of parents submitted recall petition for the 3 reformers on Friday, 6/26. We are dedicated to taking back our public schools before they are destroyed by these “reforms”. Here is the press release. It has been picked up nationally as well.
http://us11.forward-to-friend1.com/forward/preview?u=3fbd207fb0c7f5f7f35ba1d5d&id=3ebe1ed504
LikeLike
Yes, but we are working hard to beat them back in Jefferson County, right next to Douglas County. A group of parents submitted recall petition for the 3 reformers on Friday, 6/26. We are dedicated to taking back our public schools before they are destroyed by these “reforms”. Here is the press release. It has been picked up nationally as well.
http://us11.forward-to-friend1.com/forward/preview?u=3fbd207fb0c7f5f7f35ba1d5d&id=3ebe1ed504
LikeLike
No VAMpire palace permitted in Douglas County. Well, the Rocky Mountain might be the perfect place for them to live. Oh well.
LikeLike
I fully expect somebody in Nevada will sue over the new voucher law.
I am amazed ANY state persists with this given how often it has been struck down by the courts.
LikeLike
Aside from getting knocked down by state courts, vouchers have NEVER been endorsed by popular vote.
LikeLike