News
An Eagle County group is trying to take some of the sting out of the school district's budget cuts.
The Education Foundation of Eagle County launched last week after the Eagle County school district announced it faces another round of budget cuts that could cost up to 100 jobs.
The group is asking parents, businesses and community members to donate the tax dollars they would have paid if the school district's proposed property tax increase had passed in November, says Tessa Kirchner, school board member and EFEC board member.
The immediate goal of the group is to raise capital to mitigate districtwide budget cuts, Kirchner said.
“It's a great group of people who are taking a new approach to this problem,” Kirchner said. “We saw this opportunity after 3B failed to take that passion and energy and make it part of the solution.”
The school board faces another $5.5 million in cuts from next year's budget — a combination of state funding reductions and increasing costs. That $5.5 million comes on the heels of $9 million in cuts over the last two years — $14.5 million total. The school district's proposed property tax increase would have raised $6 million a year.
“When it failed we were disappointed, but people were still passion about it,” Kirchner said. “We started having some meetings and talking to people. We decided to get going and see what's possible.”
— Vail Daily
The Education Foundation of Eagle County launched last week after the Eagle County school district announced it faces another round of budget cuts that could cost up to 100 jobs.
The group is asking parents, businesses and community members to donate the tax dollars they would have paid if the school district's proposed property tax increase had passed in November, says Tessa Kirchner, school board member and EFEC board member.
The immediate goal of the group is to raise capital to mitigate districtwide budget cuts, Kirchner said.
“It's a great group of people who are taking a new approach to this problem,” Kirchner said. “We saw this opportunity after 3B failed to take that passion and energy and make it part of the solution.”
The school board faces another $5.5 million in cuts from next year's budget — a combination of state funding reductions and increasing costs. That $5.5 million comes on the heels of $9 million in cuts over the last two years — $14.5 million total. The school district's proposed property tax increase would have raised $6 million a year.
“When it failed we were disappointed, but people were still passion about it,” Kirchner said. “We started having some meetings and talking to people. We decided to get going and see what's possible.”
— Vail Daily
