2018 CO Governor's race: on Education
Jared Polis:
Increased across-the-board funding and preschool for all
Q: Increase funding for K-12 education?Jared Polis (D): Yes. Advocates for increased across-the-board funding and preschool for all. Has also supported related levies and bonds and will continue to do so.
Walker Stapleton (R): Yes.
But "it is critical to ensure that these dollars actually make it into the classroom."
Q: Support recent teachers' strikes?
Polis: Yes. Stop underpaying teachers, "instead of criminalizing [their] right to.demand fair compensation."
Stapleton: Unknown.
Q: Education: Support providing vouchers or tax breaks to parents to send their children to private schools with public money?
Polis: "I've voted against vouchers every time they've come up in Congress.
I don't support diverting funds from public schools to private schools. Period."
Stapleton: Yes. Advocates "school choice" and believes "each student that gets . $10,000 in funding should take that money .& .do whatever they want."
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Colorado Governor race
Oct 9, 2018
Walker Stapleton:
Supports school choice: $10,000 to follow student anywhere
Q: Increase funding for K-12 education?Jared Polis (D): Yes. Advocates for increased across-the-board funding and preschool for all. Has also supported related levies and bonds and will continue to do so.
Walker Stapleton (R): Yes.
But "it is critical to ensure that these dollars actually make it into the classroom."
Q: Support recent teachers' strikes?
Polis: Yes. Stop underpaying teachers, "instead of criminalizing [their] right to.demand fair compensation."
Stapleton: Unknown.
Q: Education: Support providing vouchers or tax breaks to parents to send their children to private schools with public money?
Polis: "I've voted against vouchers every time they've come up in Congress.
I don't support diverting funds from public schools to private schools. Period."
Stapleton: Yes. Advocates "school choice" and believes "each student that gets . $10,000 in funding should take that money .& .do whatever they want."
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Colorado Governor race
Oct 9, 2018
Jared Polis:
Prime supporter of Amendment 23 for school funding in 2000
Polis was a prime supporter of Amendment 23 for school funding in 2000 but he was on the sidelines for the failed Amendment 66 measure [Republican gubernatorial opponent Walker] Stapleton helped defeated in 2013 and he has not endorsed Initiative 93, a
$1.6 billion effort this year.The Republican nominee, of course, lacks the backing of the state teacher's union, which endorsed Polis this month. But in the primary, the Colorado Education Association ran an attack ad against Polis.
"Our members
share Jared's concern that too many communities don't have the resources they need for every child to succeed," the president of the Colorado Education Association said. "We have created 'haves and have-nots' among our children, and nowhere is that more
apparent than with our youngest students who don't receive the same level of quality early childhood education. Jared impressed us with his strong commitment to give all kids a great start and better prepare them for a successful lifetime of learning."
Source: Colorado Springs Gazette on 2018 Colorado gubernatorial race
Aug 31, 2018
Walker Stapleton:
More charters, school choice, & education savings accounts
Colorado Politics managed an early look at Walker Stapleton's plan to put "more money in our classrooms and more money in parents' pockets where it belongs." He'll do that by cutting administration costs, creating annual sales tax holidays on
back-to-school shopping and providing tax-free education savings accounts for parents.As Stapleton has said throughout his candidacy, he remains a proponent of school choice, namely charter schools. "It's up to the next governor to make sure our
classrooms are adequately funded and parents have more choices when it comes to their child's education," Stapleton said in a statement. "I'm confident my proposals will help hardworking Colorado families and, most importantly, help our students
succeed."
His savings plan proposal would allow parents to save for education expenses, "including early childhood education, music lessons, tutoring services, and career and technical educational programs," according to the platform plank.
Source: Colorado Springs Gazette on 2018 Colorado gubernatorial race
Aug 31, 2018
Walker Stapleton:
Transfer funds from bloated administration to teachers
Stapleton's campaign pointed to Colorado Department of Education data from 2011 to 2017 showing enrollment grew by 6.3 percent and faculty grew by 8.1 percent, but administration grew by a whopping 34.6 percent.
Stapleton plans to take money spent on bloated administration and redirect those dollars to teachers' pay.
"In order to retain the best teachers in the country, we should be using our education dollars to pay our teachers and get more money into classrooms to help students succeed," said Stapleton. "This can be done with existing funds if we increase
transparency in the budgeting process and direct dollars to the teachers and the classrooms where they belong."
