Education

KDNK's Morgan Neely has Friday's news, including confirmation of a deadly fentanyl overdose in Carbondale. Also, 23 years in and the Roaring Fork Transportation Authority is still clinging to hope that Silt, Rifle, and Garfield County will sign on as members. And despite Colorado voters approving free public school lunches for all, some school districts aren't committing to participating in the program.

Colorado and Idaho are joining a handful of other states in opting out of a long-running CDC survey that tracks teenagers' mental health.

In order to increase the number of Indigenous principals in Native communities and in public schools, a program called POLLEN is meeting teachers halfway by covering many of the costs.

Education issues are on the ballot in a variety of ways this year. There are four seats on the Colorado Board of Education at play, and numerous local ballot measures about education funding.

This year’s midterm elections include eleven ballot measures. One of them would raise the money needed to provide free school lunches at all public schools in Colorado. If approved, the measure would likely have impacts beyond school cafeterias.

KDNK's News Director Morgan Neely has Thursday's news, including a racist, homophobic incident on a RFTA bus that ended with a passenger throwing a soda can at black LGBT driver. Also, reporter Hattison Rensberry speaks with the Forest Service about hunting safety this autumn.

Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program intern, Zenobia Todd talks with 2022 Colorado Teacher of the Year, Autumn Rivera. They discuss what it means to be Teacher of the Year, rural education, community building, equity, and mental health.

This November, voters in Colorado will weigh in on a ballot measure to fund universal school meals for public school students in the state. The funding for the so-called Healthy School Meals For All measure would come via a limit on state income tax deductions for those earning more than $300,000.

KDNK's News Director Morgan Neely has Wednesday's news, including details on another wildlife encounter that ended in a bear's death this morning in New Castle.

Nutrition advocates say the nationwide ‘free meals for all’ program helped address food insecurity and childhood hunger for millions during the first two years of the pandemic. But that’s gone away this school year. Now families who are above certain federal income thresholds will once again have to pay for their children’s lunches. Experts say that can be tricky in communities like Moab, where these income thresholds don’t necessarily reflect the cost of living here.