Aren’t we beyond COVID?

What began as an “emergency” response by the federal government during COVID was extended by our state legislature (HB22-1414) and currently is a grossly underfunded state program. Now, the Gold Dome is asking voters for more money to fund free school breakfast and lunch for all rather than simply going back to pre-COVID programs that supported those who need it most. The latest state-reported statistics reveal participation of students eligible for free or reduced meals was up 1% year-over-year to 135 meals/student. All expanded program benefits have accrued to families most able to cover least expensive meal in town—that cohort’s participation surged 76% year-over-year to 105 meals/student.

Somehow, lots of people helping themselves to free meals came as a surprise to our legislature. Program expenditure data for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years exceeded the budget forecasts by 49% and 81%, respectively. If passed, Proposition MM will raise taxes to cover the massive overages in program spending. Meanwhile, Proposition LL will allow the state to keep over-collected taxes attached to the program.

It’s long past time to send a clear message to our state government that crisis spending implemented in reaction to COVID was never meant to be permanent. In a state with serious budget shortfalls, let’s make sure taxpayer funds are focused on helping those who truly need it.

While it’s hard to take away a free lunch, Mom was right — there is no such thing.

Ryan Zorn

Fraser

This isn’t about children

Saturday morning I read on The Gazette front page that “Major donors back Colorado measures to fund school meals, SNAP.” Our Colorado General Assembly places these issues on our ballots.

Good gracious, why are school lunches now a political issue? Many compatriots in my age cohort (70s, 80s, 90s) may recall packing a peanut butter sandwich wrapped in waxed paper with an apple to carry in a brown paper bag to school, then perhaps purchasing a small carton of milk for pennies at school.

Parents were expected to feed their children, and schools were expected to teach.

If we kids were lucky, we might pack a bologna sandwich or get a candy treat to pack. That was our first lesson in food science—carb, protein, fruit/veggie. The brown bag was folded and returned home for the next lunch; there was no fancy lunch box painted with Disney characters. There was no “junk food.”

Today we would definitely be considered “poor,” though we didn’t see it that way. We rode our bike to the bakery outlet for day-old bread, where it was less expensive.

This isn’t about children. It is about more money for the General Assembly to shift to their favored programs.

Janice Taylor

Colorado Springs

More tax dollars trashed

Re: initiatives LL and MM: I’m still not sure how to vote on this. Free school meals have been offered for some time now. When my grandkids were in school, we would not participate in the free lunch program but my grandkids’ friends would.

Attending lunch time with them I’ve witnessed on multiple occasions the waste of these meals. Kids being kids will eat only what they want to and usually that is ‘the good stuff’ like milk and cookies and dump everything else. I don’t see how this will change, no matter what is on the menu. If the waste was mitigated it may be something that is worthwhile but I fear that this is just more taxpayer dollars trashed, literally.

Thom Hill

Colorado Springs

Pouring money into flawed programs

LL and MM take the flawed “School Meals for All” legislation and make it worse. None of the limits in the original legislation or in MM are indexed for inflation. That means more households will fall off the $300,000 cliff every year. Once a household falls off the cliff, the law sets a floor on deductions so as the Federal standard deduction increases, the amount of tax paid automatically goes up.

Another significant flaw is the marriage penalty. These measures do not differentiate joint filers from single filers so joint filers are much more likely to be impacted.

Of course, both measures want to be exempt from TABOR to eliminate any accountability on the unbounded future revenue. It is time to stop pouring money into flawed programs and hold our legislators accountable.

Mike Schoen

Colorado Springs

Vests for canine officers

How about equipping our K-9 staff with safety police vests as soon as they are sent to operate in the field?

The tragic lesson of Roam should be to have vests that fit these officers as they grow. If the Police Department cannot afford that, I bet the community would wholeheartedly support a GO FUND ME for these canine officers.

James Stolz

Colorado Springs