April 27, 2018 02:06 PM UTC

Massive Capitol Rally For #RedforEd Day 2

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Denver7’s Blair Miller:

Thousands of Colorado teachers gathered at the Capitol building in Denver on Friday for the second day of walkouts and rallies calling for better pay, more school funding and pension reform…

Gov. John Hickenlooper addressed the teachers shortly after 11:30 p.m. and tried to explain what his administration has done to try and pay down the so-called “negative factor” in school funding, which currently sits around $670 million, Hickenlooper said.

“When the state went through the recession…in essence, the state borrowed over $1 billion for education. I know it’s not enough. We share that frustration,” Hickenlooper said, but he added that he wanted lawmakers to pass plans to pay the negative factor down to zero over the next few years.

Denver Post:

State troopers declined to give a crowd estimate, but observers put it at least 6,000, nearly all of whom yelled and challenged lawmakers for more school money. At one point, they collectively pointed to the Capitol and chanted to legislators, “Come on down! Come on down!”

t was the second rally in as many days as more than 30 school districts — including those covering Denver, Aurora, Cherry Creek, and Douglas and Jefferson counties — canceled classes because of a lack of teachers. The districts serve hundreds of thousands of students, who got the days off. Many teachers used their personal days off to attend the rallies.

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Image courtesy Rep. Mike Foote

We’ll update with coverage of today’s massive rally at the state capitol to support public education, the second day of such protests and by all accounts a much larger turnout than Thursday’s gathering:

Support or oppose them, it’s the most color-coordinated crowd in Denver since the Broncos won Super Bowl 50.