Bigger money wins in school board races
Money apparently mattered in recent school board campaigns in the state’s largest school districts, with the top fundraisers winning in seven of eight elections in Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.
Final campaign finance reports filed Thursday for school board candidates show Denver’s citywide at-large race may rank as the most expensive in the city’s history, with five candidates raising more than $267,111.
But Allegra “Happy” Haynes, who raised $234,972 of that amount, did not set an individual record, failing to beat the record $240,605 set by at-large candidate Mary Seawell, the board’s current president, in 2009.
One development in the 2011 elections is how advocacy groups are directing their dollars. In 2009, for example, Seawell received just $310.15 in non-monetary or “in-kind” donations. This year, Haynes received $56,397 in non-
Friday churn: Data report card
What’s churning:
The Data Quality Campaign issued its seventh annual analysis Thursday, and the bottom line is states are doing a better job at gathering education data but the information is not yet making a difference in the effort to boost student achievement. The group has spelled out “10 Essential Elements of Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems” as well as “10 State Actions to Ensure Effective Data Use.”
The new analysis found that states have done a good job putting the systems together — 36 states have implemented all of the “elements.” But not one state has implemented all of the “actions.” It’s these actions, the DQC argues, that will create a “culture” in which educators, parents and stakeholders make better decisions