ALAMOSA — Alamosa Board of Education President Arlan Van Ry shared more details about his recent visit to Washington, D.C. with his fellow board members at their meeting on Monday night.

Van Ry noted that school boards are the only elected position where there are not parties. “There are no party lines when it comes to education,” he said.

In addition to having the opportunity to participate in training sessions, Van Ry also had the opportunity to meet with legislators to advocate for funding for education in Colorado. He pointed out that Representative Scott Tipton was helpful. He also noted that while they are from opposite parties, Senators Cory Gardner and Michael Bennet work well together when it comes to education. He expressed his gratitude to the Alamosa School District for allowing him the opportunity to travel to Washington.

Van Ry acknowledged that there has been helpful legislation such as the Farm Bill, which has helped to ease school lunch restrictions. He also noted that funding is going to continue to be a challenge going forward. Currently in Colorado General Assembly, there have been 261 bills proposed and only 47 deal with education. However, Van Ry expressed a degree of optimism, He noted that those he has worked with through this process are there to “fight for kids and for our future.”