Students across Colorado will continue to receive free breakfast and lunch after voters passed propositions LL and MM on the November 4 ballot. The two measures were recently endorsed by the Westminster Public Schools Board of Education, which unanimously passed a resolution in support of the proposal to ensure that all children continue to receive meals while at school. 

Proposition LL allows the state to retain approximately $12.4 million in excess tax revenue under the original school funding plan. Proposition MM will generate $95 million in new revenues by further reducing state income tax deductions for those earning over $300,000 a year.

In 2022, voters first approved a statewide funding plan, but it quickly ran out of money because the program proved so popular. 

WPS Board Treasurer Mary Beth Murphy introduced the resolution calling the issue “very near and dear to my heart.” Murphy, a former teacher, recalled how she and other teachers would often bring extra food to their classrooms to help hungry students. 

She and other board members said that the evidence is clear that students who are hungry have a difficult time focusing on their classwork.