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Vail Daily letter: ‘Yes’ on Amendment 66

I read this quote the other day, and I thought it was the most straightforward and simple way to put what I’ve been feeling about education funding: “Let me explain why I like to pay taxes for schools even though I don’t personally have a kid in school: I don’t like living in a country with a bunch of stupid people.”

While this quote is crass and doesn’t sound terribly educated, it gets to the heart of the issue: It doesn’t matter whether you have kids, or you already paid for your kids’ education — the future of our entire economy, livelihood, and the cultural landscape of our society depends on all children receiving a quality education. Colorado public school students are currently being cheated — our per-pupil funding in Colorado ranks 49th in the nation! We spend $9,500 less per student than Wyoming. The statistics are fairly shocking. I urge you to visit the “statistics” page at http://www.greateducation.org to learn more. Then consider that the median earner in Colorado will pay 36 cents per day in increased taxes with the enactment of Amendment 66, and let your conscience decide.

If that’s not enough, consider that today’s students are the people who tomorrow will be:



• Taking care of you in the nursing home.

• Engineering bridges you drive over.

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• Operating on you.

• Flying airplanes that take you to see your grandchildren.

• Teaching your children and grandchildren.

• Politicians deciding on your benefits and tax rates.

If we want every echelon of our society to be educated and capable, and not burden the system in the future, let’s spend the money required to prepare them properly. Please vote “yes” on Amendment 66!

Pavan Krueger

Avon


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