Why some Colorado teachers say education funding is crucial now more than ever
Teachers across Colorado are making plans to attend the Day of Action on Thursday to rally against funding cuts at the state Capitol. Several schools across the Denver metro area have canceled classes due to so many teachers being out.
"I live right in the neighborhood so to walk on past my school to get ready to join other educators from all around the state," said Max Schwartz, a theater and drama teacher at the Morey Middle School in Denver.
Schwartz will be taking a personal day off to attend.
The school will be one of those in Denver that will remain open. District administrators will fill in open spots for teachers who are off.
U.S. History teacher Kenny Martin, who plans to attend challenged any policymaker to see what things are like, "Come shadow a teacher for a day. At any middle school. Come walk into a classroom of 35 kids and see how that works."
State assessments of Colorado's funding position have determined the state remains about $4 billion short in education funding, with a low per-pupil funding rate that trails most other states.
"We've got it coming from the state government. We've got it coming from the national government at this point. And so there's so many different people that are working against public education out there that our educators feel like they need to do something," said Denver Classroom Teachers Association President Rob Gould.
Classrooms are tight in many places. At Morey, said Martin, students are in rooms designed for far fewer of them.
"We're in a situation where our class sizes are at 35. And in rooms that were rated to hold 20-22 students."
Colorado lawmakers are looking at a funding crisis with big increases in funding programs like Medicaid this year that will leave a $1 billion-plus hole to be filled. Democrats point to expansions in education like Universal Pre-K and full-day kindergarten in recent years as successes, but districts have complained about having to pick up much of the cost.
This year, Gov. Jared Polis proposed eliminating the process of averaging allowed for districts facing enrollment declines and going to a yearly count. Some districts have had sharp drop-offs and without averaging could see equally sharp declines in state funding under that plan. Polis pointed to other increases in school funding, but districts noted an overall $150 million decline.
A new proposal from Democrats is gathering steam.
"We're going to implement that new formula, where we drive more funding to our neediest schools, to our neediest classrooms. At just slightly a lesser rate. But it's new money into the system and we're going to maintain our four-year averaging, the way we stabilize funding in our schools," said House Speaker Julie McCluskie.
"I want them to have hope and confidence in this general assembly because we hear them," said McCluskie to teachers.
