Dear Editor,

As a parent of a child attending the Gilpin County School and a resident of Gilpin County, I am writing to let you know I fully support the School’s request for a mill levy override – amendment 4A on this year’s ballot. I truly believe as residents of this county we have a responsibility to ensure the children growing up here are provided with the highest quality education possible. One of the primary reasons my husband and I chose Gilpin County as the location to raise our family was because of the Gilpin County RE-1 School District. 

I believe this mill levy override will allow our school to better educate our children by providing the funding needed to:

Recruit and retain quality teachers, and

Keep class sizes low.

I support this small tax increase because I understand the cost to run our school district. Many people believe our school is over funded due to the Educational Enhancement Tax money we receive from Black Hawk. However, I understand that small schools require much of the same operating costs as larger schools, including administration, building maintenance, transportation costs, personnel, etc. But with less students than larger districts and the budget stabilization factor the funding our School receives from the State cannot adequately fund our school.  I also know first-hand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our District’s financial situation.

I believe strongly that recruiting and retaining teachers is essential to the high-quality education our students are receiving. For the past 3 years our School District has ranked one of the top 20 schools in the State of Colorado. This is because our school has an amazing teaching staff and small class sizes. However if we don’t keep our salaries competitive both retaining and recruiting quality teachers will become more difficult. And if we can’t retain or recruit the teachers we need to keep class sizes small, we will see a negative impact on our students. An investment in our teachers is an investment in our students!

I do not see the proposed mill levy override as causing any financial burden on my family because at less than a 1 mill increase the cost to all families in our district will be minimal – less than $25 on average per year per family.

I am proud to support this mill levy override because I know that State funding is not enough to run our school and I believe the children in this county deserve the highest-quality education we can provide. Learn more by visiting https://yes4gilpinkids.org/.

Sincerely,

Sarah M. Swanson
Gilpin County