Wickerdale Walkers: Governor Ritter

Welcome

The Wickerdale Walkers were organized as a nonpartisan community group with the mission to make a difference for our children and educators. We came together as a group of parents who were upset over the loss of our children’s bus service. During that process, we learned about the challenges that face our school district. We got off the couch and decided to help. We made the plight of our children’s schools and the educators who serve them, our own. Our group has met with key state legislatures to pursue changes and amendments to the current laws that would benefit all of Colorado’s school districts. We are continuing this fight, but we need support from the community in order to carry this out. Please consider joining our cause, whether you realize it or not this fight is your fight. Everyone has a vested interest in providing the best education possible for our next generation.

How do I make a difference?

We have many ways to get involved. One of the easiest is to mail a red crayon, (Crayons 4 Education) to Governor Bill Ritter, sample letter below:

Crayons 4 Education

Mail to:

Governor Bill Ritter and Budget Committee Members

136 State Capitol

Denver, CO. 80203-1792

Dear Governor Bill Ritter and Budget Committee members,

You are in receipt of 1 red crayon; courtesy of Crayons 4 Education.

Please take note it is red; this is to symbolize the debt the state is passing onto our children. The cuts to next year’s budget as well as the rescissions this year are stripping Colorado’s children of their ability to compete. Colorado already funds education at $1400 less than the national average, an embarrassment which is now being compounded. The Crayon itself symbolizes Education. We must ensure that this generation is better equipped to meet the challenges of the wider world that they live in. We cannot accomplish this by crippling education year after year. We are demanding a full review of the purposed cuts and alternate methods of funding be devised. Our wish is that you look at the Colorado State Lotto, which currently provides money for Colorado States Parks and also pays farmers on the Western slope to retain their land instead of selling to developers. We appreciate the nice parks but in time of recession and extreme cut backs we are asking you what is necessary the luxury of parks or better education in the lives of our children NOW? If you would like to be better educated about our plan for redirection of the Colorado State Lotto funds please visit the following web site:

wickerdalewalkers.blogspot.com

The education of children is serious business and we can ill afford to jeopardize their (and our own future) with a culture of cuts and fiscal irresponsibility!

Sincerely,

"Wickerdale Walkers"

A group of concerned parents....

See us on Facebook as Wickerdale Walkers

wickerdalewalkers@yahoo.com

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Governor Ritter

We have been pursuing Governor Ritter for 4 months in a vain attempt to get an appointment. I offered to meet at anytime any place. We did receive a letter before Christmas advising us that we would be contacted within 5 days. Needless to say we were never contacted. We have called numerous times and been given every excuse except the Governor is too busy attending sale on steak at King Soopers. I find it disheartening that he is too busy to meet with the citizens of the state of Colorado, but I am not surprised. New ideas scare people and woe to he or she that dares to embrace a plan. Shame on the Governor and shame on his staff, especially an employee named Liz who identified herself as the Governors educational liaison. She told us that our numbers were wrong and that every child in Colorado was funded the same amount. Not only is this preposterous, but it is downright ignorant. Please call the governor’s office at 303-866-2471 and ask why they are ignoring us.

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THE LOTTO TRIGGER

When Colorado’s unemployment level reaches 5% this trigger would activate and have the effect of redistributing money from the Colorado Land Trust and GOCO to Colorado’s schools. Both GOCO and the Colorado Land Trust are funded by the profits from the Colorado Lottery. This diversion would last for a minimum of 12 months or until unemployment dropped below 5% for 2 consecutive business quarters. 5% unemployment is the maximum that our economy can sustain before the state’s budget begins to become unstable and cuts follow. Property values drop and the revenues collected from property taxes will begin to shrink. In general, police, fire and education budgets feel these cuts first. When public services begin to erode home values fall even further and a dangerous downward spiral begins. We call this process the snake eating its own tail, coiling tighter until eventually there is nothing left to eat. This measure is not calling for new or increased taxes; it is a redistribution of funds already in existence. The idea is not to gut the park system; we are simply stating that in the Colorado’s current economic condition there is precious little money to go around and tough choices must be made. The education of children is a mandatory enterprise; the park system is a luxury. We need to put wants and needs into their proper perspective and realize that land conservation efforts can be resumed and even caught up in the future when the economy recovers, but we have only one chance to educate a child. Schools Districts regularly have to raise a bond or Mill Levy to attain their needed operating and building capital, parks should operate with the same conditions and opportunities. If the people wish to fund a luxury let them raise a voluntary luxury tax in the form of a bond. Education need to be our priority.

The Mill

We whole heartedly support the raising of a Mill Levy, but also detest the economic practices which necessitate them. The Douglas County School District owes $584 million dollars, more than one half of a billion, in old bonds and raises to the Mill Levy. It does not take a math genius to figure out, that at the rate that our tax base is shrinking, more and more dollars will go to servicing this debt instead of the classroom. A raise in the Mill Levy is needed to stem the current bleeding but is not a miracle cure. It is a temporary bridge across an ever widening canyon. We must become zealots in the cause of curing the disease, not experts in applying bandages to the wound. This is a cultural issue, the way we have conditioned the public to accept the financing of education has creating the danger of making second rate educational institutions, lagging behind parks and open spaces in funding and perceived importance. Our initiative to redirect Lotto profits would balance this equation.

Wickerdale Walkers

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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Governor Ritter

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Would you vote for a local measure that would allow Douglas County School District to use bond money to cover holes in the general fund caused by the states rescission?

How much money does Douglas County School District owe in Bonds / Mill Levys as of 2008? Keep in mind the the yearly Federal Budget debt in 1975 was $84 million