About a month ago I said that Adams County “Five Star” School District 12 was readying another run at taxpayers.  This of course did indeed come to pass when on August 20th the board of education voted to send two measures to the voters.  Gee, why aren’t I surprised? 

The Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel reported that amazingly enough “a group of citizens” had already organized and was prepared to help push the measure.  This group  (Citizens for Adams 12 Schools) even already had more than $10,000 in their bank before the board had made their decision.  Of course the group is hardly funded by or made up of your normal, everyday citizens nor is it truly a grassroots effort like they would have you believe.  Headed by a lifelong employee of the school district with help from a former area mayor and funded by <drum roll please> unions, the group is anything but a grassroots effort – make no mistake. 

The result of the vote was a foregone conclusion as Adams 12 has shown that they just can’t keep their hands out of the cookie jar – that jar being the taxpayers’ pockets.  Hiding behind the always effective catch phrases of “class size”, “teacher retention,” “protect our students” and so many more, the district feels Adams County voters just can’t say no – again.  After all, area voters in 2000 and in 2004 couldn’t say no to the district and approved bond issues and mill levy overrides.  Statewide voters approved Amendment 23 and Referendum C  thus giving the district even more money and the power to evade TABOR restrictions.  The district as well spent a good bit of money this year to study this issue to decide just how much voters would tolerate and how much to ask for. 

Along with all those measures came lofty promises and indeed, some of the promises were fulfilled.  However, the district continues to show poor care with taxpayer money in a number of areas:

• Teacher pay has not kept pace with the cost of living despite all of these measures supposedly going to “develop competitive compensation.”  In fact, Adams 12 teachers are some of the lowest paid in the metro area.
• The district purchased a new administration building that was not needed simply because it was a “great deal.”  Of course with the continually ballooning size of the administrative staff, I suppose they did need the room.  Ask any honest teacher in the district where the biggest waste is and they will point to this building and the people that work in it.  Did you know that less than half of the school district’s employees are teachers?
• Refurbished a district middle school with one measure’s money only to turn around and turn it into a charter school.
• Showcased their poor money management by actually installing a fireplace in a new elementary school. 
• Ostensibly needs money for technology improvements and yet the district forbids schools and teachers from accepting donations of the very things the district seeks to buy with taxpayer money. 
• Wasted tens of thousands of dollars to pursue the purchase of a property for transportation needs, backed out at the last minute and in the process drove a tax paying and extremely supporting business member of the community out of Thornton. 
• Repeated bond measures continue to add to the district debt, already one of the highest in the state.  Who do you think pays for that debt?  The taxpayer! 

And on and on and on…. 

Folks, it is time to tell Adams 12 to keep their hands out of our pockets until they get their own house in order.  VOTE NO ON 3A AND 3B!