Announcements/Business:
- April 3, 5:30-8:30 pm, the five Area 8 Rotary Clubs will gather for dinner at El Rancho. The primary purpose is for fellowship and sharing and fun.
- June 1 the Conifer High School Interact will host Run the Ranch. They will have a trail run and a 10K.
- We need granola bars for the Back Packs. Please bring to the meetings and give them to Charlotte.
- Our St. Paddy’s Day dinner is coming: Saturday March 16 at St. Laurence Church. Please sign up HERE to help make it successful. Bring items for the silent auction!
Program: Tammy Story, Colorado State Senator, District 16
Senator Story spoke about several bills that she has proposed:
- Transport for foster care children to ensure Districts work together to keep the children in their home school.
- Ensure that public employees get the information they need to apply for the federal student loan forgiveness: educators, military, non-profit workers. Only 1% of folks who are eligible are apply for this benefit. A companion Bill will ensure that the “servicers” for loan forgiveness do not impede people from getting the loan forgiveness.
- Ensure that pregnant women get dental care.
- Assist technical schools to get capital funds through a State grant process so that they can continue to grow and expand.
Questions from the Club:
- Regarding paying for universal, full-day kindergarten: It would cost around $230 million and the revenue source has not been identified. Tabor and Gallagher prevent taking advantage of the State’s growing economy.
- Where is the marijuana money going? The first $40 million is for capital expenditures for building/refurbishing buildings in rural Colorado; the Districts do have to have matching funds to access the money, which makes access difficult. The balance of the marijuana dollars is for policing marijuana use and marijuana education.
- What is the interest in the legislature for transportation/infrastructure? The two ballot issues that were defeated in November for transportation made it difficult to allocate funds to infrastructure.
- The revenue stream for education and transportation is limited, especially due to Tabor and Gallagher. Our taxes are some of the lowest in the country so we have to personally invest more into services, education, infrastructure, etc.
- The Colorado Senate passed the National Popular Vote and it has been sent to the State House for a vote.
Guests: Tom Landon, Donna Kubick
We also welcomed our evening members: Craig Kubick and Hugh Macauly