Savannah Wolfson: What Will It Take to Fund Our Schools?
Oddly enough, many Democrats are running on a platform of education funding this year. They’ve had a supermajority in Colorado for 6 years, but chose not to fund our schools. Here’s one example of a rural school in our district dealing with severe water damage. Elementary kids in Rio Blanco County have had to stop class and help clean up water in the hallways. When I met with superintendent Matt Scoggins, his wish list for the school was simple. He wants to keep the kids safe, warm, and dry. Instead, he gets a facility with problems like this one.
Matt believes that this is poor stewardship and that the Budget Stabilization factor has hurt rural schools like his. Many attempts to boost education funding without raising taxes were introduced by Republicans in the last session, and the Democratic Party shot them down, because they didn’t want the money to be redirected from their pet projects.
This is where my Democratic opponent and I have a clear difference in policy ideas. She claims there is no funding for education because we need to get rid of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. Our state budget is over $30 billion. At some point, we need to ask, “Where is our money going?”
TABOR is a special law that says you, the people, get to decide if something is worth funding and worth a tax increase. Sometimes, the voters say yes. Other times, they say no. It is also a law that says that the state should return extra money they collect back to the people. It puts a check on the whims of politicians, and keeps your power and money within your family.
Any politician who wants to get rid of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights is a politician who doesn’t believe in honoring your finances. They are not a public servant. They cannot stand on a platform of affordability. They will not support the will of the people. This November, it’s a simple choice between a candidate who wants higher taxes and a candidate who believes in your right to say no.
While our schools are underfunded, let’s be the solution! Here are the Amazon Wish Lists of two teachers in the flooded elementary school. Would you buy a few items for these teachers?
This is the wish list for 5th grade
This is the wish list for 2nd Grade.
To those who buy from the wish lists, thank you for joining the movement to unite and protect our district!
Speaking of uniting and protecting NW Colorado, we’re in our last 100 days of campaigning to win this seat. Every dollar counts in this swing district. It is our firm belief that a candidate running on the Western Slope should have been living in the community before running for the seat, and separate from the Boulder politics. If you agree, pitch in and help us win!
No more one-party rule. No more Boulder reaching out and intruding on our local control. Instead, let’s have a representative focused on our local issues. We want #Affordability, and we want to #EndTheWarOnRuralColorado.