Stapleton called it "commonsense policy" to cut a tax break to parents' spending on education.
Source: Colorado Springs Gazette on 2018 Colorado gubernatorial race
Aug 31, 2018
Steve Barlock:
Favors home schooling
He strongly supports homeschooling even though his brother is a teacher. "I'm definitely not a teachers' union guy."
He likes apprenticeship programs more than specialty trade schools in higher education.
Source: Colorado Independent on 2018 Colorado gubernatorial race
Sep 5, 2017
George Brauchler:
Local control instead of one-size-fits-all education models
We must recognize that every child learns differently and reject one-size-fits-all education models and federal government mandates dreamed up by bureaucrats far from here, such as Common Core.
The education of our children ought to be a cooperative effort between parents and teachers with an emphasis on the curriculum, not just testing.
A child's parents are their foremost educators. That is a fact.
Parents should have the right to determine the best course of their child's education throughout every level, including public, private, charter and homeschooling options.
Source: 2018 Colorado Gubernatorial campaign website george2018.com
Jul 12, 2017
George Brauchler:
Colorado should lead in STEM education
Colorado should be on the forefront of innovation and technology. To accomplish this, we will assist our local school districts to develop high-achieving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programs, encourage
student participation and recruit/retain STEM educators. As we continue to develop future leaders in STEM fields, we will draw new companies and high-paying jobs to Colorado with our educated workforce.
Source: 2018 Colorado Gubernatorial campaign website george2018.com
Jul 12, 2017
Victor Mitchell:
College need to become more affordable in Colorado
Today it's up to $30,000 a year for an in state kid to go to CU. Almost half of that is housing alone. They're ripping our families off, they're ripping these kids off. We need to be doing much better, we need to be lowering the cost of tuition most
especially on STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programs].We need degrees in STEM; we need to make them as affordable as possible for students. We need to encourage them and we need a greater emphasis on remediation.
Source: 2018 Colorado Gubernatorial campaign website vic4gov.com
Jul 2, 2017
Doug Robinson:
In education, more choice makes more competition
Q: What is your opinion on education?A: Specifically, I think there are some innovative models in other places around the country. At the heart of education is our teachers, and we need to make sure we're hiring, recruiting,
mentoring and paying our best teachers what they deserve to be paid. I believe charter schools and choice and other innovative models improve the public schools in terms of creating more competition.
Source: Westword.com on 2018 Colorado gubernatorial race
Apr 25, 2017
Cary Kennedy:
Led Amendment 23: reduce budget cuts to public schools
Kennedy served as state treasurer from 2007 to 2011. She's said education would be her top priority. In 2000, she wrote and led the campaign for Amendment 23, which reduced budget cuts to public schools. She told The Colorado Independent that her
biggest feat as state treasurer was implementing the Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) program, which allocated funds to build new schools and renovate existing ones. Kennedy announced her campaign in a controversial Facebook live video.
Source: Colorado Times-Recorder on 2018 Colorado gubernatorial race
Apr 17, 2017
Mike Johnston:
Make college more affordable
Johnston is a former state senator who represented northeast Denver from 2009 until last year. He advised Barack Obama on the education in his 2008 campaign, and has said he plans to focus on making college more affordable.
He had a record-breaking fundraising period, with at least $625,000 for the first quarter of 2017. He's vowed not to accept money from political action committees (PACs).
Source: Colorado Times-Recorder on 2018 Colorado gubernatorial race
Apr 17, 2017
Cary Kennedy:
Make college more affordable, including tech & vocational
We know that in the future, seven out of ten jobs are going to require some higher education, some higher skills. And yet in Colorado, not even three out of ten kids who grow up here are getting any kind of higher-education degree--
not an associate's degree, not a bachelor's degree--within six years of leaving high school.We can do much more in our high schools to give kids employable skills when they graduate.
That includes technical and professional and vocational courses we can offer in high school. And we can also make college more affordable. We need to do that as a state. We can do it as a state.
I'll talk as a candidate and as governor about the importance of making education a top priority here in Colorado.
