In a paper to be presented to the State Board of Education today, school superintendents call for more “proactive” leadership at the state education department, while an outgoing board member criticized the performance of Education Commissioner William Moloney as “lackluster.”
The paper, titled “A Call for State Leadership – Colorado Superintendents Speak Out,” was spearheaded by the Colorado Association of School Executives and is the culmination of seven months of discussions among superintendents across the state.
It calls on Moloney and members of the state board and education department to work more closely with Colorado’s 178 school districts to raise student achievement and close learning gaps among students.
“In an unprecedented show of unity, Colorado superintendents are calling for leadership, support and encouragement from the state,” the paper says. “A growing consensus of superintendents believes state-level leaders must become far more proactive” to make schools successful.
John Hefty, executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives, said the paper is not meant as an attack on state education officials.
“It’s not calling out anybody or any group,” Hefty said. “It is suggesting that all levels have to be proactive.”
But Jared Polis, one of four Democrats on the board, said Moloney has fallen short as an education leader in Colorado.
“I agree with much of their critique,” Polis said. “Their comments represent some of the same issues that I’ve been fighting for.”
Polis said the department, under Moloney’s leadership, has been slow to respond to outside requests for information. He cited a letter from the nonprofit group Just for the Kids, that noted a “lack of reply” by the department to data requests.
“CDE has had lackluster leadership during my tenureship on the state board,” Polis said.
Among other things, the paper calls for state education department officials to develop a vision for preschool through college education; make the department more service-oriented rather than regulatory; and create a more efficient system to manage data collected from districts.
Moloney, who was hired by the board in 1997, said what the paper overlooks is that “the role of the state board and the commissioner and the department is to implement” laws created by the legislature. He said administrators have problems with state and federal laws that the education department can’t change.
The paper, he said, also doesn’t mention resources. “We could meet everyone’s heart’s desire if someone could give us another 50” employees, he said.
Moloney dismissed Polis’ comments, saying he has no plans to step down. “What (Polis) really means is (Moloney) is not doing what I would like him to do,” the commissioner said.
Polis, who is an at-large member of the state board, will leave his post at the end of the year when his term expires.
But board member Peggy Littleton, one of four Republicans, characterized Moloney’s performance as “strong.”
She said he has shown support for improving childhood literacy via changes to Colorado’s basic literacy act, a subject Littleton has championed on the board.
“I clearly have felt that we have, as a state department, moved ahead,” Littleton said.
Staff writer Karen Rouse can be reached at 303-820-1684 or krouse@denverpost.com.
