By Nelson Garcia
9News
Video at bottom of story
Nineteen-year-old Taylor Lobato had been waiting for this day for five years. Wednesday was her day in court.
“It feels good. And, this is important having all this start. That discussion needs to be had, and I like the way things are going right now,” she said.
Lobato is from Center, a small town in the middle of the San Luis Valley. In 2005, she and her family, along with several other families and school districts, filed suit against the state of Colorado, claiming the school finance system violates the Colorado Constitution.
Lobato is part of a ranching family in a ranching town, but her fight could change Colorado schools forever.
“For my sister, because she deserves a better education than I got, and for all the other students in Center and the state, I just believe that they deserve an adequate education and they’re not getting it,” she said.
“There’s not enough books for everybody to have one, so we would go into class, take a book off the shelf, do our studies, put it back at the end of the day,” Lobato said.
“Center doesn’t offer AP or IB classes,” Lobato said. “It’s been a long time coming. It’s good to be here, to finally be able to get out there and tell my story and make a difference because this is important.”
“This is bigger than me, bigger than my family. It’s a part of … all the students in the state getting a decent education,” she said.
Lobato is now a student at the University of Denver. Her father and mother, Anthony and Denise, and her sister Alexa also are plaintiffs in the case.
This story is posted with permission of 9News, an Education News Colorado partner.