“We can and must do better for our children, our teachers, and our schools. New funds from Amendment 73 would go straight to our local school districts to spend in the best way to meet local community needs and as accountable to local voters.”
To elevate awareness and ignite action around our community’s social, economic, and environmental issues, we periodically feature local thought leaders to enhance the stories and data behind our work. This month, we’re pleased to feature educator Mark Wilding. Community Foundation Boulder County has endorsed Amendment 73.
I encourage you to vote Yes on Amendment 73, the Great Schools for Thriving Communities initiative.
I work every day with schools in Colorado, and the lack of resources is not adequate or equitable for our communities. Despite a booming economy, Colorado’s school funding lags well below the national average – 46th for teacher pay, 42nd in per student funding
Across the state, Colorado’s schools are in deep financial trouble because of huge spending cuts that have left our schools with funding that is $2,800 per pupil below the national average, trailing even Alabama and Mississippi. [That amounts to $84K for a class or 30!]. Indeed, more than $7B has been taken out of the Colorado school funding formula in the last 10 years to balance the state’s budget. As a result, more than half of the school districts in Colorado have been forced to go on four-day weeks, we have a huge teacher shortage (3K+ across the state), and our teachers are the lowest paid in the country. Mental health and counseling needs cannot be met, and children with special needs don’t get the help they require to learn. Our opportunity gap – between high-income and low-income students – is almost the highest in the country.
We can and must do better for our children, our teachers, and our schools. Your Yes vote on Amendment 73 would help solve this crisis. New funds from Amendment 73 would go straight to our local school districts to spend in the best way to meet local community needs and as accountable to local voters.
Most school districts across the state have not only endorsed Amendment 73, but have posted on their own websites how they would prioritize the money. The money would be distributed under the current (1994) school financing law, but would add $1K more per pupil, count kindergartners as full students (so that free full-day kindergarten can be provided by all districts), expand the definition of “at risk” students to include students just above the poverty line as well as those below, and provide substantially more funding for students with special needs, students who are gifted and talented, and students who are English Language Learners.
The Amendment requires the legislature to develop a new school funding formula that is both equitable and adequate for all communities across the state, and also imposes a five-year review of all spending under the Amendment.
I hope you will join me in investing in our children’s future – and that of Colorado – by voting Yes on Amendment 73. To find out more about the Amendment, to calculate its impact on your own household, or to find out how your district would prioritize the new funding – or to volunteer or donate – check out Yesonamendment73.com.
