On Thursday, March 19, at 1:30 p.m. SB 57 will be heard in the House Education Committee in HCR 0112. Opponents of transparency have been working hard to get this legislation killed. Primarily the opposition has come from some school district administrators and their lobbyists. Officially the Colorado Education Association (the teachers’ union) has taken a neutral position on public school transparency.
Sources tell COST that the CEA, at the very least, is concerned about SB 57 and the teachers’ union has contributed a lot of money to members of the Education Committee. One of our intrepid interns pulled numbers from Follow the Money, a “resource on money in state politics”. Below is a chart of House Education Committee members and the amount of teachers’ unions campaign contributions he or she received during the 2008 election cycle. COST reported earlier that Committee Chair Mike Merrifield, who received $4250 from the CEA, contacted transparency opponent Glenn Gustafson. Tomorrow we will see how the CEA’s investment pays off.
Follow tomorrow’s hearing with Education Policy Analyst Ben DeGrow on his twitter page.
| House Ed Committee | Education Contributor Connection | Amount |
| Randy Baumgardner | none listed | n/a |
| Debbie Benefield | JEFFERSON COUNTY EDUCATION ASSOC | $4,450 |
| COLORADO EDUCATION ASSOC | $2,525 | |
| TOTAL | $6,975 | |
| Tom Massey | COLORADO EDUCATION ASSOC | $500 |
| TOTAL | $500 | |
| Michael Merrifield | COLORADO EDUCATION ASSOC | $4,250 |
| PUBLIC EDUCATORS ADVOCATING FOR KIDS | $500 | |
| COLORADO FEDERATION OF TEACHERS | $500 | |
| TOTAL | $5,250 | |
| Karen Middleton | COLORADO EDUCATION ASSOC | $2,125 |
| COLORADO FEDERATION OF TEACHERS | $1,000 | |
| TOTAL | $3,125 | |
| Carole Murray | none listed | n/a |
| Cherylin Peniston | COLORADO EDUCATION ASSOC | $4,250 |
| BOULDER VALLEY EDUCATION ASSOC | $500 | |
| TOTAL | $4,750 | |
| Kevin Priola | none listed | n/a |
| Christine Scanlan | COLORADO EDUCATION ASSOC | $4,250 |
| COLORADO FEDERATION OF TEACHERS | $750 | |
| TOTAL | $5,000 | |
| Sue Schafer | JEFFERSON COUNTY EDUCATION ASSOC | $4,250 |
| COLORADO EDUCATION ASSOC | $1,000 | |
| COLORADO FEDERATION OF TEACHERS | $500 | |
| TOTAL | $5,750 | |
| Judy Solano | COLORADO EDUCATION ASSOC | $4,250 |
| COLORADO FEDERATION OF TEACHERS | $1,500 | |
| TOTAL | $5,750 | |
| Ken Summers | none listed | n/a |
| Nancy Todd | COLORADO EDUCATION ASSOC | $4,650 |
| TOTAL | $4,650 |
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