John Hickenlooper last week shone his gubernatorial spotlight on the conflict between the Douglas County School Board and its teachers’ union, urging more discussion between the two groups.
But comments from Colorado’s leader and lieutenant governor were not harbingers of a decision on the union’s request for state intervention in its failed negotiations with the school district. The Douglas County Federation made its plea for help from the Colorado Department of Labor on June 18, as negotiations floundered.
“There has been no decision to intervene,” executive director Ellen Golombek said in an emailed statement. “We encourage both sides to work together on developing a common ground."
The state agency is under no deadline for such a decision.
The collective bargaining agreement between the union and district expired June 30. The board now is debating putting as many as three questions on the November ballot in an effort to permanently sever the once-strong bond between the two. A decision on whether to proceed with one or more ballot questions was expected during the board’s Sept. 5 meeting.
During an Aug. 27 interview on KOA radio’s Mike Rosen show, Hickenlooper said he’d like to see the school board and teachers’ union get back to “discussing the issues.”
“I think the key point isn’t so much trying to force government intervention, but trying to keep the lines of communication open,” he said. “Asking people to sit down and discuss, that’s not a big stick. I’m still speaking softly. I’d like to get both sides in the room to see if there’s one last chance to find common ground.”
Hickenlooper, with Lt. Gov. Joe Garcia, wrote in an Aug. 25 Denver Post editorial that Douglas County school leaders had demonstrated a noteworthy spirit of collaboration on education reform.
“Although there may be different points of view, the Douglas County School Board and the DCFT have a common history worth fighting for,” the editorial concluded.
DCF President Brenda Smith said the union is open to more discussion with the district.
“We definitely would be willing to come back into the room, as long as the end goal for both sides is to bargain in good faith and get to a collective bargaining agreement for our teachers and our classified employees,” she said.
The district declined comment.
