Can We Talk?

It’s an election year.  Sometimes that means that the things that get talked about don’t always bear much relation to what really matters.  But election year or not, one conversation that is critical for Colorado’s future is the one about what kind of legacy we want to pass on to our children and what we need to do to make that possible.

That’s the conversation that the Great Futures Colorado coalition sought to advance by proposing the DECIDE referendum during the recent legislative session.

It’s also the issue raised in a recent Education News post by Paul Teske, Dean of the University of Colorado, Denver School of Public Affairs.

Professor Teske, who recently joined the board of Great Education Colorado, submits that it’s time for an “adult conversation on taxes.”  

Indeed, if we are to sustain an adequate K-12 education system, and any publicly-funded higher education system at all, much less aspire to the great, and reformed, system many of us would like to see, the state fiscal picture needs to be addressed.  Soon.

Part of that requires an ability of polite people to have adult conversations about taxes.  Not just “NOOO.”

Professor Teske has been consistently providing thoughtful analysis of Colorado’s education funding crisis (preschool through higher education), the impact of TABOR on Colorado’s public structures, the importance and implications of education reforms, as well as the intersection of reform and resources:

I am often struck by the battle lines in Colorado of reformers, who believe we can make radical changes even with the same low (below national average) funding, versus those who advocate for more, and more fair, funding (and are often derided as somehow being “anti-reform”).  These things should go together more.

Reform done badly, often because it is done on the cheap, is likely to backfire and slow ultimate progress. . .  

So, how about more money and reform working together?  ”Gifts, donations, and private philanthropy” are probably not enough to produce a very good evaluation system for 50,000 teachers statewide, especially given the need for better assessments and evaluation training (and, at the same time that CAP4K curriculum changes will be implemented, without enough money).

Professor Teske’s well-respected voice adds a critical perspective to Colorado’s public conversation about the future of education and of our state.  Great Ed is thrilled and honored to welcome him to our board.

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