$10 million in Colorado cannabis taxes targeted to address teacher shortage
State education officials are compiling a list of ideas on how best to spend $10 million in marijuana tax proceeds aimed at reversing Colorados teacher shortages.
The $10 million was earmarked to take on the problems of hiring and retaining teachers in Colorado by Gov. John Hickenlooper in his proposed 2018-19 budget released earlier this month.
A report requested by lawmakers will be released in December and is expected to include a plan for strategies that will help attract and retain more teachers. As many as 3,000 teaching jobs across Colorado are unfilled and rural areas are being hit especially hard, state officials say.
Some teaching posts in math, science and foreign languages have been empty for years.
We anticipate a significant focus on the challenges rural communities face in attracting, retaining and developing the qualified teachers needed to support positive student outcomes, the budget proposal states.
The Colorado Department of Education is working with the governors staff on specific ideas for the potential funding, said education department spokeswoman Gladis Gee.
Many of those ideas came from a series of public hearings held throughout Colorado this summer hosted by the education department and the Colorado Department of Higher Education, Gee said. Town halls were held in Ridgway, Parachute, Leadville, Otis, Limon, Ignacio, Las Animas, Colorado Springs and Denver.
Teachers, administrators and other residents were invited to share their views on how to end the shortage. Suggestions included boosting salaries or implementing a statewide salary system, creating more efficient ways to license teachers, and increasing availability to classes and training that allow ...