Source: Westword.com on 2018 Colorado gubernatorial race
Mar 30, 2017
Victor Mitchell:
Teachers unions are enemies of Colorado
While Mitchell spoke of working with Democrats, he could not name a way in which he might compromise on his deeply held conservative convictions on taxes and schools. He said he loves the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, a favorite constitutional amendment
of conservatives that liberals say hurts funding for schools & other public needs.Asked about his over policies on education, he began, "Job No. 1 we need to call out the public teachers unions for what they are, which is the enemy of the state."
Source: Colorado Gazette on 2018 Colorado Gubernatorial race
Feb 14, 2017
Victor Mitchell:
Supports vouchers and school choice
Mitchell said he strongly supports school choice, from charter schools to vouchers, as well as an expanded school year and a curriculum that rigorously focuses on science, technology, engineering, math and civics.
He also thinks teachers should be paid based on performance. "There's no legitimate purpose for public teachers unions," Mitchell said. "All they do is promote mediocrity into our public schools, and they protect a failed system."
Source: Colorado Gazette on 2018 Colorado Gubernatorial race
Feb 14, 2017
Victor Mitchell:
Don't boost No education spending via tax increases
The 51-year-old from Castle Rock served one two-year term in the state House in 2007 and led a successful effort to defeat a 2011 ballot measure to increase taxes to boost education spending. Instead of political experience, Mitchell's campaign is
emphasizing his career as an entrepreneur who turned around failing businesses."I think people really want an outsider, somebody that knows how to fix things and problem solve in a meaningful way," Mitchell said.
Source: Denver Post on 2018 Colorado Gubernatorial race
Feb 13, 2017
Victor Mitchell:
Lower the cost of college
His top issues include lowering the cost of college, promoting patient-centered health care and helping "people earn more money."
A former House GOP colleague called Mitchell "an independent thinker" who "didn't let party get in the way of getting some things done."
Source: Denver Post on 2018 Colorado Gubernatorial race
Feb 13, 2017
Mike Johnston:
Keep up with innovation: 2 years of free college or training
How do we make sure Colorado is in a position to help drive the new economy and not be dragged behind the old one? What we've seen is that there's so much disruption coming to our world through globalization and automation and the changes in technology--
we're going to see up-and-coming people coming out of college and elsewhere who are going to experience 11 & 12 & 13 different careers over the course of their lifetime. We have to prepare a system that helps to train and re-train them over the course
of their lifetimes, so if they're at 45 and their industry dies or contracts, they have the infrastructure and the skills to get prepared for the next emerging industry. That's why I introduced what I call the Lifetime Opportunity Promise, which is the
opportunity for any Coloradan to have access, debt-free, to two years of either career training or post-secondary education as a way to get them the skills they need and the opportunity at the jobs they want in industries that are emerging.
Source: Westword interview on 2018 Colorado Gubernatorial race
Jan 25, 2017
Mike Johnston:
National Guard service in exchange for state college tuition
Q: How will you pay for your debt-free college and training proposal?A: It will be done in exchange for students offering meaningful service to the state, like a National Guard, where they would do 4 or 5 weekends a year. It could be fire mitigation,
trail repair, flood prevention--things we need. And if there are instances of a crisis, that corps is available to be called up
Q: The idea of state service has been out there for a while. Why has it been so hard to put something like that into place?
A: Our plan is unique in that most other service proposals are all full-time service proposals. You'd be an AmeriCorps volunteer who's working 60 hours a week in a school, or you would be working for a WPA-style program 50 hours a week--full-time
programs for full-time benefits, which makes them much more expensive and much more complicated to administer. But the idea of the National Guard version is, you can still have your day job, and when Colorado calls you, you get summoned up.
Source: Westword interview on 2018 Colorado Gubernatorial race
Jan 25, 2017
Mike Johnston:
Weaken tenure protections; strengthen teacher evaluations
Johnston, whose state Senate term expired at the end of 2016, is best known as an eloquent speaker who championed education reform efforts and sponsored a contentious measure approved in 2010 to tie teacher evaluation to students' academic growth and
weaken tenure protections.The details of his promise to provide debt-free college and career training remains unclear. He declined to put a price tag on the plan or explain how to pay for it, maintaining that it would be near revenue-neutral.
Source: Denver Post on 2018 Colorado Gubernatorial race
Jan 17, 2017
Page last updated: Apr 07, 2021
Beshear(D)
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