This week a cut to the public school system was proposed by the governor along with other attempts to balance the budget through 2012. With public school funding hovering around 30% of the overall budget, its no surprise to hear that cuts are coming. Along with other concerns, such as merit pay and forming more after school programs, there is now 350 million more reasons why education funding should be the talk of the town.
Mayoral candidates are gearing up for many debates as the race to be Denver’s next Mayor heats up. High on the list of topics are concerns regarding the quality of the Denver Public School system and proposed reductions to DPS funding. Two issues the new Mayor will definitely be dealing with in the coming years.
On Friday, February 16, KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) hosted the Denver Mayoral Candidates Forum on Education at Riscel High School in Denver to discuss the topic of education in the city. Seven candidates running for Mayor were in attendance as well as the President of the Denver Public Schools Board of Education, Dr. Nate Easley and Executive Director of KIPP, Rebecca Holmes. The event was set to start at 8am and as people started making their way in, it was apparent that the interest to hear positions regarding education was important to students, teachers and parents that made up the audience. The stage was set for the event to begin with 4 tables to seat the candidates and one table for the moderators.
Rebecca Holmes took the microphone around 8:15 to start the event with a quick introduction and on overview of the KIPP programs. Explaining that KIPP is a network of free open-enrollment college preparatory public schools in under-resources communities throughout the United States and offers service in 3 locations in and around the city. Holmes gave a quick introduction to the two moderators and mayoral candidates in attendance before stepping off stage.
The moderators began the discussion with an explanation of the rules and process for the debate. To get things started each candidate was given one minute for a brief overview of his or her background and to state why education was important to him or her. This gave the audience an opportunity to get a sense for who was on stage and hear their motivations to improve the educational system in Denver.
The forum was setup so that the candidates were selected at random and could pass on a question once. The range of questions started out lightly which allowed each candidate to establish a general ethos. Questions such as “when was the last time you visited a school, met with parents and/or teachers?” eventually leading up to the harder questions that tested their knowledge of the current issues and statistics. The forum overall had a wide spectrum of topics which left me with a more rounded sense of each person on stage.
Three candidates stood out amongst the rest for three different reasons. As candidates running for Mayor, one would expect a sense of preparedness, being clear and precise and appealing to the audience. Surprisingly, I took away mixed feelings about the attention given by some of the candidates on stage. Some where there showing genuine interest and others seemed to be there just because the others joined the forum.
James Mejia stood out amongst the rest. He was well prepared and was very precise with his answers, not once repeating himself. Mr. Mejia was one of the few in a suit and tie and always stood up when giving his answers. His demeanor on stage created a sense of respect for to his audience and enforced his attention to the subject. I found myself wondering way every candidate wasn’t showing this level of engagement. Mejia presented himself very well and connected with the audience every time he spoke, giving exact answers to every question.
Ken Simpson took a very different approach. He was very casual in his appearance and responses. His persona was extremely casual for the event, dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans. He quickly establishes a connection with the students with his introduction and directs all of his answers towards them, and often received applause from those in the audience. As the other candidates talked about school principals and teacher performance, Ken talked about better school environments and cleaner bathrooms. Although very genuine, I feel his approach would have been better served if the audience were filled with more students.
Thomas Wolf was the least prepared and seemed the most out of place. Even though Thomas was well dressed and was quick to speak, he came across as arrogant and loud. He was the only candidate to pass on a question and wasn’t able to answer many of the speed round questions regarding the status quo of the system today. Thomas has a background of an investment banker and his responses were structured as if to close a deal which I feel was too much for the audience in the auditorium. His ethos was not servicing his appeal to be the next Mayor of Denver.
To finish up the forum each candidate gave a closing remark and most followed up on answers they gave throughout the discussion. Even though there was a wide range of questions, I feel there wasn’t enough time set aside to answer the questions effectively. It would have been to the benefit of everyone if there were less questions and more focused questions around one or two issues within the system. That way the candidates would’ve had more time to set the stage and strengthen any arguments.
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