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.

Will you attend the Wickerdale Walkers march on the Capitol in April?

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

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Lotto Trigger goes to the Capitol

Hello From your friendly neighborhood Wickerdale WalkersOn Monday May 3rd House Bill HRC10-1007 will be introduced. This bill contains many of the provisions that Brad and I have publicized in school board meetings, television interviews, news papers and other print publications. Essentially this bill would redistribute lotto money that currently funds GOCO. When Brad and I first looked at alternate methods of school funding this idea was paramount. What was appealing to us was that it was not creating a new tax or raising an existing one. Here in Douglas County we spend a lot of time talking about the 70% of people who do not have children in school and how to reach them. We felt and feel that ideas like this show the public at large that education can get out of the box and do new things in the realm of funding. While we both have deep concerns for our environment and the preservation of land we feel that today the greater need is for our children and those who teach them. Conservation is important, however, we can make up time towards those goals in the future, when the economic climate has recovered. These difficult times call for balancing wants and needs more so than ever before. Parks and land conservation are in the want category especially when examined against education. I would add that trees do not have mortgages to pay, teachers do. The bill is being introduced by State Representative Jerry Sonnerberg from District 65. I am attaching a link to the bill below, as well as additional information on his web page. I will be at the capital on Monday to fight for this bill and I am asking for support, especially from teachers or administrators who can attend. I will apologize in advance for the next few statements, but given the nature of these times I have to go political. The CEA opposes this bill, I am sad to say that is not a shock. They oppose it because it (in their view) it pits two “progressive” and historic allies against one another, education and the environment. Why do I know this? Because we reached out to the CEA in December and again January, after 20 + phone calls and countless messages we finally spoke to a CEA representative who told us that our energies would be better spent trying to pass a mill increase for our district because our idea would put education and the environment at odds. Apparently in their myopic view they missed what their job is, to represent their members, not environmental special interests. This is an emergency measure designed to help teachers and children. The CEA’s stance is politics plain and simple and I for one feel that my children and our school district deserves much better. Thankfully they are not our union and while I would never presume to guess what position the Federation will take on this measure I will say that when Brad and I presented them with our plan (which was far more comprehensive and cut GOCO and the Colorado Land Trust much deeper) they thought it was great and encouraged us to pursue it. Lately it seems that the CEA opposes any legislation that is progressive, tenure reform to name just one. We missed out on Race to the Top money in part because of the states tenure laws and the lack of Lotto investment into education. How is it that and organization that is supposed to work for educators opposes measures that (had they existed at the time) could have won Colorado a windfall for education? This makes no sense to me. I as a private citizen interpret it like this; the political affiliations of the CEA are taking precedence over the well being of their members, the children and the communities they all serve. Please reach out to representative Sonnenberg at jerry@repsonnenberg.com to get involved. I will be there and I hope to see many of you as well. Copy of the actual bill: http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2010a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont/E494D71D4AA4DF6F872576FF006236BC?Open&file=HCR1007_01.pdf

1 comment:

  1. I totally agree. Unions were developed to help the people. In this case, the CEA is not helping the teachers, they are helpin themselves. Maybe it's time for the teachers of the CEA union to stand up and not be part of the union. If the CEA is not helping the teachers, who they were created to help, it's time to dissolve!

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