State Senator Don Coram (R-Montrose) recently wrote a guest column regarding his vote on Senate Bill 61, the bill to equalize funding for public charter school students in Colorado.
He voted against it, and his position on the issue is just plain wrong; it is hurting the ability for school choice to grow and thrive across the state.
Currently, students who attend charter schools, which are tuition-free public schools that are open to all children, receive about 20 percent less funding than their peers in traditional public schools.
SB 61, authored by a Colorado Springs Republican and a Denver Democrat, would help remove this imbalance, ensuring that every public school student receives the same share of per pupil funding, both from the state and locally.
This current funding disparity between public charter schools and traditional public schools is not just unfair to those kids and schools, it is a stain on our state’s system of school choice. It forces parents to choose between separate, but unequal, options for their children’s public education.
If we want to truly give parents and families a choice in their educational paths, we need to fund all options equally. That includes the families in Senator Coram’s district who send their children to Paradox Valley Charter School, which is currently underfunded by over $800 per student per year.
I urge Senator Coram to rethink his decision on SB 61 and support the many families across his district who send their kids to charter schools.
Luke Ragland
Denver/Dolores