Colorado School Board Open Meetings, Proposition 104 (2014)
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A Colorado School Board Open Meetings Initiative, Proposition 104 was on the November 4, 2014 ballot in Colorado as an initiated state statute, where it was approved. The measure was designed to require meetings of the members of a board of education of a school district during which collective bargaining negotiations or employment contract negotiations take place to be open to the public.[1][2]
Election results
Below are the official, certified election results:
| Colorado Proposition 104 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| 1,364,747 | 70.09% | |||
| No | 582,473 | 29.91% | ||
Election results via: Colorado Secretary of State
Text of measure
Ballot title
The official ballot question appeared as follows:[3]
| “ | Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes requiring any meeting of a board of education, or any meeting between any representative of a school district and any representative of employees, at which a collective bargaining agreement is discussed to be open to the public? | ” |
Full initiative text
The full text of the measure read as follows:[5]
| “ | Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Colorado:
|
” |
Fiscal impact statement
According to a report on Proposition 104 put out by the Colorado Legislature, the estimate of fiscal impact was as follows:
| “ | Requiring school boards to modify negotiation practices related to collective bargaining agreements may increase local school districts' administrative workloads. The proposition applies to school districts and will not affect state spending or revenue.[4] | ” |
| —Colorado Legislature[6] | ||
Support
Supporters
At the time this measure appeared on the ballot, both Caldara and Krause were employed by Independence Institute, which describes itself as a think tank that puts their "ideas into action through groundbreaking litigation, activist training, work on ballot initiatives, new media and investigative reporting." At the time, Caldara was the President of the organization and Krause was the Vice President of Operations.[9][10][11]
Caldara and Krause were also proponents for Colorado Right to Bear Arms Amendment (2014), which did not make the 2014 ballot.
Arguments
According to a summary on Proposition 104 put out by the Colorado Legislature, arguments in favor of Proposition 104 included the following:
| “ | Open meetings and transparency are basic principles of good government. This measure upholds the public's right to be informed and provides additional public oversight of government spending. Current law requires that school districts post completed collective bargaining agreements online; however, negotiations to arrive at these agreements are largely held in private meetings. Holding collective bargaining negotiations in a public forum allows for greater understanding by the public and school employees of these proceedings.[4] | ” |
| —Colorado Legislature[6] | ||
Campaign contributions
The following campaign contribution totals for Sunshine on Government were current as of December 4, 2014.[12]
PAC info:
| PAC | Amount raised | Amount spent |
|---|---|---|
| Sunshine on Government | $327,602.43 | $20,400.00 |
| Total | $327,602.43 | $20,400.00 |
Top contributors:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Independence Institute | $327,202.43 |
| Gary Fisk | $100.00 |
| Jon Caldera | $100.00 |
| Mike Krause | $100.00 |
| Julie Mallon | $100.00 |
Opposition
Opponents
- Local Schools, Local Choices
Arguments
According to a summary on Proposition 104 put out by the Colorado Legislature, arguments in opposition to Proposition 104 included the following:
| “ | Voters elect local school board members to determine what is best for the school district, and this measure removes the board's freedom and flexibility to choose how to negotiate with employees. Currently, school boards are allowed to discuss collective bargaining agreements in public, and some choose to do so. Negotiations over labor contracts can be difficult, complicated, and may include sensitive employment issues. If school boards are required to have these discussions in public, they may be at a disadvantage during the negotiations, making it harder to reach a final agreement.[4] | ” |
| —Colorado Legislature[6] | ||
Campaign contributions
The following campaign contribution totals for Local Schools, Local Choices were current as of the committee's final December 4, 2014, report.[13]
PAC info:
| PAC | Amount raised | Amount spent |
|---|---|---|
| Local Schools, Local Choices | $64,500 | $58,450 |
| Total | $64,500 | $58,450 |
Top contributors:
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Colorado Education Association | $43,400 |
| Education Reform Now Advocacy | $15,000 |
| AFT Colorado | $6,000 |
Media editorial endorsements
Support
- The Denver Post said,
| “ | The government's business is supposed to be the people's business, but that's sometimes hard to believe when it's conducted behind closed doors. Proposition 104, which would make school districts' collective bargaining process open for all to see, is a useful step in the direction of transparency. Voters should approve it.[4] | ” |
| —Denver Post[7] | ||
- The Gazette said,
| “ | Our public schools are not funded for the benefit of union leaders. They are to benefit children in a manner that advances individuals and society.
