State Leadership Awards

The CASB State Leadership Award is presented to an individual or individuals whose unique quality of leadership has made a dramatic and lasting impact on the future of education in the state of Colorado.

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Legislative Excellence Award

2008 Legislative Excellence Awardee:
Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff

Tireless advocate for children, passionate speaker and inclusive leader, Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff exemplifies the very best in state leadership. Tackling tough challenges because it is simply the right thing to do, Speaker Romanoff made an indelible mark on Colorado’s politics and education.

As the first Democrat to serve as Speaker of the House since 1975, he used wit and wisdom to ask tough questions and delved deep into problems to build a case for issues neither “sides of the aisle” could ignore. Among his most notable bipartisan efforts for education:

• Led the widely supported overhaul of Colorado’s constitutional provisions to create a needed savings account for K-12 education to help prepare children for the future.
• Helped craft a bipartisan compromise to address the state’s fiscal crisis during the 2005 legislative session. He then was a key spokesman during the campaign for the succeeding Colorado Economic Recovery Act, Referendum C.
• Along with others, spearheaded the creation of the Building Excellent Schools Today bill, allocating nearly $1 billion toward the repair of decaying and dangerous public school facilities.

Amidst these dramatic contributions to education, Speaker Romanoff remained a strong supporter of local control and school boards. He often spoke to the CASB membership, explaining intricacies of state tax policy in a way that endeared him to the CASB membership.

This was the final year of Speaker Romanoff’s eight years at the Capitol. Though he represents House District 6, covering east Denver and Glendale, his passion and influence is felt far beyond the boundaries of his house district. Here at CASB, his impact on our membership was great and will most certainly be missed.