Rep. Daniel Kagan Hears Parents' Concerns

On Monday night, nearly a hundred parents gathered at West Middle School in Greenwood Village to ask questions of State Rep. Daniel Kagan, State Sen. Nancy Spence, School Superintendent Mary Chesley, and other officials.

The Colorado budget is in crisis, and there will be an impact on every service provided by the state. With 45% of the general fund dedicated to K-12 education, it is certain that our schools will be a target for lawmakers needing to cover a billion dollar shortfall.

Rep. Kagan knows the challenges faced by public schools almost too well for two good reasons. He sits on the House Finance Committee, dealing every day with the pressures of balancing a budget in tough economic times. It gives him a perspective and expertise on the realities of too few dollars for too many programs. The second reason stands in front of him every day. He is the father of three public school students, and has the perspective of a parent that wants the best education possible for his children.

Cherry Creek Schools pride themselves on the excellence of their programs. When Governor Hickenlooper recently proposed cuts of more than $500 per pupil from their funding, a large group of concerned parents met to discuss the problems and the possibilities.

School Board Vice President, Jennifer Churchfield, explained how we got here, and how TABOR and other constitutional amendments had shifted the financial burdens from the districts onto the state while at the same time squeezing away Colorado's ability to pay those bills.

Sen. Spence addressed the gathering and voiced worries that the Governor's reductions would not go far enough to fill the entire billion dollar hole. She encouraged the schools to be more creative in finding savings of their own, and suggested that privatizing some employees, such as bus drivers, might allow schools to lower their pay. She also told about her efforts to lower taxes on business further.

In is remarks, Rep. Kagan said that the answers were difficult, and would have to grow out of the efforts of both the legislature and the public.

He suggested that the deep cuts proposed by Hickenlooper would be much lighter if the Governor did not also pursue the goal of funding a cash reserve this year. Kagan agreed that saving money for a rainy day was a wise idea, but felt the time to do it was during boom years of the Nineties; a time when tax give-aways were pushed instead of prudence. Now, with the rain already falling, Kagan said it left us no choice but to keep the resources available for vital services.

He discussed the advantages and costs of innovations like online education, and the difficult decisions the Legislature would face. He doubted Colorado could continue to provide the services that the citizens demand with the revenues that would be available, but he believed that the citizens themselves were the best way out of the morass.

In his answers during an extensive question and answer session, Rep. Kagan flatly said that more revenues were necessary, but as a practical matter the legislature could not push that forward. He said that if lawmakers went to the people and asked for more cash the request would be rejected. People would simply see it as politicians trying to line their own pockets, but if the people themselves brought a measure to the ballot the opportunity would be available to get the message through. He urged the parents toget more involved and to support ballot initiatives that would provide solutions.

The meeting lasted three hours, and district officials said they considered it a good start to a challenging but important conversation. The conversation will continue when parents and teachers gather for their annual day at the State Capitol on Wednesday morning, March 16th, in the Capitol Building's "Old Supreme Court Chambers" at 200 E. Colfax in Denver.