Proposition 104 will only strengthen our schools. It is pro-teacher, pro-student, pro-school and pro-taxpayer. Voters should approve it.[4] |
” |
| —Gazette[14] | ||
- The Daily Camera said,
| “ | YES. Open the school board meetings where collective bargaining is discussed. It's good for government transparency.[4] | ” |
| —Daily Camera[15] | ||
Polls
- See also: Polls, 2014 ballot measures
Respondents to the Suffolk University Political Research Center poll were asked the following:[16]
| “ | Proposition 104 is related to school board open meetings. Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes requiring any meeting of a board of education, or any meeting between any representative of a school district and any representative of employees, at which a collective bargaining agreement is discussed to be open to the public? | ” |
| Colorado Proposition 104 (2014) | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Support | Oppose | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Suffolk University 10/18/2014-10/21/2014 | 63.8% | 21.6% | 14.2% | +/-4.4 | 500 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Path to the ballot
Supporters needed to gather 86,105 valid signatures by Monday, August 4 at 3:00 PM for the measure to appear on the ballot. Supporters submitted 127,328 signatures for this initiative on August 1, 2014.[17][18] The measure was certified for the ballot on August 13, 2014.[19]
See also
- Colorado 2014 ballot measures
- 2014 ballot measures
- Colorado Legislature
- List of Colorado ballot measures
External links
- Colorado Initiatives Submitted for Review and Comment for 2013-2014
- Independence Institute homepage, YouTube channel, Facebook profile and Twitter feed
- Independence Institute reporting on transparency in education funding
Additional reading
- Chalkbeat Colorado, "Backers of public negotiations initiative turn in signatures," August 4, 2014
- The Denver Post, "Editorial: Let public look at schools' spending," April 14, 2014
Footnotes
- ↑ Legislative Council Staff and Office of Legislative Legal Services, "Memo to Jon Caldera and Mike Krause: Proposed initiative measure 2013-2014 #124, concerning school board open meetings," April 2, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Legislative Council, "Draft of proposed ballot initiative The School Board Transparency Act," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Results for Proposed Initiative #124," accessed September 8, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Initiative 2013-2014 #124 Final Text," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Colorado State Legislature, "Proposition 104: School Board Meeting Requirements," archived September 28, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Denver Post, "Proposition 104 shines a light on teacher contract talks," October 7, 2014
- ↑ League of Women Voters of Colorado, "2014 Ballot Issues Proponents and Opponents," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ Independence Institute, "Mike Krause," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ Independence Institute, "Jon Caldara," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ Independence Institute, "About the Independence Institute," accessed May 21, 2014
- ↑ TRACER, "Committee Detail: Sunshine on Government," accessed October 26, 2014
- ↑ TRACER, "Committee Detail: Local Schools, Local Choices," accessed October 26, 2014
- ↑ The Gazette, "EDITORIAL: Prop. 104 will open the smoke-filled room," October 14, 2014
- ↑ Daily Camera, "Endorsements, 2014," November 2, 2014
- ↑ Suffolk University Political Research Center, "October 22, 2014 Colorado US Senate, Governor & General Election," accessed October 27, 2014
- ↑ Facebook, "Independence Institute," August 1, 2014
- ↑ Chalkbeat Colorado, "Backers of public negotiations initiative turn in signatures," August 4, 2014
- ↑ Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, "Initiative to open school board labor negotiations certified for November ballot," August 13, 2014
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