Jefferson County – Educator leaders of the Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA) took a unanimous vote of support for the Jeffco Public Schools mill levy initiatives, 5A and 5B.
“I don’t know a single educator who isn’t feeling the pinch of their paycheck not being able to keep up with the rising cost of living,” said social studies teacher and JCEA President Ang Anderson. “Educators go into this profession knowing we will never be rich, but we do expect to be able to pay our bills. We are now at a critical crossroads where many cannot afford to do that and stay in the profession.”
Jeffco Public Schools receives less public funding per student than its neighboring Front Range school districts and ranks at the bottom of those districts in teacher pay. At the same time, many of the neighborhood public schools are facing infrastructure issues that impact students’ day to day learning. The Jeffco mill levy overrides 5A and 5B will bring in more funding to invest in educator compensation, expand career and technical programs for students, and help address the backlog of maintenance issues preventing our students from having warm and safe classrooms.
The Colorado Education Association (CEA) and JCEA are also supporting Proposition NN which allows Colorado to use state revenue it already collects for K-12 public education, addressing the statewide funding shortfall without raising taxes. Proposition NN also provides accountability to the voters by including an independent public audit every year so Coloradans can see exactly how the new dollars are spent.
“We know our state underfunds every student by about $4,000 each year,” said Sarah Silver, English Teacher at Arvada High School. “The issue of funding education is not just a problem in Jefferson County – it is a problem across the state. Proposition NN begins to address this statewide problem but the funding it will bring into Jeffco is more of a long term solution. The truth is that our students are experiencing the impact of Jeffco’s funding problem right now. Many of them have larger class sizes and are not able to access the resources they need. They are trying to learn in classrooms with major infrastructure issues, like HVAC and plumbing problems. This is why we need to support 5A and 5B – our students cannot wait to get the education they deserve.”
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The Jefferson County Education Association is the union for over 5,000 educators in Jeffco Schools, working together to ensure all students in Jeffco have safe, equitable, and thriving public schools. JCEA works collectively with our entire community to advocate for fully funded schools to ensure education is a profession that allows educators to work and live in the communities they serve. Follow JCEA on Facebook, and Instagram.