Andy Kerr

Excerpt from
The Delta County Independent

05/08/09

HB 1057 Parental Involvement in Schools: In one of the hardest fought battles on the legislative session, teacher and Rep. Andy Kerr (D-Lakewood) won. Now, working parents can't be fired from their job at a large business (over 50 employees) for taking up to 18 hours of unpaid leave during an academic year, in less than three-hour increments, to attend school meetings for their children. HB 1290 "Soldiers to Students": Representative Dennis Apuan's (D-Colorado Springs) bi-partisan bill will help members of the Colorado National Guard go to college in Colorado. House Bill 1290 helps soldiers who want to continue their education by providing scholarship funds. The Department of Higher Education can now provide up to $800,000 a year to the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs for Guard scholarships.

HB 1312 Renewables For Schools: Governor Ritter and the Governor's Energy Office drafted and promoted Rep. Andy Kerr's (D-Lakewood) House Bill 1312 to create an innovative "Renewables for Schools" program to provide schools access to affordable clean-energy with low-interest loans. By purchasing high-efficiency school buses and producing energy on-site with wind and solar, schools can both reduce their utility bills to create a buffer against future energy price spikes and put more money toward educating our kids.