Dear Editor,

This letter of support for the Mill Levy Override 4A question for Gilpin County School RE-1 comes to you from my passion for this community and the positive impact the additional funding will have for all of our learners. Our school mission is grounded in providing a positive caring culture in a safe environment that is focused on academic excellence. The best way for us to meet our mission is to recruit and retain quality teachers while keeping the class sizes low.

The first goal of recruiting and retaining quality teachers is paramount to creating the positive culture of academic excellence. To put it simply, we know a student’s teacher is critical to academic success and we want that to be the most positively impactful relationship for all of our learners. In order to meet that goal, we must provide competitive salaries, high quality professional development and a collaborative culture.

When we are able to provide personalized instruction through smaller class sizes, students excel. We must meet students where they are with understanding the required grade level standards and provide the needed instruction for each student to reach mastery. Gilpin County School District students have been able to reach academic excellence because teachers are able to individualize instruction to remove barriers to reach the required level of performance.

The proof is in the school performance framework and the high marks received as a district from the Colorado Department of Education.

I urge all registered voters of the Gilpin County School District RE-1 to vote “YES” on BALLOT ISSUE 4A.

Sincerely,

Tracy Krug
Black Hawk