Pueblo school districts outline needs in meeting with state education board members
District funding and mental health resources were among the topics discussed by members of the Colorado State Board of Education, Pueblo school districts and local teachers unions Wednesday during a meet and greet event hosted by the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce at the Pueblo Convention Center.
Susana Cordova, who has spent the past seven weeks as Colorado's commissioner of education, attended the meet and greet with state board members Steve Durham, Kathy Plomer and Stephen Varela, the former board president of Pueblo's Chavez Huerta Preparatory Academy.
Plomer is the at-large representative for the state board. Varela represents Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, which includes Pueblo. Durham is the state board representative for Colorado's 5th Congressional District in El Paso County.
"(Pueblo School District 60) and (Pueblo County School District 70) have brought a lot of questions and concerns over the past couple of months about what's going on in education," Varela said.
Receiving $9,067.64 per pupil during the 2022-23 school year, Pueblo D70 remains the lowest funded school district in Colorado. Pueblo D70 representatives at Wednesday's meet and greet expressed to the state board members their concerns about funding and its effects on teacher pay and classroom resources. District funding is determined by state legislators, not CDE board members. However, CDE board members can advocate for more per pupil funding.
Despite the presence of Pueblo D70 schools in undeniably rural areas like Avondale, Beulah and Rye, those schools do not currently benefit from the boost in per pupil state funding that would come with a rural district designation.
"The current funding formula fails to acknowledge the unique characteristics of our district. Urgent attention is required to reconsider the funding formula, ensuring that the resources earmarked for rural districts are extended to these specific areas within our district," Pueblo D70 said in a written statement to the Chieftain.
"By neglecting to equitably fund our unique rural areas, the district is compelled to redistribute resources from larger schools to provide equitable educational programming across our district. The call to action is clear. It is imperative that our funding formula be revised to reflect the intricacies of our district's rural and urban areas."
The need for increased mental health care, including a day treatment center for students in crisis, was mentioned by representatives of Pueblo D60. Mental health care escalated as a point of discussion among Pueblo D60 community members this year following a Central High School student's suicide and calls for expanded services by the victim's family and friends.
Recent success stories of day treatment centers being created in Colorado school districts include Cherry Creek School District's Traverse Center. It was built through a 2020 bond measure and will open as the first day treatment center operated by a school district this fall.
Addressing individual district needs, including increased mental health care resources, is accomplished in part by advocating for increased state funding for education overall, Cordova said.
"There were some big strides made this year, buying down the Budget Stabilization factor," Cordova said "If you buy that all the way, then districts can use that money for whatever priorities they see fit. If mental health rises to the top, they can use it for more counselors. They can use it for teacher pay. I think part of it is just making sure that the money that needs to flow to the districts flows."
Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached at JBartolo@gannett.com. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo school districts outline needs to state education board members
