Outlining the Case for a NO Vote on Ballot Issue 2A

Editor’s Note:  The following letter deals with Ballot Issue 2A, one of the local ballot questions facing voters this November. It deals with a plan to repeal the Woodland Park sales tax increase to benefit schools in the RE-2 District, which was approved by the voters in 2016.

Should the 1.09% sales tax to benefit our school be repealed, the school district will lose 11% of its budget, and our community will suffer.

Covid has devastated so much when it comes to education, and we are only now seeing a recovery in testing scores nationwide. In Woodland Park, all schools showed drastic increases in CMAS scores, just released in early September. Our teachers are doing a fantastic job and deserve the credit for these accomplishments.

They are dedicated and committed to our kids. They will be the ones most negatively affected by the repeal of the 1.09% sales tax, most of that money going to teacher salaries. 11% is a considerable percentage of a reduction in funds. As the most significant expense to the district is salaries and benefits, it is a certainty that they will be affected. In the city council meeting on September 5th, one school finance expert stated that teachers would have to be dismissed if this tax is repealed. Teachers who give it their all every day to take care of our kids. Teachers who are community members who will lose their jobs.

We cannot thank them enough for working so hard –- recent rating of # 18 in school districts in Colorado proves their value to Woodland Park kids. This is not a question of whether or not you agree with the current school district administration; it is a question of whether or not you think our teachers are valued.

We must band together as a community if for no other reason than to say we value our kids, we value the education of the next generation. Vote NO on Ballot 2A (last page of your voting booklet) and continue to support those who support our Woodland Park kids.

 

Belinda

Woodland Park