Opposition to Amendment 73 is wishful thinking
In a state hamstrung by an outdated tax code good intentions don’t raise adequate funds for schools. Ballot measures like Amendment 73 do.
State lawmakers have cut education funding by $7.5 billion over the past decade — and despite Colorado having the best economy in the nation — we still woefully underfund our schools. There is no amount of “prioritizing” that can make up for a $1.6 billion shortfall that has us trailing Mississippi and Alabama in perpupil funding or will instantly backfill a severe lack of teachers in rural Colorado that gets worse by the day.
Waving a magic wand and exercises in wishful thinking won’t help with a 3,000person teacher shortage statewide that’s hit rural districts especially hard. That’s why school boards across Colorado have passed resolutions in support of Amendment 73. Those resolutions specify what districts would spend the money on, and just as important, hold the local school boards accountable for those funds.
As the superintendent and board president of Littleton Public Schools, we can tell you exactly how we will spend the money. We’ll be using it to provide adequate and equitable staffing for schools, enhanced safety and security measures, fullday kindergarten for all students, mental health supports and initiatives, additional career, technical, and innovative programming, recruitment and retention of highly effective teachers and staff, and, additional early childhood educational opportunities.
Our counterparts in the ru ral district of Brush, which has lost more than $13 million in state funding since 2009, will use the funds to update technology, textbooks, and other learning materials — and replace older, outdated buses to help rural kids get to school.
It is disappointing that The Denver Post gave even a passing glance to the debunked accusation that local services might be affected by passage of Amendment 73. That cynical attempt to pit first responders against teachers is a scare tactic that is simply untrue. That’s why you won’t find it in the nonpartisan Blue Book.
Wishful thinking and an outdated constitutional tax code got us into our education funding shortfall mess. Amendment 73 can help get us out of it.
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