Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

By many measures, Colorado has the strongest and fastest growing economy of any state in the country, yet we are falling further and further behind in funding for education. Approximately one-half of the K-12 school districts in our state have been forced into four-day school weeks; Funding for higher education has been cut by 50% over the last 20 years; and Less than a third of Colorado high school graduates go on to earn 4 year college degrees.
The best thing the state legislature can do for public education is to address the continuous problems with funding. Educators are often burdened with using personal funds for classroom needs, and lack the resources to have sufficient time to plan, develop, and implement strategies to close achievement gaps for all students.
As a legislator I will advocate to re-focus the State budget on funding all levels of education, as well as a re-investment in vocational and apprenticeship training programs that will give young people the skills needed for the jobs of today and in the future. These programs should be available to high school upperclassmen and continue through community colleges and other higher education institutions.

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