Dear Friends,
Thanks so much for your interest in my Colorado Fair Campaign
Practices Act complaint against Douglas County School District.
I
am attaching the judges final ruling for your consideration. Here is
the most important excerpt.
I was not able to sufficiently prove a violation in the other
three components of the complaint, but I was really just laying a
foundation to show a pattern of repeated behavior that culminated in
using public funds to prepare and distribute political propaganda.
As you see here, I did not request any fines be imposed on the
District. Enough of our taxpayer dollars have been wasted on the
District defending it's inappropriate actions. I do not want our
students to continue to suffer from the misuse and misdirection of
public funds that are intended to provide the best education possible
for our children.
My pursuit of this matter was tied to my
belief that elections should be decided on true and accurate
information and that public funds should not be used to influence the
voting public. DCSD used public dollars to hire a consultant to write
a report that unduly favored the reform effort occurring in Douglas
County. This report was used by many to mislead the public about the
effectiveness of corporate educational reforms, promote individual
candidates and improperly benefit the district's single-minded focus
on reforms, including the Denver Post editorial staff's endorsement of
the "Reform Candidates", with no discussions with the
independent candidates. Most of us with children in the District know
that the reforms have actually been detrimental to the majority of
students. It is my hope that the public become more educated about the
forces behind what they hear and see during elections, question what
is presented as "fact", and use verifiable information in
future decisions about our school district. This election was very
eye-opening to me.
The Fair Campaigns Practices Act was passed
by the citizens of Colorado for exactly this purpose. It is meant to
ensure that money and special interests are not used to unfairly
influence elections. I believe this decision demonstrates that due
process does exist, and that public entities and officials will be
held accountable for their unfair, partisan practices related to local
and state elections.
I believe opportunity for evolution is
necessary in education as our world changes, but the development of
the tools and curriculum should be left to educators, not special
interest groups, legislators, corporations or political parties with
an agenda in mind. Our children's futures are too valuable to waste.
The District has 50 days to appeal the decision. The matters of
evidence are not disputable on the procedural aspects of the hearing.
The district would have the burden of proof that some procedural rule
was violated. I would hope that the Board of Education and Dr. Fagen
would stop the misuse of taxpayer funds to defend what has been
determined to be inappropriate behavior.
Thank you for your interest in this important matter. I
appreciate the time you have taken to focus on this.
Sincerely,
Julie Keim
