Mark Ferrandino, Colorado’s first openly gay speaker of the House, will join Denver Public Schools as its chief financial officer, Chalkbeat Colorado has confirmed.
Fox31 first reported the news that the Democrat, who is term limited, will join DPS this summer. His first day is July 21.
Ferrandino, who is widely know for his advocacy for the Colorado Civil Union Act, previously served on the state’s Joint Budget Committee, which writes the state’s finance laws, before becoming speaker in 2013.
On the budget committee he earned a reputation as a master of budget policy and details.
Ferrandino was first appointed by a vacancy committee to represent his Denver district, which includes a large portion of South Broadway, in 2007.
Before entering the legislature, Ferrandino worked as a senior budget analyst for the state Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which administers the Medicaid program. Before coming to Colorado, Ferrandino worked as a analyst for federal agencies, including the Office of Budget and Management.
He has not been an initiator of K-12 legislation, but he’s been at the center of some those debates as speaker. During the 2014 session he initially opposed reductions in the state’s $1 billion K-12 funding shortfall, known as the negative factor, but softened his position after intense lobbying from district interests.
His signal piece of education legislation was House Bill 14-1319, which lays the foundations for a performance-based system of higher education funding. The measure easily passed the legislature – after significant changes sought by higher education lobbyists and the Department of Higher Education.
Ferrandino has been widely rumored as a candidate for director of the Office of State Planning and Budget if Gov. John Hickenlooper is re-elected and current budget chief Henry Sobanet were to step down. In that job Ferrandino would have been perfectly positioned to oversee implementation of higher education performance funding, something that won’t happen now.
Ferrandino is a member of the advisory board for Democrats for Education Reform-Colorado.
Ferrandino replaces David Hart who left the district earlier this year. According to The Denver Post, Ferrandino will make $145,000 a year with up to $15,000 in incentive pay.