Education

Jeffco school board member Lesley Dahlkemper has announced she will not run for a second term this fall, citing home and work responsibilities.

Dahlkemper, who was elected in 2011 and is one of the board’s two liberal members, said the decision is not related to frequent friction with the board’s conservative majority over everything from facilities and budget to teacher pay and union relations.

Jeffco’s teachers union is suing the school district over its divisive pay-for-performance policy, which is still in its first year.

The Jefferson County Education Association’s lawsuit, filed April 7 amid contract negotiations with the teachers, asserts that the district’s pay plan was unilaterally implemented without union input, and that it will cause irreparable harm to teachers’ interests. The suit also claims the policy violated an existing contract with the teachers.

The chair of Colorado’s Republican Party decided not to participate in a Jeffco Public Schools panel on innovative practices in public education last week after the district was criticized for his involvement.

State GOP chair Steve House was slated to make a presentation to the politically divided school board April 16 along with several other speakers, but withdrew his name April 12. The district received complaints from some members of the public, asking why House — whose career has been in health care technology — had been invited.

Proposed cuts by lawmakers in the K-12 portion of Gov. John Hickenlooper’s 2015-16 state budget could mean that Jeffco Public Schools receives $17.5 million less than anticipated.

Hickenlooper’s funding plan would have provided the district $37 million in state funds; $17.2 million of that would have gone toward ongoing costs, while $19.8 million would have been earmarked for one-time expenditures.