Front Range gets much-needed snow
A massive spring snow storm swept through Colorado’s front range this week. Denver saw more than half a foot of heavy, wet snow in parts of the metro, while the northern Colorado mountains saw nearly 3 feet of snow by noon yesterday. The Denver Post reports that the snowfall is causing concern for trees in the Front Range. Just 3 to 5 inches of wet snow is enough to break small tree limbs, while 8 inches can cause significant damage to large trees and up to a foot “could result in widespread/nearly catastrophic tree damage,” forecasters said. Freeze watches also covered large swaths of Colorado including the Western Slope, from last night into this morning.
Montrose City Council members now allowed to respond to public comment
And in local government news, The Montrose City Council is changing its policy around public comment to allow council members and staff to be able to respond during the meeting.
The Montrose Daily Press reports that at a workshop Monday, May 4, Mayor Michael Badagliacco explained the new rules, which he said will allow residents to ask questions about relevant items when staff can address them and dispel any misconceptions.
“It’s a great opportunity for our citizens to be able to ask the questions when the department head is here, because they’ve got more in-depth knowledge,” he said.
For agenda items with public comment, he said, staff will present the item, then council will discuss as usual. Then, once the floor is open for public comment, residents will be able to ask questions of the council and staff, who will be able to respond and discuss if they wish. The council is not obligated to respond, and the goal is discussion rather than debate. There will still be a three minute time limit for these interactions, and a rule bars disorderly conduct.
Geoglyph in Southern Arizona damaged
New photos show major damage to an archeological site that is hundreds of years old in Southern Arizona. As Nina Kravinsky reports for the Mountain West News Bureau in Hermosillo, the loss is linked to border wall construction.
Controversy over Montrose County School Board law firm continues
In March, KVNF reported that the Montrose County School District Board of Education voted to hire a controversial law firm. That firm, Miller Farmer Carlson Law, has raised some eyebrows among community members due to its founder, Brad Miller. Critics claim that Miller exerts a right-wing agenda on the school districts he represents, while his supporters say that he provides seasoned counsel that helps conservative boards find balance in a blue state.
After the Montrose School Board hired Miller, the conversation didn't end. Several weeks later, the Delta County School Board put out a request for proposals for legal services, immediately stirring speculation that it was opening the door to Miller. His firm did not submit an application, and the decision to hire additional counsel is on hold until the vacant seat on the board is filled. 00:00:48 Following the intense public interest in Miller, KVNF is bringing you a series of voices and perspectives on his new role in Montrose.
We hoped to speak with Miller directly, and he initially showed interest but stopped responding to our requests. We reached out to Logan Davis, a reporter who has written extensively about Miller for the Colorado Times Recorditor. Davis shared a tape he obtained of a panel that Miller spoke on during the 2023 Teacher Freedom Summit so we can bring you Miller's voice.
When introducing himself at the summit, Miller states that he’s “become known to be the sort of anti-union, pro-family, pro-parent attorney for school districts and school charter schools here in Colorado.” Miller later speaks about how most of the school boards he represents lean conservative. He says, “my clients tend to be, you know, conservatives who were elected to a school board.”
Throughout the event, Miller lumps himself in with school boards he represents, saying "we" when referring to pursuing conservative policies. He mentions working with the Woodland Park school district, saying, “We adopted American standards. We got rid of the MOU in this with the union agreement. We changed our controversial materials, so parents have to opt in, they have to choose into the things that might be questionable and go right down the line with all of those things.”
Notably, the Montrose School Board gained a conservative majority after last year's election. During this forum, Miller mentions that when a school board becomes more conservative, it's important that the superintendent and other employees are aligned. He explains, “Here in Colorado, two school boards that had been traditionally very union-heavy and anti-parent, frankly, had the same sort of experience, and they hired me as board counsel. … I think in both cases there were a couple other steps they needed to take. They needed to make sure that they had engaged a superintendent that's aligned with them. And I think a few other elements, the board secretary, the communications person, you know, there's different folks within the system that if they're not aligned with you, they're gonna undermine you if you're moving in parent-friendly ways.”
He also stated that he typically experiences opposition from the teachers’ union, stating, “So you just gotta be very cognizant of building the structure quickly but without being too dramatic because our friends in the union will make out that everything you've done is crazy and it's disruptive and they'll come be noisy at board meetings and then blame you for the the noise. It's a really fraught environment.” During the event, Miller also states that it’s important to “grab” a conservative majority when it appears on a school board: “And I've gone through many, many cycles in Colorado because we don't have a majority in a lot of places. And so when we grab it, it's quick.”
Miller also mentions that members of school boards he worked with had been recalled, saying “we lasted for two years until the union had 17 people full-time for a year going knock on doors to get us recalled, to get my folks recalled. We had two years to get things done and we got rid of elements of the master agreement. We added charter schools, we had merit pay, we attacked the AP U.S. History curriculum, Fox Newsy type of thing, because it wasn't very aligned with the way we do the work. Got Planned Parenthood out of the district, those sorts of things. They recalled us, and like 15 minutes later it was all back.”
Miller's statements during this panel, which were previously reported by the Colorado Times-Recorditor, have caused concerns that Miller intends to subject the Montrose School Board to a particular agenda. KVNF will continue bringing voices and perspectives on Miller’s new role in Montrose.
