Thousands of educators, school staff, and community allies gathered at the Capitol on March 20th for the No More Cuts: Statewide Day of Action, demanding that Colorado’s public schools stop being gutted to fix a broken budget. With a billion-dollar shortfall, lawmakers are once again looking to cut from those who can least afford it—our students and the educators who support them.
CEA President Kevin Vick made it clear:
“Today’s incredible turnout proves that educators, families, and community members are united in saying loud and clear: No more cuts. Colorado’s students deserve fully funded schools, not budget cuts that undercut their future. It’s time for our state to prioritize public education and invest in the resources our students need to succeed.”
Zander Kaschub, a Jeffco food service worker and JESPA President, laid bare the reality of budget cuts:
“For the last 10 years I’ve worked as a school food service worker, and I’ve seen firsthand what cuts to education funding can do—not just to budgets, but to real people. I’ve seen kids come through my lunch line hungry, stressed, and struggling, the families that are barely getting by. I’ve seen the relief on a child’s face when they get a warm meal—sometimes it’s the only meal they get that day. Two years ago, Proposition FF passed, providing free meals for all of our students. But now, cuts to education funding threaten the life of that program and the success of my students.”
These cuts don’t just affect students—they devastate the workers who dedicate their lives to supporting them.
“I’ve seen my co-workers struggling, having to work multiple jobs just to afford health care, having to suffer obscene levels of income inequality, wondering if they’ll be next when the state makes cuts—because we all know when they cut our funding, ESPs are the first to go. We are the lowest-paid workers in education, but without us, schools cannot function. We make sure students get to school safely. We feed our kids. We keep schools clean and safe. Yet we are treated as if we don’t matter. I am here to tell you—we matter. Make them listen.”
Colorado schools remain underfunded by $3.5 to $4.1 billion—money that would ensure smaller class sizes, updated learning materials, and critical student support services. Instead, lawmakers underfund public education while allowing billionaires and corporations to hoard wealth. And when schools predictably struggle, the same people who created the crisis claim the solution is privatization.
Well-funded public schools are the foundation of student success. Research proves that when schools have the resources they need, student achievement increases, graduation rates rise, and communities thrive. Chronic underfunding has the opposite effect: larger class sizes, fewer counselors, and ESPs paid so little they leave for better-paying jobs elsewhere.
This isn’t just a funding crisis—it’s a fight for the survival of public education. Billionaires and politicians who want to privatize our schools know they must first break us.
Zander’s Call to Action
“We refuse to stay silent. When we fight for a living wage, we fight for the bus driver who can’t afford health care. When we demand fully funded schools, we fight for the paraprofessional working two jobs just to pay rent. When we push back against corporate interests, we fight for the students who depend on our schools for meals, support, and a future. Alone, they ignore us. Together, they cannot stop us.”
JESPA members, the time is now. We must remain strong, vocal, and united. The state and federal governments will keep trying to balance budgets on the backs of our students and educators unless we force them to listen.
This fight doesn’t end today. It has to be the beginning.
“Now is not the time to sit back and watch. We must do our part to fight for the future of public education. Show up at school board meetings. Demand funding for ESPs, teachers, and students. Push your legislators to keep our schools funded. Organize to end TABOR. Hold accountable anybody who puts billionaires over schools. We are the ones that make schools run. We are the ones who take care of students. And we will not be cut.”
No more excuses. Fund our schools now.
#NoMoreCuts #FundOurSchools #JESPAUnited #SolidarityForever
Listen to Zander’s full speech below.
