Ballot issues 3C and 3D failed in the November 8th local election.

Ballot issues 3C and 3D were imperative to D11, the schools are in horrible condition, teachers aren’t paid enough, and these in quite simply not enough money to run schools. Ballot issue 3C, if passed, would have given D11 $36.2 million each year for teacher raises, classroom materials and general education costs. Ballot issue 3C was important because Colorado is 48th IN THE NATION for educational spending and 5Oth IN THE NATION for teacher salary competitiveness.  Constantly, people complain “class sizes are too big” and “teachers aren’t paid enough” yet, those same people who complain about how schools are run voted against 3C.

Now, teacher salaries will stay the same and continue to fall behind the curve, class sizes will get bigger, and people will have more to complain about the state of education, but, at last taxes weren’t raised by $10 a month. $10 a month is ridiculous.

3D was bigger. 3D would do more for school improvement. Your school has asbestos flooring, deplorable security systems, non functioning fire alarms, broken heating, nonexistent cooling, and is falling apart. These things are not because the district mismanaged money, they are not the fault of design. These issues are because the school is nearly 50 years old, and things get worn out as they age. “Why weren’t they taken care of as they broke?” skeptics asked, and in short, it comes down to priorities. District 11 has not been given an increase in funding from those who live within its borders in a decade. Budget cuts in 2008 from the Great Recession cut state provided funding, and teaching kids, providing them with pathways to their futures is expensive. Teaching kids has only gotten more pricy as funding decreases, and to maintain what they could for student resources D11 has had to make cuts, the budget has had to have been a choice between students and the buildings they spend 8 hours a day in.

That choice could have been prevented. 3D would have given D11 the funds needed to fix the asbestos flooring and the fire alarms, to heat and cool the schools and to keep them safe from potential intrusions, but at least taxes weren’t raised by $10 a month. $10 a month is ridiculous.

Critics, if not for pure “I don’t want to pay more tax” reasons voted against the measure on grounds of money mismanagement. I ask them, “what money is there to be mismanaged? How can the Board mismanage money that is not there? Is there room to be fiscally irresponsible on a shoestring budget?” Taylor Dutton (11) says that that she thinks “it is hypocritical that a lot of the people who voted against it think that millennials are going to ruin the nation, but will not do anything to help us succeed when given the chance.” Things are only going to get worse. When I talked to Principal Smith in September he said “our teachers can do a lot without much” but they might not be able to do much more, “if the issues don’t pass” he warned, “there will be cuts.” But at least taxes weren’t raised by $10 a month.

$10 a month is ridiculous.