In Colorado’s State of the State Governor Jared Polis delivered an optimistic address to the state and his main focus was on education ranging from preschool all the way up to college education.
“Helping kids get a great education is not only the most important work of the state but also the passion of my life’s work,” said Polis, a former State Board of Education member and founder of a charter school network. The Governor drew a standing ovation on both sides of the isle when he thanked all educators for there work during the pandemic.
In Governor Polis’ speech he made a promise to invest more in children’s mental health, child care, preschool, k-12 schools, workforce training and higher institutions; he did not go into great detail of how he planned on doing that.
Polis’ proposed a budget that would increase the spending for k-12 schools by 6% in order to save for higher education needs. In the budget Governor Polis’ is proposing is also calling a 1% raise for higher education the lowest in the state’s history.
Critics of the Governor say they would have liked to see a higher increase in the budget for higher education. Critics also say that the Governor at the time treated the State of the State as a campaign event.
Governor Polis is up for re-election this year. Polis is seeking a second term and voters will go to the polls on June 28th for the state’s primaries.
