Vote yes on 4A

Carter Walz, Staff Writer|October 22, 2019

Carter Walz

Vote Yes on 4A.

After a long week of test taking and homework, you go home for a two-day weekend, sleep in, relax, hang with your friends and just chill. But, what do you think teachers are doing on the weekends? Sleeping in? Nope, teachers all around Colorado are hitting the pavement and asking the local populace to vote on proposition 4A. This bill is on the local ballot to prioritize mental health, safety in schools, and, of course, to give teachers all across the state a well deserved raise.

In Colorado, teacher pay has been a heated topic of debate after being ranked 44th in the nation for lowest pay. With first year teachers in Fort Collins alone barely making $39,000 a year, many teachers choose to live in Loveland and teach in Fort Collins because Fort Collins has priced teachers out of the housing market.

According to The Coloradoan, the median cost of rent in Fort Collins is $1,400 a month. If a single teacher in Fort Collins tried to live in a middle class apartment (without food, utilities, car payments, etc.) that’s a struggle to pay rent every month on a first year teacher’s salary. One special education teacher at Rocky (who wished to be left anonymous) said that their yearly salary is only $14,500, compared to a minimum wage worker in Colorado getting paid $23,000 a year (Colorado Minimum Wage Organization).

In Fort Collins alone, if a teacher tried to rent a middle class apartment, pay for food, utilities, and other bills alone they would be broke within the first year of living in this city. 

Other cities in the Centennial State, such as Longmont, have given teachers nearly an $8,000 raise. But PSD has barely scratched the 2% range. With 4A on the ballot, all of that would change. This ballot issue, as proposed would allow for a $3 dollar increase in property taxes for every $100,000 dollars in assessed home value, raising property tax by about $137 for each homeowner in Colorado. This increase would mean better pay equity for teachers in the state. 

So, if you are 18 and are reading this article and value your education you should vote for 4A. If you aren’t 18 and are reading this article, then you should get your parents and family to vote on 4A because if 4A and other propositions aren’t passed, then teachers may be forced to leave the state and move to places where they are paid what they are worth, or worse yet, they may leave the profession all together.