Has the Thompson School District “Reformers” flier, which states it is “Paid for by Americans for Prosperity,” appeared on your doorstep ?

We should be concerned about how “Reformers” in Thompson are continuing to put “politics first” in our school district. Their flier contains a lot of misinformation.

Before the “Reformers” were elected to the board, we already had many choices that met the needs of a diverse student population. They include K-12 programs LISA, IB, STEM and GT, and AP in 10-12. TSD is one of 12 districts in Colorado participating in literacy integration projects for both language arts and math. Also available are all-day kindergarten; outstanding preschool programs; an outstanding program for students with autism; dual credit options with Front Range Community College and Aims Community College; award winning music, art and theatre programs; after-school opportunities (from Odyssey of the Mind to tutoring to state championship sports teams); two charter schools; and several years of planning dual immersion schools and opportunities (yes, the reformers voted for it, they didn’t derail it, but they shouldn’t take credit for it either).

Also, the district has an award-winning finance department. All expenditures were online long before it was required by law. It far exceeds the state requirements of reporting. The annual third-party audit of the District books has always had an excellent rating.

The “Reformers”:

• hired their own private personal board attorney;
• showed no understanding or participation in the Interest Based Bargaining Process (the four voted to reject the MOU agreements that their administration team and teacher association came to after months of work, and they created a culture of distrust and disrespect);
• delayed the approval and construction of the new High Plains School by over a year, which cost taxpayers almost $3 million in lost square footage of learning space for our students;
• gave the two charter schools over $400,000 out of reserves for “extra funding” yet failed to calculate in the $169 per student extra charter students already were receiving from the state, equaling over $200,000 extra funding from state taxpayers.

Bonnie McDermid

Loveland