As the President of Cherry Creek School District Board of Education, I strongly support ballot measures 3A and 3B because of the incredible and far reaching benefits it will bring to our children, our community and our future.
I have been honored to be a member of the board for 9 years. My fellow board members and I have put in long hours to push the greatness of Cherry Creek Schools. But the work we do resonates so far beyond each of the schools in our district.
As a board member and local homeowner for 31 years, I understand the actual value that Cherry Creek Schools contributes to our community and local economy. The success and esteemed reputation of the district has long been nationally recognized. It attracts new, driven, and successful parents into our community seeking to enroll their children in Cherry Creek Schools. New residents in our community drive all of our local property values up with the growing demand for houses in our school district. It also means new consumers entering the local economy and spending their money in our local businesses, sparking further growth and development.
The nationally renowned tradition of excellence in Cherry Creek Schools is vital to maintain this trend of a positive influx of new residents, increasing property values, and local business growth. However, the sad reality is that the school district cannot maintain this high standard of academics in every Cherry Creek School without help from the supporting community. The funding of education from the state government is grossly inadequate and has been for far too long. Despite popular belief, Cherry Creek School District has not received a single penny from the marijuana tax revenue. Without additional support from the community, Cherry Creek Schools is facing a staggering shortfall of at least $20 million dollars for the 2017-18 academic year.
It is a fact that the success of our local schools brings new and ambitious residents into our community. Under the burden of underfunding from the state, our parents, students, schools and staff have been forced to make sacrifices to attempt to accommodate the growing student body. As a board member I can say with certainty that our students, teachers, and schools will struggle without our help. As a member of the community I am writing this letter to remind everyone that it is up to us to choose to uphold the academic excellence and national reputation of Cherry Creek Schools or the students, schools, homeowners, and business owners in our local community will suffer.
During my term on the board, I have learned that our fate as a community is tied together—successful schools build a prosperous economy and strong community. I understand that student’s success is not only tied to test scores, but to the richness that a good public school education brings to our kids. The experiences from our diversity, collaboration, innovation, and adaptability that our district provides cannot be measured.
We must invest in the success of our students and schools to invest in success of our community as a whole. Voting Yes on 3A and 3B is the investment that our school district needs. This November, I will be proud to vote Yes on 3A and 3B.
Randy Perlis is president of the Cherry Creek schools board.