By Padres & Jovenes Unidos Boletin Update: Action Alert April 9, 2010Left with no other options, the legislature is now considering a budget that will cut hundreds of millions of dollars from k-12 education – about $400-500 per pupil. Colorado already funds its schools $1,400 below the national average. Without action at the ballot, the 2011-12 budget will bring even deeper cuts to every public school in Colorado.
Higher education is also in trouble. Colorado ranks 48th in the country in state funding for higher education. The higher education funding cliff threatens the sustainability, quality, and affordabilityof colleges and universities in Colorado.
Is that what Colorado voters want?
What is DECIDE?
DECIDE stands for “Decide: Education Cuts OR Invest in our Democracy and Economy.”
DECIDE is a proposed referred measure that would give voters the chance to DECIDE whether they want an alternative to balancing our state budget by making deep and irreparable cuts to Colorado’s public schools, colleges and universities.
What would DECIDE do?
DECIDE would allow voters to grant authority to the legislature to increase revenues in order to prevent more cuts to education and invest in K-12 and higher education. New revenues could be used for accountable education reform, class size reduction, school safety, technology, effective teaching, early childhood education and full-day kindergarten, career technical education, higher education and more.
Take Action Now! Here are four ways you can help:
SEND A MESSAGE TO THE LEGISLATURE - Cut and paste the message below into an email. Then, click here to access the email addresses and copy and paste them into your email and send!
"Dear Legislator, I support House Concurrent Resolution 1002 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 002, and as a concerned citizen, I encourage you to vote yes. Known as the DECIDE Referendum, HCR 1002 and SCR 002 would allow the voters to DECIDE whether we are going to continue making cuts to education, or whether we will support the future of our state. Please vote yes, and let us DECIDE. Thank you, {Your Name and Address}"
SEND A MESSAGE TO YOUR FRIENDS - Here's what you can say:
"Dear [Friends], I know we agree on the incredible importance of investing in education. Because I am very concerned about devastating cuts to our schools colleges, and universities this year and next, I took an important step today. I sent the e-mail below to all 100 legislators letting them know that I support HCR 1002 and SCR 002, known as DECIDE (Decide: Education Cuts or Invest in our Democracy and Economy). DECIDE is a proposed referred measure that would give voters the chance to DECIDE whether they want an alternative to balancing our state budget by making deep education cuts, pre-school through higher education. You can learn more about and endorse DECIDE here. I hope you’ll join me by e-mailing the legislature and forwarding this e-mail to others who agree on this critical issue. Best, {Your Name and Phone #}"
SIGN THE PETITION IN SUPPORT OF DECIDE - Click here to access the on-line petition.
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