Taxpayers should pay attention

Academy District 20’s proposed FY2026-27 budget is not a scandal. But it is a warning sign about priorities. The district proposes more than $442 million in total spending while expenditures exceed revenues by roughly $12 million. At the same time, D20 now faces the costly reality of replacing a superintendent who was let go only four months into a renewed contract.

Taxpayers have good reason to pay attention. Families are constantly told that every budget decision is about “student readiness.” Fine. Citizens should expect the same standard from district leadership: fiscal restraint, sound judgement, clear oversight, and long-term sustainability.

Right now, many parents are asking a reasonable question: how much taxpayer money actually reaches classrooms, and how much gets caught in the administrative funnel on the way down?

The proposed budget includes major spending on administration, security systems, capital projects, charter obligations, outside legal services, and administrative overhead. Some costs are legitimate. No one expects a district this large to run cheaply. But when enrollment remains essentially flat, spending continues to rise, and leadership turmoil creates additional financial strain, taxpayers deserve a clearer explanation of where the money is going and why.

D20 cannot afford ideological crusades or speculative lawsuits that do little to improve classroom outcomes. Taxpayer dollars should be focused on academic readiness, classroom support, school safety, and preparing students for success after graduation.

The district deserves credit for publishing detailed budget documents. But transparency is not simply releasing spreadsheets. Transparency means ordinary citizens can clearly understand what supports instruction and what supports administration. Strong schools require public trust. Public trust requires financial discipline. And that starts with showing taxpayers how much of their money actually reaches students before it gets absorbed by the system around them.

Emily Vonachen

Colorado Springs

Front Range railroaded

Randall O’Toole’s article in Sunday’s Perspective wrote the most comprehensive and in-depth truth of the proposed Front Range Rail. He spoke truth to power leaders but they won’t listen.

This “pie in the sky” project will fail and will cost millions/billions. I have lived in Europe and love their trains. The inconvenient schedules, long travel times and ticket costs will kill this. When you get off the train, you are not at your final destination, thus adding time and inconvenience which will make this boondoggle a huge money drain, if not a complete failure.

Lindsay Clewe

Monument

Misleading information

As a retired elementary school teacher, I read with interest the article in the May 14 , 2026 issue of the Gazette, entitled, ‘Legislators ask voters to forfeit TABOR refunds”. The subtitle was even more interesting: “The proposal would redirect thousands to school spending.”

It wasn’t until the eighth paragraph that we find out how the TABOR refunds would be allocated. I quote, “According to a nonpartisan staff analysis, the bill could generate up to $9 billion for the first decade. However, about 75% of the revenue generated WOULDN’T GO TO SCHOOLS. [My capitalized words.} Instead, those dollars would go into the state’s general fund pot—to be used by lawmakers for whatever purposes they choose.”

So, only 25% of the TABOR refund would go to schools. However, the subtitle implied that most of the money would go toward schools. What a misleading subtitle.

To paraphrase Rep. Rebecca Keltie, there is no guarantee that the monies would actually go to where it was being said that it would be going.

It is so very important to read beyond the headlines to understand what is really in the bills that will be on the ballot this November. We, the citizens, need to be well-informed. To quote Thomas Jefferson: “If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed.”

Erna Haring

Colorado Springs

Sacrifice during war

I am responding to Cal Thomas’s May 27 editorial in which he seeks patience from the American people during a time of high gas prices, reflecting on the sacrifices of his ancestors during the Great Depression and WWII. This is coming from Thomas, who consistently blamed Joe Biden for the pandemic-related inflation while advocating patience from economic suffering which our current “no foreign wars” president is clearly causing.

In addition, Trump must have lied to the American people last summer when he said Iran’s nuclear program had been obliterated. FDR led us in WWII with Congressional approval and careful planning, which Trump’s leadership does not reflect.

Todd Nelson

Colorado Springs