|
Bob is one of Colorado's foremost and most experienced education policy leaders and experts. As a former State Senator and US Congressman, Bob served as Vice-chairman of the Senate Education Committee and as a Member of the US House Education and the Workforce Committee where he was Vice-chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth, and Families. He has been involved in nearly all aspects of public education.
For more than 20 years, Bob has provided solid education leadership in Colorado and nationally. An advocate for competitive public schools, Bob has been a champion of getting more tax dollars to the classroom, dramatically increasing professional pay for public-school teachers and moving more academic decision-making authority to the most local level possible.
Bob's father, now retired, spent his entire career as a public-school teacher, a principal and administrator. Bob's mother also worked in public schools as a finance officer. Moreover, as parents of five public-school-educated children (all in the PoudreSchool District in Fort Collins), Bob and his wife Maureen take public education as seriously as anyone can -- and they have volunteered countless hours in their kids' schools.
A proven Colorado school leader
In the Colorado Senate, Bob was instrumental in working with Governors Bill Owens and Roy Romer in creating Colorado's Charter Schools Act. He has been a champion for charter schools ever since.
He was also well known for his routine budget amendments earmarking more state money for classroom supplies and instructional materials; and for the Colorado law he sponsored outlawing prohibitive fees that were once charged to parents and schoolchildren for certain school-related activities including school-bus service.
Getting federal dollars to the classroom
In Congress, Bob was Chairman of the House Education Reform Caucus. He led investigations to eliminate federal waste, fraud and abuse to make sure tax dollars intended for America's school children got to the classroom.
He introduced legislation to provide massive cash infusion in American schools through an efficiency improvement in the federal tax code. He was a consistently strong advocate for making sure the federal government made larger payments to school districts through the federal "Payment in Lieu of Taxes" fund which applies in cases where federal land reduces a school district's property tax base (this is the case in much of Colorado).
An advocate for disabled children
Bob was perhaps best known in Congress for the billions of dollars he proposed toward fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA). In Bob's opinion, if the federal government mandates states perform certain classroom services and promises to pay a portion of the cost, then the federal government ought to pay its fair share. Though most of Bob's amendments narrowly failed on the House floor, some didn't. By the time Bob retired from the Congress in 2002, the federal share of IDEA funding had nearly doubled -- a real benefit for disabled students throughout America.
A fighter for rural schools
Throughout Colorado's Fourth Congressional District, Bob is well known as one of the few true advocates for rural schools. On the State Board of Education, for example, he recently voted for additional capital construction funding to help rural school districts that needed state assistance in meeting urgent needs such as leaking roofs, fire-suppression systems and building improvements. A predominance of the funding in the spending schedule is targeted to rural schools in Bob's district.
Bob believes firmly in the concept of "local control" in education. Local school board members, superintendents, principals and teachers should not be constrained in making common-sense decisions that benefit the schoolchildren they are elected or hired to serve. Bob has been a consistent fighter against wasteful and time-consuming education bureaucracy, over-regulation and burdensome mandates coming out of Washington, DC and Denver, Colorado.
A champion for local control
On behalf of Colorado's education system, Bob is currently providing needed leadership and input to lawmakers (his former colleagues) in Congress, the White House and the US Department of Education as they consider reauthorization of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Though the Act is complex, Bob's emphasis is clear: "Give more authority and flexibility to the states and to local districts."
A voice for the inner-city and minority achievement
After leaving Congress, Bob went back into the private sector, but has continued to volunteer his time, talents and resources serving several pro-education non-profit organizations. He has spent much of the past four years leading private charities to assist inner-city schools in Denver that are serving the state's poorest and often most-difficult-to-teach children.
Bob also works with state legislators, governors and school-board members providing advice and guidance on how to close the achievement gap and reduce Colorado's high drop-out rate -- especially among minority students.
Empowering parents
Throughout Bob's 20 years of providing education leadership, he has always fought for the rights of parents to play the biggest role in the education and upbringing of their own children. Bob is widely regarded as one of Colorado's most dedicated pioneers of parental choice in education.
Bob has played a key role in advancing such concepts as charter schools, inter-district choice, intra-district choice, opportunity scholarships, learning passports, magnet schools, learning tax credits, competitive school grants, Title I portability, independent supplemental services, post-secondary enrollment options, on-line education, home schooling and private contracting. Bob and his wife, Maureen, helped start alternative and charter schools in Fort Collins which today are among the best in the state.
Promoting the freedom to teach and the liberty to learn
Bob takes a wide view of public education and believes the education industry in Colorado should offer the broadest menu of options from which parents can choose the optimal academic settings for their youngsters.
Numerous education organizations in Colorado and nationally, have recognized Bob's leadership over the years as a skilled and persuasive school reformer. He has received many "legislator of the year" awards and commendations from the states and nation's top education organizations and agencies.
Transforming the Colorado Department of Education
In December of 2005, Bob was appointed by a committee of community representatives from throughout Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District to fill out the year remaining in the term of Mr. Clair Orr of Kersey, Colorado. Mr. Orr resigned his post on the State Board after serving the citizens of Eastern Colorado with distinction for 11 years.
Bob thoroughly enjoys serving on the bi-partisan State Board and solving various problems confronting Colorado's education system. The challenges are often great, but, in Bob's opinion, the cause of serving children and providing them a high-quality free public education is right.
High expectations and real vision
Bob believes Colorado's education system can be the best in America given the right vision, appropriate funding, a competitive environment, engaged parents, less bureaucracy and well-paid teachers who are treated like real professionals. It's a vision Bob has long held, and one that offers real promise to Colorado's schoolchildren who hold the future of our GreatState.
Bob Schaffer -- the best choice for better schools!
|
