Lawmakers should prioritize education - #lakewoodnews

The need to prioritize our children's education doesn't stop when the school year ends. Come August, our teachers and students will return to overcrowded classrooms and underfunded schools.

The next election will help determine if we can turn things around and support our students and schools the way we should. I'm talking about electing a General Assembly that will enact real solutions to the state's structural fiscal problems.

For the last two legislative sessions we've had such a solution on the table - the hospital provider fee enterprise bill. Through a simple accounting shift we could raise $2 billion through 2020 to give our kids a better education, improve our crumbling and overburdened roads and address other top state priorities - all without raising the tax rate of a single Coloradan.

I'm sure we'll see another effort in the 2017 session to pass the hospital provider fee bill. We need to make sure our teachers and educators have the tools and resources they need to ensure success for our students, because strengthening our schools will ultimately increase opportunity for our kids, just as improving our transportation system will boost Colorado's continued prosperity.

Working to improve our schools statewide also means our K-12 schools here in Jeffco. Involvement from educators and school administrators are key in understanding our public schools' greatest issues and needs. Feedback from students and parents is also extremely helpful in determining where our resources are best spent.

I'm dedicated to improving the lives of the people of Colorado, wherever I am able to do so. This includes all of the students, parents, teachers and administrators of our school system.

It is an honor to be represent you at the Capitol. Please contact me with any comments, concerns or questions at jessie.danielson.house@state.co.us or 303-866-5522. For more information on Town Hall Meetings or my monthly happy hours, visit jessiedanielson.com.

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