Two Denver schools today were the first district schools in Colorado to be granted charter-like freedoms from state rules under a law passed last year.
The state Board of Education voted unanimously to grant Montclair Elementary and Manual High schools waivers from about 40 Colorado laws under the Innovation Schools Act of 2008.
Both schools sought freedoms from budgetary constraints, calendar mandates and teacher-tenure laws.
“This is groundbreaking for the district and the state,” said Elaine Berman, who represents Denver on the state board and is a former Denver school board president.
“The whole country will be watching what you do and how you do it,” Berman told the schools’ two principals, who presented the proposals.
The Innovation Schools Act is intended to improve student outcomes by supporting greater school autonomy and flexibility in academic and operational decision-making.
The act lets schools and districts gain waivers from state laws and collective-bargaining agreements.
On Monday, Denver’s school board voted 4-3 to approve the bid by Manual and Montclair, which allowed them to appear before the state school board.
Now, said Montclair principal Shannon Hagerman, “It’s back to work. We now start putting it into action.”
State school board chairman Bob Schaffer picked up a thick book of state laws that govern schools and said the requests by Montclair and Manual underscore how cumbersome laws are for schools.
“Every single one of these statutes ought to be evaluated from A to Z,” Schaffer said. “Our schools are being crushed by rules, regulations and bureaucracy.”
Schaffer said he hopes more schools come forward with their own plans and that “people in the neighborhood start asking their principals, ‘Why can’t I have that?’ ”
Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com
