Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

We have a serious crisis facing our education system in Colorado. With skyrocketing college tuition, plummeting school district budgets, and an unstable school finance situation, Colorado's school system is in dire need of long term solutions (find out more about Colorado's budget, including TABOR, Arveschoug-Bird, and Amendment 23 at the Bell Policy Center by clicking here).

Finding a balance between teachers, parents, school districts, and federal mandates is delicate, especially under such immense budgetary restrictions. I will bring the best and the brightest together to hammer out a long-term education plan that understands our unique state budget, but still strives to improve our schools every single year.

Colorado's per pupil funding for K-12 is among the lowest in the country. With the recent Lobato decision by the Colorado Supreme Court challenging the funding formula for our K-12 system, the future of education in Colorado is very much up in the air. As this case moves forward, we will have more clarity on the future of our school finances.

I believe that there is no economic development tool better than education. It is the silver bullet. A well educated workforce prepared to compete for the jobs of the 21st century is the only thing that can help us build a stable economy for our kids. In addition a first-rate education system is an asset that can be used to draw businesses and investment to our community.

I benefited from an excellent public school system growing up in Jefferson County. I want to raise my family here in Lakewood. Our kids deserve safe schools and teachers who have the resources necessary to provide a quality, public education.

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