This week, the Community Foundation had the pleasure of presenting a TRENDS report to some of the leaders at Front Range Community College’s Boulder County Campus in Longmont. In addition to being a gracious and attentive audience, we ended the conversation in a really gratifying way.
We discussed rising inequality: 24 percent of Boulder County households make more than $150,000 a year. But the median household income for Anglos in Boulder County was $70,085. For Latinos, that figure is $35,599. This is particularly problematic, because it means in Boulder County, the median income of Anglos is about 97 percent higher than Latinos; the disparity nationwide is just 38 percent.
Here’s another problem: And it’s a biggie. From 2006 (pre-recession) to 2011, incomes for people with no high school degree fell 13 percent. But the incomes of people with a high school degree also fell, by 9 percent. Meanwhile, people with bachelor’s degrees saw their earnings rise by 7 percent; people with graduate and professional degrees saw earnings rise by 10 percent.
What does that mean? The recovery isn’t reaching those who need it most.
These are frustrating figures, and challenging opportunities. The leaders over at Front Range Community Center got that: They immediately asked what they could do, as a campus, to help Boulder County. We talked about many ideas on how to engage a more diverse audience. We also spoke about the Community Foundation’s School Readiness Initiative and the Leadership Fellows Program.
Their willingness not to just hear about the community they serve, but to ask about specific ways to contribute to improving the quality of life in Boulder County was very welcome.
