DENVER — Thousands of educators from across Colorado gathered in front of the State Capitol Thursday for a statewide day of action.
Educators are fighting for increased funding at the state level, now needed more than ever amid further budget cuts, as they fear what’s at stake for public schools if they lose more funding.
Governor Jared Polis has pushed back on claims of education funding cuts, saying in a statement to Denver7 that his budget increases total per pupil funding by $388 and total education funding by $138 million.
Education
Colorado schools have been underfunded by $10 billion over past decade
Westlake Middle School band director Michael Windham was one of the thousands showing support in numbers at the Capitol.
“I put some fellow music teacher friends together and said, ‘Hey, you know, if we’re going to draw attention to this thing, let’s make some real noise,” said the Adams 12 Five Star Schools teacher.
Together, Windham and his impromptu marching band played a few numbers and led the sea of educators in chants as the demonstration got underway.
“I’ve been a music educator for 11 years and every year that I’ve been working, I’ve seen more and more cuts to our education system,” he said.
Educators like Windham said Gov. Polis’s proposed budget would bring cuts to public schools statewide.
It all comes down to a change in how schools receive funding — it would change the way students are counted — going from a multi-year average to a single-year count.
A spokesperson for Gov. Polis told Denver7 that individual schools could, in fact, see their funding adjusted depending on student count.
The statement said in part, “In order to help schools access an increase in funding driven by the new, student-centered school finance formula, Colorado must start funding students where they are, not empty chairs. Schools with declining enrollment will see their funding adjusted based on that, and they should not use projections that show them getting funding for students they don’t have."
Officials from the Colorado Education Association, the largest teachers' union in the state, said the state should look at other solutions before making cuts to public education.
“It’s our belief that we have to reform TABOR in some form or another, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, and we’re looking to start the conversation in Colorado about how we do that, because we simply cannot stay doing what we’re doing right now,” said Colorado Education Association President Kevin Vick.
Many students stood by their teachers’ side during Thursday’s rally as they called on state lawmakers to protect what they say are already limited resources.
“The budget of our school is nowhere near where it should be. Our teachers have been fighting for so long to be paid but, I mean, our students are struggling here,” said Thomas Jefferson High School Junior Simone DiFalco. “Our lunch period is so crowded, there’s no seats anymore, like it is a really crowded school and we’re not getting as much education as we should be getting in the time that we have.”
For teachers like Windham, it was a cry for hope.
“I hope this makes a difference and I hope this amplifies our voices. I hope that the governor and our legislators are listening today and they know that we mean business when we say no more cuts and enough is enough,” he said.
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