Face the State

Senator's email shows hidden effort to shut down charter school authorizer
Face the State Staff Report

DENVER — An email exchange that led a state representative to resign his committee chairmanship has also revealed that Senator Sue Windels D-Arvada chairwoman falsely advertised a recent charter school bill. Now charter school leaders are calling for her resignation.

As chair of the Senate education committee, Windels recently introduced Senate Bill 61, advertising it as legislation to improve communication between the Colorado Charter School Institute and local school districts. The legislature created the Institute in 2004 as a strict but fair charter school authorizer for parents who had been stonewalled by local school boards. Despite her claims to improve communication, Windels revealed that in fact she wanted to effect a “full repeal” of the Institute, during an email exchange with Representative Mike Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs. She discussed her intention with Merrifield to overhaul the bill at the last minute in the legislative process, in hopes of catching charter school supporters by surprise.

Ultimately, it was Merrifield who was surprised when his email with Windels was made public. In the email, Merrifield vented freely, saying charter school supporters deserve “a special place in Hell.” The email exchange, covered by state and national media, resulted in Merrifield stepping down from his post as chair of the House education committee.

Now confronted by stiff bipartisan opposition, Windels has conceded that her bill will be defeated. But she continues to target others, blaming "dirty politics" and "unnecessary hysteria" for the bipartisan coaltion that opposes her. Windels’ most recent remarks came in response to an email sent by charter school leader Kim Miller, co-founder and board president of the Ridgeview Classical Schools in Fort Collins. Founded in 2001, Ridgeview Classical has been ranked as Colorado’s top-performing high school for the last two years.

Miller is now calling on Windels to step down from her chairmanship, and for both Windels and Merrifield to resign from their respective committee. “It was certainly good that Merrifield stepped down from the chair, but [he and Windels] should both be off the committees,” said Miller. “I think their comments showed clearly the biases that exist,” Miller said. “They’re not looking out for what’s best for Colorado students.”

Miller believes the email exchange between Merrifield and Windels shows how unfit both legislators are to hold any direct oversight of laws that affect the state’s schools, including charters.

Miller urged Windels directly on two occasions to remove herself from the committee. “You really need to not only step down from your position as chair of the Senate Education Committee but off the committee itself,” she wrote in an email. “Playing games with educational policy is not in the best interest of any Colorado student.”

Denise Mund from the Colorado Department of Education said the Institute has helped to serve the growing parental demand for charter school education. More than 52,000 Colorado students are enrolled in charter schools, with 25,000 more on waiting lists.

While charter schools receive less per pupil funding from state and local sources than other public schools, their students statewide from third to eighth grade outpace their peers in other public schools.

Charter school proponents frequently highlight the Cesar Chavez Academy in Pueblo, where more than 90 percent of elementary students score proficient on state tests. Two-thirds of the charter school’s students come from poverty. In his email to Windels, Merrifield expressed fears that the Cesar Chavez charter school model would be imported to his home district in Colorado Springs.

Greater parental empowerment and teacher professionalism make charters a more favorable option for many. But their growing popularity and success unsettles the interest groups that defend their turf in the established system, according to Mund. “The high levels of academic performance in charter schools makes some traditional educators nervous,” she said.