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Joyce Rankin <br /> Colorado State Board of Education <br /> Director, Congressional District 3 <br /> Joyce Rankin RECE[VED <br /> Director, Congressional District 3 DEC <br /> Colorado State Board of Education Z Z��7 <br /> 201 E. Colfax Ave. DIVISION OF IRECLAMATIOiV <br /> Denver, CO 80203 MINING AND SAFETy <br /> Phone: (303) 866-6600 <br /> To Whom It May Concern: <br /> As a member of the Colorado State Board of Education, I urge the Mined Land Reclamation <br /> Board to approve Transit Mix Concrete Company's application for a permit to open a quarry on <br /> the privately-owned Hitch Rack Ranch in southwestern El Paso County. <br /> In 1909,the State of Colorado reserved mineral rights on Hitch Rack Ranch. Accordingly,the <br /> Colorado State Land Board last year approved a royalty rate of approximately $0.50 per ton of <br /> granite Transit Mix extracts. At that rate, Transit Mix projects that royalty payments to the state <br /> would exceed$20 million over the life of the project. <br /> Because these more than$20 million in royalties would flow directly into the State School Fund, <br /> I take great interest in the success of Transit Mix's application. Granting Transit Mix its permit <br /> would bolster our neighborhood schools by $20 million without a tax increase. <br /> The mill levy overrides on local ballots across Colorado demonstrate a general consensus that <br /> Colorado's schools are underfunded. If voters are willing to increase school funding even at the <br /> expense of a tax increase, imagine how enthusiastically the public would greet a proposal to <br /> increase school funding by$20 million without one. <br /> A quarry at Hitch Rack Ranch is in the best interests of taxpayers and schoolchildren alike. For <br /> that reason, I wholeheartedly support Transit Mix's application. <br /> Sincerely, <br /> r <br /> Joyce Rankin <br />