Two teachers unions, the Colorado Education Association and the Colorado Chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, have endorsed Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush in the race for the state’s 3rd Congressional District.
The American Federation of Teachers is the second-largest teachers union in the nation, and the Colorado Education Association is a statewide federation of teacher and education workers unions.
The endorsement came a few days after Mitsch Bush hosted a Zoom discussion on education, which included teachers from Pueblo and Mesa Valley. The teachers expressed their concerns about broadband access and school funding.
“I’m so proud to have the support of our teachers,” Mitsch Bush said in a news release. “Together, we’re going to take on the Washington insiders and make government work for educators and students again.”
Amie Baca-Oehlert, a high school councilor and president of the Colorado Education Association, said in a news release that Mitsch Bush will “work hard to get our schools the federal funding they deserve and the 21st century tools our teachers and students need to thrive – like reliable broadband access.”
Mitsch Bush has expressed her support for public school funding from the federal government to ensure all students have the same access to education opportunities.
And part of her economic recovery plan is to put people to work in Colorado by “bringing broadband up to 21st century standards,” Mitsch Bush said in a recent interview with The Journal.
For young people in rural areas, internet access is their access to opportunity, Mitsch Bush said.
A spokeswoman for Lauren Boebert’s campaign said in an email statement to The Journal it is “no surprise far-left Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush would receive the endorsement of the teacher’s union.”
Boebert supports school choice, charter schools and local decision-making in education, the spokeswoman said.
“Parents know better than bureaucrats,” Boebert’s spokeswoman said. “There shouldn’t even be a federal Department of Education.”
Mitsch Bush said in a news release that supporting school choice is “really a dog whistle for giving taxpayer dollars to private schools.”
“I think the Department of Education – just like any other federal department – needs to be scrutinized,” Mitsch Bush said, “and we’ve got to make sure that the Department of Education is focused on students and teachers.”
ehayes@the-journal.com