The Community Foundation endorses the following ballot initiatives for the upcoming election: Amendment 70 (Raise the Minimum Wage), Ballot Issue 4B (Scientific & Cultural Facilities District Tax Extension), Boulder Valley School District 3A (Operational Mill Levy) and St. Vrain Valley School District 3A (Construction Bond). Vote YES!
The Community Foundation endorses the following ballot initiatives for the upcoming election:
- Amendment 70 – Raising the minimum wage: YES
- Ballot Issue 4B – Renewing the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD): YES
- Boulder Valley School District 3A – Mill Levy for capital maintenance and program operations: YES
- St. Vrain Valley School District 3A – Bond for capital construction, maintenance, and program operations: YES
A thriving community includes a well-supported workforce, rich cultural offerings, and strong schools. That’s why the Community Foundation is endorsing Amendment 70, Ballot Issue 4B, and Ballot Issue 3A for both Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts on this November’s ballot.
Amendment 70 is a statewide initiative to raise the minimum wage from its current rate of $8.31 to $12 per hour by 2020. We know that more than 39,700 people in Boulder County live below the federal poverty line – 7,400 of them are children – and that the Federal poverty level for a family of four is $24,300. An employee working full-time at today’s minimum wage could not lift her family out of poverty, let alone reach the estimated self-sufficiency for a Boulder County family of four: $76K. Many of those who will benefit from this increase in pay will be women. We see this as an important opportunity to decrease economic inequality in our community that’s well-aligned with other recent efforts we’ve made as an organization to close the achievement gap, build a more diverse pipeline of emerging leaders, and better coordinate health and human services.
Ballot Issue 4B asks voters to renew the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), a $0.10 tax on every $10 purchase within the Denver metro area. SCFD has been in place for 28 years and last year put $55M into area museums, theater and dance troupes, music education programs, and the Denver Zoo. In Boulder County alone, SCFD provides more than 80 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations with nearly $2M in support annually. SCFD has become the largest patron of the arts locally and metro-wide, enabling visitors, young and old, to benefit from rich cultural experiences. In addition to the enrichment opportunities, arts and cultural organizations have been shown to exponentially impact economic activity. From regional big-wigs like the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and the Colorado Symphony to local favorites like Frequent Flyers and WOW! Children’s Museum, SCFD supports dozens of Boulder County nonprofits impacting tens of thousands of our local residents.
Both Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts are running ballot initiatives to fund critical needs for two of the strongest education systems in the state. Boulder Valley’s 3A is a mill levy override to sustain program levels, maintain buildings, and improve technology. St. Vrain’s 3A is a bond to address rapid growth, necessary maintenance, and enhanced use of technology with better links to the local business community. Both districts outperform state benchmarks in terms of student success and given K-12 education faces nearly annual cuts due to Colorado’s budget restrictions, we believe further investment in our children is the right thing to do for our students and our economic future.
The Community Foundation is a trusted community catalyst that inspires action by making informed decisions, being responsive, and believing that we can accomplish more together than alone. We carefully consider every tool available to us to effect change. Public policy is one of those tools, among many, including grants, technical assistance to nonprofits, donor education, and public/private partnerships.
When we consider taking a position on a public policy initiative, our board first runs the initiative through a robust internal process that includes the question, “Is the initiative congruent with our mission, values, strategic plan, and most recent Trends community indicators report?” I’m writing to tell you that we’ve done our homework, and we firmly believe that strengthening the economic standing of families in poverty, supporting our arts and cultural organizations, and funding K-12 education aligns with our mission to improve the quality of life in Boulder County, now and forever, and to build a culture of giving.
We hope you will join us in supporting these initiatives on November’s ballot.
David Brantz is Chair, Board of Trustees, of the Community Foundation.
