Independence Institute's Caldara again misled on Colorado Children's Amendment

Summary: Talking with a caller about apparent "sickouts" staged by some Denver teachers, Newsradio 850 KOA's Jon Caldara again mischaracterized the Colorado Children's Amendment by asserting that "none of the money" from the legislation's mill levy freeze "is guaranteed to go to [kids]." Caldara made a similar claim on two previous broadcasts, even though the bill's fiscal note stated that the measure would increase spending on preschool education and minimum per pupil funding.

On his May 27 Newsradio 850 KOA broadcast, Independence Institute President Jon Caldara misleadingly claimed that "none of the money" from revenue savings under Senate Bill 199 -- also known as the Colorado Children's Amendment -- "is guaranteed to go to [kids]." In fact, as Colorado Media Matters previously noted when Caldara made similar claims, the bill's fiscal note, prepared by the nonpartisan Colorado Legislative Council Staff, estimated that because of initiatives mandated by the legislation, SB 199 would increase spending on preschool education by $6.7 million in FY 2007-08 and by $19.1 million in FY 2008-09. Additionally, the new law phases in an increase in minimum per pupil funding above levels mandated by the Colorado Constitution at an additional combined cost for FY 2007-08 and FY 2008-09 of $19.6 million.

Caldara mischaracterized the amendment -- which freezes mill levy, or property tax, rates in order to redistribute sources of funding between the state and individual school districts -- while discussing apparent "sickouts" staged by some Denver Public Schools teachers on May 27. As The Denver Post reported on May 28, "Denver teachers Tuesday called in sick or staged symbolic parking boycotts in an effort to voice dissatisfaction with contract negotiations." The article continued:

All 16 classroom teachers at Academia Ana Marie Sandoval, a high-performing dual-language Montessori school in northwest Denver, called in sick Tuesday -- two days before the end of school.

Ten of the 26 classroom teachers at McGlone Elementary in northeast Denver called in sick in an apparent protest.

Teachers at Beach Court Elementary in northwest Denver refused to park in the school parking lot, posting signs that read: "No one can replace (the teacher's name)."

"We don't encourage this, but teachers are mad, and sometimes they take things into their own hands," said Kim Ursetta, president of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. "We are anxious to get back to the bargaining table."

A flier passed around last week urged teachers to unite with "job actions" this week, including "sickouts" and "park-outs."

"It's terribly, terribly disappointing for the kids who are finishing out their school year," said Superintendent Michael Bennet. "It is the result of terrible miscommunication about the offer."

Districtwide numbers on teacher absences were not available.

Talks between the district and union over a contract collapsed a few weeks ago.

A caller to Caldara's program said he "compare[d] what the teachers union does to our kids" to "child abuse" and "a soft form of terrorism," and Caldara later asserted that "politically, children are pawns. Children are always held up when we want a tax increase. They're held up every time they want a spending increase. They're used at political rallies." He added, "When the governor signed this ridiculous [Colorado] Children's Amendment, which I sued over and I'm optimistic we'll win, he signed it in front of all of these little kids ... He didn't tell any of these little kids that none of the money is guaranteed to go to them. He just used it as bait to get people to support it."

Caldara's statement that "none of the money" generated by SB 199 "is guaranteed to go to" children echoed a comment from his February 26 KOA broadcast in which he said of SB 199 revenues, "There's no guarantee it's gonna go to kids at all." Caldara similarly claimed that "[n]ot a dime" from the amendment "goes to the schools" while hosting the September 13, 2007, broadcast of KBDI Channel 12's Independent Thinking.

From the May 27 broadcast of Newsradio 850 KOA's The Jon Caldara Show:

CALLER: Hey, you know, this is a subject that just absolutely touches us, just every nerve in my, every fiber in my body, and that is, I would go so far as -- my wife is a schoolteacher, or she was, in the DPS system, OK?

CALDARA: Yeah.

CALLER: I met her like eight years ago; she was fresh into the system. If I've got the time, I'll try to encapsulate it but offer just a little bit of a background into this whole process and stuff of what I've come up with in how I now counsel her, and now she is held up practically as a hero within the system, and it really strikes at the heart of everything you're talking about. And it affords somewhat of a blueprint as to how we all conservatives should go about -- because I've used it successfully. She's applied my advice --

CALDARA: All right, get right to it.

CALLER: Here it comes: I compare what the teachers union does to our kids as, it's a soft -- in my mind, it's child abuse. It comes to me as a soft form of terrorism. Terrorists use the same tactics. They use the innocent, the weak, indefensible to exploit emotions to get their way. They're doing the same thing.

CALDARA: That's a really interesting analogy. Let me play with it for a while and decide if I agree with it. The idea of terrorism is, of course, to scare people. And also, you take advantage of people who are unsuspecting or have nothing to do with this.

CALLER: Yep.

CALDARA: And in this case, if the schoolteachers have a beef with the school board, with whom they're negotiating for yet another one-size-fits-all contract, then why deprive children? Why hurt children if your beef is with the school district?

CALLER: Yep.

CALDARA: And the reason is politically, children are pawns. Children are always held up when we want a tax increase. They're held up every time they want a spending increase. They're used at political rallies. When the governor signed this ridiculous [Colorado] Children's Amendment, which I sued over and I'm optimistic we'll win, he signed it in front of all of these little kids. Of course, he didn't tell any of the kids -- let me finish the thought. He didn't tell any of these little kids -- let me finish the thought. He didn't tell any of these little kids that none of the money is guaranteed to go to them. He just used it as bait to get people to support it.

—C. H.