DENVER—State lawmakers slashed funding for the state Board of Education on Tuesday over reports of lavish spending that included expensive meals, themed catering and valet parking.
State Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Fort Collins, said the Joint Budget Committee, which sets spending priorities for the state, cut the budget from $276,000 last year to $220,000 for the next fiscal year beginning July 1. They cut the $60,000 travel budget in half after records obtained by The Associated Press showed the elected eight-member panel took 17 state employees, including themselves, and 11 others to dine at a restaurant in Telluride that cost taxpayers $2,028.
According to board records, chairwoman Pamela Jo Suckla alone spent $26,000 for travel expenses and Evie Hudak claimed $11,316, according to the records obtained by the AP.
Peggy Littleton claimed $10,025, Randy DeHoff $5,970, Karen Middleton $4,013, Jared Polis $997 and Elaine Gantz Berman $763, while Bob Schaffer claimed only $521. Polis, who is no longer a board member, said he paid the money back.
Suckla said her expenses were higher than other members’ because she has to commute 385 miles at least once a month from her home in Slickrock on the Western Slope, rent cars and stay in hotels, while other board members live along the Front Range.
She said members have to stay at hotels like the tony Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs because that’s where educational conferences are held.
Johnson has asked state auditors to look at five years’ worth of records. But Mark Stevens, spokesman for the Department of Education, which maintains the records, said previously it’s difficult to determine how much individual board members spent in previous years because the expense accounts and receipts were filed by date and not by name.
Members of the Colorado State Board of Education are charged by the Colorado Constitution with the general supervision of public schools. They have numerous powers and duties specified in state law, including licensing teachers. Individuals are elected on a partisan basis to serve six-year terms without pay and do not receive a per-diem—only reimbursement for “necessary expenses.”
Middleton, who is now a state representative, said employment options for board members are limited because of potential conflicts of interest. She said many qualified people avoid running for the office because they can’t afford it.
