Bill’s Weekly Reflection: What You Must Do in the Next Week
Next Tuesday is a big day for all Americans and is a big day for DSST. Election Day is exactly 1 week from today and I would encourage you to vote – vote early by mail or vote next Tuesday in person. See this video from democracy prep,which has gone viral, on the importance of voting.
Ad you know, DSST has a lot at stake on November 6 with both proposal 3A (a local tax to support specific instructional programs like the arts) and proposal 3B (a local tax to support the repair and construction of new school buildings, technology and greening some schools)
Several line items in the bond will impact existing and future DSST campuses. In fact, DSST has $38 million of joint DPS – DSST projects in the bond (initiative 3B). Together DPS and DSST are working to completely renovate the existing Byers campus in the Washington Park neighborhood which has been vacant and in disrepair for many years. This project will allow us to open up our 5th 6-12 campus beginning in the fall of 2013 with the first 6th grade class. At full enrollment, the campus will serve over 900 students. Additional allocations for improvements within the bond will allow DSST: College View and DSST: Cole to open high schools in their facilities. At DSST: Cole, the growth plan includes renovation of the Mitchell school building, adjacent to the existing school building, which will accommodate our middle schools so that the high school can open in the current Cole space. The bond will support the building of a high school at College View to ensure we can build out a full 6-12 campus at Colorado Heights.
I personally support 3A and 3B as they represent an important increase in funding for our schools. This is especially critical in Colorado. As a state, we rank bottom five nationally in public school funding per student with no significant increase in state funding in sight. Our students and schools deserve to be better funded. 3A and 3B are not the solutions to better state funding, but help us get closer to where we should be.
Regardless of where you sit on these issues, you should be sure to vote on these initiatives as they represent big directional differences for the funding of public education in Denver.
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