Dear Editor:
We are grateful to live in a community that values families and supports kids. We have a wonderful park system, a diverse offering of recreation programs, a pool for our kids to learn to swim and a modern elementary school.
A lot of this is paid for with your tax dollars and it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated!
We’d like to ask you to consider opening your heart, your mind and, yes, your wallets to increase funding for the school district. We are concerned about our children’s education.
Meeker has previously sent kids to top-notch universities and they’ve been successful. Can we continue that tradition when we are losing programs, increasing class size and cutting total instructional hours per school year?
According to Great Education Colorado, per-pupil funding in Colorado is $1,872 less than the national average (and that is before adjusting for regional cost differences, which would make the gap closer to $2,500 per pupil). If we want a school system we can be proud of and which will prepare our kids for the future, we have to be a community that is willing to fund it.
The mill levy override is on the ballot as No. 3A this fall. It would raise over $900,000 a year for the school district and raise your property taxes by approximately $16 per year if your home is valued at $200,000 or by about $55 year if your business is valued at $200,000.
Every penny raised by the mill levy override would remain here at home and under local control as to how it is spent. The money would be spent to restore lost programs and classes, to develop new curriculum, to restore adequate staffing and supplies and to restore a salary scale capable of attracting and retaining quality staff.
As parents of two kids in elementary school, this issue affects us very personally. However, we are willing to bet it affects a lot of you as well, whether you are parents, grandparents, employees of the school district or community members who care about education.
Please continue your legacy of support for Meeker’s kids and vote yes on 3A. For more information about the mill levy override, visit www.citizens4meekerschools.com.
Heather Sauls
Brian Holmes
Meeker
