By Bennito L. Kelty | Westword
Thousands of Colorado teachers, parents and kids gathered at the Colorado State Capitol on Thursday, March 20, to demand more funding for public schools and protest possible cuts as the state deals with a $1 billion budget shortfall.
“Kids need a chance to do their best,” said Siobhan Holland, a teacher for twenty years in the Adams 12 Five Star School District who came out to protest against cuts. “They need the funds and resources that will help them be successful.”
Donning red shirts and sweaters printed with words “Red for Ed,” an estimated 4,000 protesters amassed at the Capitol’s west lawn to support public education funding on Thursday, according to the Colorado State Patrol, with signs reading “fully fund public education” and chants of “no more cuts.”
The Colorado Education Association, the largest teachers union in the state, organized the “No More Cuts” protest to “demand no more cuts to education and call for the fully funded public schools Colorado students deserve,” according to CEA’s call for action earlier this week.