Posted inColoradans, Education, Equity, News, Politics and Government

“Everybody has a second job”: Low pay leaves rural Colorado teachers struggling

It was November, and Casey Cunningham had a decision to make: She could pay her car registration or buy holiday gifts.   Cunningham was already delinquent on her student loan payments. After shelling out for her rent, car and utilities, she was left with less than $1,000 to cover all of her other expenses. The third-grade […]

Posted inBusiness, Climate, Economy, Education, Energy, Environment, News, Politics and Government

Budgets fat with fossil fuel revenue at odds with climate-change goals in states like Colorado

By Morgan Lee and Mead Gruver, The Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. — Government budgets are booming in New Mexico: Teacher salaries are up, residents can go to an in-state college tuition-free, moms will get medical care for a year after childbirth, and criminal justice initiatives are being funded to reduce urban violence. The reason […]

Posted inNews, Politics and Government

Colorado lawmakers want to tweak how at-risk students are counted amid broader school-funding overhaul

State lawmakers are looking to tweak how Colorado distributes money to help school districts support their neediest students, fearing that the current definition of “at-risk,” a measure used to determine funding, is no longer accurate. Tens of millions of dollars could be on the line. The state uses free and reduced-price lunch sign-ups to help […]

Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government

Colorado’s education pie just got bigger. Now lawmakers want to give a larger slice to higher-needs students.

Expecting a cash infusion after the Colorado Supreme Court gave its blessing to raising local school district taxes, lawmakers are proposing major changes to how the state spends its education dollars.  House Bill 1325 would expand the definition of children living in poverty and qualifying for additional funding and, for the first time, give districts more […]

Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government

As Colorado legislature reconvenes, leaders pledge funds for K-12, higher education

By Jason Gonzales and Erica Meltzer, Chalkbeat Colorado Colorado lawmakers returned to work Tuesday with Democratic leaders pledging to restore cuts made to K-12 and higher education during the early months of the pandemic last year and to invest more in education. “The uphill recovery and the many daunting tasks before us may be mighty, […]

Posted inCOVID, Education, News

A late surge in demand overwhelms Colorado’s state-sponsored online school

Colorado’s state-sponsored online school has been overwhelmed by demand as a diverse collection of districts turn to the nonprofit provider to serve students whose parents don’t want them in a classroom during the pandemic. Colorado Digital Learning Solutions had to suspend registration just a few days after it opened last week to work through a backlog […]

Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government

The big tax change in Colorado’s school finance act, explained

This story was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for their newsletters here: ckbe.at/newsletters To head off a deepening crisis and address longstanding problems in school funding, Colorado lawmakers are trying to find a way to reset school district property taxes around the state. This year’s Public School Finance […]

Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government

Colorado’s shift to a new higher education funding formula places the focus on the student

By Jason Gonzales, Chalkbeat Colorado This story was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for their newsletters here: ckbe.at/newsletters For years, Colorado has funded its public higher education institutions primarily by how many students they can enroll. Now the state instead will weigh more heavily how well an […]