Face The State Staff Report
Rep. Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, slated to takeover as Speaker of the House in January and a strong advocate of parental rights in education, has appointed well-known charter school adversary Rep. Mike Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs, to continue his tenure at the helm of the House Education Committee.
Merrifield’s disdain for charter schools drew national attention in 2007 when Face The State uncovered a controversial e-mail written he'd written to a fellow legislator. Merrifield, who also served as the committee's chairman that year, wrote, "There must be a special place in Hell for these Privatizers, Charerizers, [sic] and Voucherizers! They deserve it!"
The comment was during an exchange with Sen. Sue Windels, an Arvada Democrat and then-chair of the Senate Education Committee. The two were searching for ways to alter the state's Charter School Institute, which allows charter school applicants to appeal decisions by school districts to reject applications. Shortly after the e-mail was exposed, Merrifield stepped down from his chairmanship for the remainder of the session.
Among those outraged at the time was Carroll, when he told the Rocky Mountain News, "What was a secret apparently is that he believes those of us who support charter schools all belong in hell," Carroll said, who added that Merrifield’s comments reflected a larger agenda to “gut charter schools.”
But those comments didn’t stop Carroll from keeping Merrifield as chair when he had the opportunity earlier this week to select someone else. Before committee selections were announced late Tuesday, Carroll hinted at a tort reform breakfast that morning that while he has gone against his party on the issue of education in the past, he may not do so in the future.
In 2008, Merrifield was quietly reinstated as chairman of the committee under the leadership of Speaker Andrew Romanoff, D-Denver. Political insiders widely speculated that the decision to reinstate the politically damaged Merrifield was made to appease Colorado Education Association campaign contributors.
Rep. Tom Massey, of Poncha Springs and the ranking Republican on the House Education Committee, said Merrifield lets his emotion drive his politics, but the scandal that followed the special “place in hell” e-mail forced Merrifield to change his behavior in 2008. “From an objective standpoint,” Massey said, “Michael paid particular attention to be more fair in committee last year.”
Ironically, Merrifield’s ex-wife, Ginger Spencer, works as a kindergarten teacher at a popular Colorado Springs’ public charter school. The two were officially divorced on Sept. 5, 2006, three months before Merrifield sent the "special place in hell" e-mail.
“That was an interesting episode and fun to watch,” said Jim Griffin, president of the Colorado League of Charter Schools. “Unfortunately it hasn’t changed the way [Merrifield] votes.”
A 2007 national Gallup poll found that 60 percent of Americans favor public charter schools, with 63 percent of all public school parents polled indicating support. Both figures reflect double-digit gains in support over the last seven years, with 2000 figures indicating that 42 percent of those polled had supported charter schools that year, together with 40 percent of public school parents.
Merrifield did not return multiple phone calls and one email from Face The State requesting an interview.