This year’s ballot covered a lot of ground. There were many important initiatives that divided our attention, but one of the most critical was Amendment 73 — one we would be remiss in overlooking as a community.
Colorado’s school funding environment is at a critical point, and we all need to be aware of the consequences of Amendment 73’s failure and what we need to do as a community to solve this. When state funding for our schools is lacking, our children lose.
In Eagle County, we have a youth mental health crisis at hand. If we’re going to successfully address this issue here in our community and for our children, we know we need to hire more school-based therapists, conduct more training and update our approach to social-emotional support services.
In Colorado, Amendment 73 may have failed, but for the voters of Eagle County, it was a yes. This tells us that our community cares about education and about our youth, and for that, I am incredibly proud and hopeful.
For those who voted against this amendment, I understand that tax increases present a challenge but aim to underscore to all community members the importance of continued and increased funding for education in our county.
Education is a complex issue and one that can’t be solved overnight. But one thing is clear: We need more funding. If we hope to retain top teacher talent via wages they can live on, if we want to give all Eagle County children and, in particular, our most vulnerable populations a quality education which includes critical in-school enrichment programming, if we want to address all the needs of our youth and, in particular, the mental and emotional needs of students, we need your help to get it done.
I encourage you to explore Education Foundation of Eagle County and the important work they are doing to help overcome the gaps in our system. As the public’s voice for education in this community, Education Foundation of Eagle County is serving a vital role as our students’ greatest advocate and working for the betterment of education in our schools and our community.
As we embark upon the season of giving, please consider a donation to Education Foundation of Eagle County. Your support will help drive innovation and advancement in education and for all of Eagle County’s students. With your support, we will never give up on our students or our school communities. Please visit efec.org to learn more.
Lisa Schanzer
Education Foundation of Eagle County board member …read more
Via:: Vail Daily