Students, parents support teacher walkout, weigh in on funding options
We spoke with Palmer High School students Wednesday to ask them what they thought of teachers calling out to protest for increased education funding.
Students with a four-day week aren’t complaining, but they know the day off means something bigger for teachers.
“I think it’s good they set an example for the rest of the school,” one student said.
“Education as a whole is definitely undervalued so I think it’s great they’re standing up and saying something about it,” another student said.
School districts across the state won’t have school on Friday because so many teachers have called out in preparation for what they’re calling a day of action at the Colorado State Capitol.
It wasn’t a surprise that students would support their teachers, so we decided to ask parents the same question.
Amanda Muncy told us, “I feel like they’ve been left with no other option than to protest and walk out until we can do something.”
The message teachers are sending is coming at the cost of a school day, but that didn’t bother parents.
Bonnie Sonnichsen said, “I believe it is worth them being out of class to just try and help the teachers.”
“To make a stance, you have to stand up for what you believe in and our kids will be fine with not having one day of school,” another parent, Tonia Masse, said.
In the 2017-2018 school year, $6,634,951,082 was budgeted for the state’s entire education department. All of it is funded through the taxpayer’s money, primarily through the state, vehicle registration, and property taxes. So, our next question for students and parents was, “where should more money come from?”
Most students said they didn’t know where more funds could be found, but parents were quick to say more taxes.
Muncy said, “If we’re going to invest taxes and things in our community, schools should probably need to be a priority.”
On Thursday, three Republican state leaders are expected to brief the media in the Capitol with facts and analysis of the state’s education fund.
