School Funding Crisis

School funding is as nebulous as it is boring, with that said, it is one of the most important topics facing our community. As a group we are seeking to fix this issue. The way we want to achieve this is to build broad nonpartisan support for agendas and actions. There are six groups that are involved in this ordeal, parents, community members, teachers, teachers unions, school boards and lastly the children. The children have the most riding on this issue and yet have next to no voice. The five other groups need to get past political rhetoric and opinion and realize that we are all here for these kids. The problem is not the teachers or the school board it is the financial mess the state of Colorado has created. The state has greatly over spent and the shortages will be coming out of K-12 education. It is our job to stop pointing at one another and galvanize as one, pointing the combined finger at the state. The message is that the luxury of over spending and moving the zero line in the checkbook forever lower is at an end. There is a constitutional obligation to fund education, the state will already be passing along huge debts to our children the least we can do is make sure they are properly educated and prepared for the challenges that the mess they inherit will require. A bond or Mill Levy is a temporary solution, we do need to raise this capital, but also need to focus on real, tangible and long term solutions. Schools should have to go with hat in hand and on knees begging for the money they need to carry out not only daily operations such as meeting pay role, but to comply with the multitude of state and federal mandates whose yoke they endure. A mandate means that the school districts must comply, but often that ordered compliance comes with no funding. Federal one size fits all programs erode the ability of the school districts to be creative and personalized in their approach to meeting challenges. Our children and the people we rely on to educated them deserve better. It is up to us to make it happen.
Our group has gone to state legislatures to ask for a referred measure (this is legislation that the representatives introduce on behalf of the people) that would redirect lotto profits from land investment to our schools. The proposal we made was for a trigger to the current formula. When unemployment reaches 5% the trigger activates and diverts funds from lotto to education for a period of not less than 24 months. This measure would keep secure the current funding and would be additional money. The idea is that when unemployment surpasses 5% property values begin to dwindle, in turn decreasing the amount of taxes collected. When tax revenue falls a Mill Levy becomes necessary to cover the gaps in the general fund (the coffers that pay for teachers). The Mill Levy is usually accompanied by a bond, which in turn hurts the general fund more. How is this you ask? It is simple; let’s take an average yearly property tax assessment of $3000of this amount 50% goes towards education ($1500) of that amount 20% is paying off the old bonds. Bonds do not benefit the general fund; they are used for capital purchases, buses and buildings, etc. But they are paid for out of the general fund, thus decreasing that money by $300. These are current figures from my own tax bill. Remember the $300 is paying old bonds instead of going to work in the classroom. Now I may be wrong, but it seems to me that if government is going to issue mandates, it had best to find a way to pay for them. Citizens and school districts do not have the luxury of a bottomless checkbook, teachers expect and deserve to be compensated and mortgage companies are not interested in IOUs. The power to change this is ours, but we must flex combined muscle and tell the state that we foreclose on them. If they cannot properly manage the money they collect then we won’t send it. I fully realize that this is strong and possible arrogant language, but this is a strong and offensive problem that we as combined groups have chose to ignore. The finger has been pointed at one another and as we slave away on Animal Farm covering the states short comings with more bonds and as levies the storm gathered on the horizon. To sit and do what you have always done, will get you what you have always gotten. This time around it may be even less.