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DSST encourages you to participate in education rally

Written by DSST Public Schools | 04/20/18

Team:

Educators across Denver are organizing a rally on April 27 advocating for greater education funding and better compensation for teachers. DSST fully supports these goals, and we want to make sure that all staff are able to participate if they desire.

We will release students early on April 27. We are working with DPS Transportation to determine exact times, but the time will allow all of us to participate that afternoon at the State Capitol. We hope you will take the time to engage in this critical conversation. You will not need to use a personal half day to participate in this rally.

As you know all too well, education funding impacts staff, students and families, and Colorado has suffered as a state from policy decisions made throughout the past two decades.

  • Colorado consistently ranks in the bottom tier across the nation in per-pupil funding
  • Colorado ranks 50th in the nation in teacher salary competitiveness according to a recent study from the Education Law Center
  • Only Oklahoma and Arizona spend less than Colorado on services for students with special needs, and our mental health services lag behind other comparable districts

Our families and students deserve better funding, our teachers deserve better pay, and schools deserve more resources.

Our collective voice matters, and we support your efforts to change the landscape in our state. We will communicate some additional logistical details in coming days, so stay tuned, but we want you to have this information as early as possible in order to plan accordingly.

Thank you for all that you do for our students and our community.

Bill 

PS: If you are interested in reading more about school funding, here are some good resources:

The 74 Million: States that spend the most and least on education and how they perform

The Education Law Center: Is School Funding Fair?

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: A Punishing Decade for School Funding

Colorado Public Radio: THE TAXMAN: How Douglas Bruce And The Taxpayer’s Bill Of Rights Conquered Colorado