MORRISON: 59 helps us play catch-up with education funding

By Liane Morrison

Published November 3, 2008 at 12:01 a.m.

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It’s been obvious to every public school parent in Colorado for a very long time that our schools need more funding. Classes are overcrowded, textbooks are out of date, and we parents are running ourselves ragged selling wrapping paper, oranges and butterbraids just to pay for the basics.

It’s time to begin to stem the tide.

Colorado public school funding has simply not kept up with the needs of Colorado’s children. This election season, we in Colorado will have the opportunity to vote for education, and finally start to change the way we fund this most crucial function. Amendment 59, the Savings Account For Education (SAFE) ballot initiative, will help Colorado stabilize funding for schools through all economic cycles, good and bad - and it will not increase taxes.

Strapped schools are not unique to one or two locales. Districts across Colorado are struggling with giant budget shortfalls made worse by negligible annual per pupil increases that simply don’t keep pace with soaring health care, pension and energy costs. Every district is struggling to do more with less, facing a zero-sum game, where a gain for one school, population, program or service has to be offset by a cut to another. That’s why 39 districts are seeking mill overrides and/or bond measures - measures that are critical to the education those districts’ schools, kids and communities.

While it’s difficult to admit, Colorado receives an “F” grade in allocating adequate funds for public education - and has for years.

When compared to other states, we rank as low as 47th in K-12 funding as a share of state income and 38th in per pupil dollars adjusted for cost of living.

Beyond being embarrassing, this lack of financial commitment to public education compromises our economic future. Colorado businesses need well-educated, problem-solving workers to thrive in a very competitive global marketplace. But consider where Colorado ranks in the areas of preparing our students to be productive 21st-century workers and responsible citizens: 38th in pupil to teacher ratio. 40th in technology in our schools. 48th in per capita spending on higher education.

Face it, Colorado’s education funding pie is simply too small. For 16 years TABOR (the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights constitutional amendment) has tied the hands of state legislators who wanted to do right by Colorado’s schoolchildren.

While voters approved Amendment 23 to increase education spending in 2000, that measure has only restored spending to 1988 levels. TABOR meant the state couldn’t make up for the astronomical increases in energy and health care costs during the last eight years.

SAFE is a citizen’s initiative designed to create a responsible budget that protects public schools so we can build an economically vibrant future in Colorado. It will stabilize the source of funds for schools and will create a savings account for education that has built-in safeguards so that those funds can be used only in pursuit of student achievement. SAFE won’t solve our education funding crisis, but it is a critical first step toward improved investment in public education.

Furthermore, SAFE will foster responsible government, protecting education funding and other priorities in good times and bad. Not only does it establish a safeguarded education savings account built up from good economic years for tough ones, but it also maintains Colorado’s strict spending restrictions and our constitutional requirement to balance the budget.

SAFE is supported by a wide variety of Colorado citizens and organizations that have the interests of Colorado’s children, families and economy in mind, including Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, the Colorado Children’s Campaign, the Colorado Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce.

All over the state, newspapers statewide have endorsed SAFE, too.

Papers like The Cortez Journal, The Longmont Times-Call, The Durango Herald, The Denver Post, The Boulder Daily Camera and The Rocky Mountain News have all endorsed Amendment 59.

Vote yes on SAFE/Amendment 59 to provide bright futures for our children and vitality to our economy. Let’s take the critical first step to fully funding our children’s education.

Liane Morrison is executive director of Great Education Colorado, a 501(c)(3), and executive director of GreatEd Action, a 501(c)(4).

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Comments

November 3, 2008

6:12 a.m.

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a_watcher writes:

If the money were going to education, this argument would be honest. This is another bait and switch like Ref C, written by the same folks who wrote Ref C and promoted by the same newspaper that promoted Ref C.

Nothing in this prohibits the legislature from removing the existing funding and spending it elsewhere. Nothing in this prohibits the proponents from coming back in five years with the claim that education is under funded after the moneys have been moved.
November 3, 2008

6:49 a.m.

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Art writes:

It does not matter how much money is thrown at public education in Colorado. Money is not the answer. The public education system needs a complete overhaul. We have constantly given education more and more and more money and it has not made a difference. Until public education is actually restructured so that it is producing the results we need there is no reason to keep giving more money to this system.
November 3, 2008

7:24 a.m.

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roger44 writes:

Art is right. First, we should not be doing the parents job of teaching kids to speak English. Assimilation instead of diversity.
Eliminate all the extra sports programs, schools don't need 15 different sports, stick with the basics and bring back phys ed classes. They tell of what rank we are in spending, guess what, not everyone can be number one, or in the top ten, this is not a measure we should should go by, don't work with this taxpayer. Salaries of the top administrators is out of control. Anytime a politician wants more money they use the phrase it's for the kids, don't work with me, especially when I see these kids out there that can't spell and don't know what the formula is to figure out mpg of that fancy car their parents bought them.
November 3, 2008

8:31 a.m.

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Elwood writes:

Out fo date text books????

What matematical theory has changed since the last books were purchased?
What laws of physics have changd?
What portion of history has changed in the last 3 to 5 years?
Has civics changed?

Just because the old books have a few bent pages or uses an older method to teach our kids (this is where the teachers earn their money by teaching a new or easy method) doesn't mean the old books need to be replaced.

Need MORE books? Only buy what you need and use the new ones for a single class, don't replace all the older ones. See how easy it is to save money.
November 3, 2008

8:44 a.m.

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olsonmt writes:

a_watcher nailed it. Every tax increase is carried on the back of education. It's too bad only a fraction of the money ever gets there. It's simple. There are too many feel-good entitlement programs skimming off the top. Roger and Elwood make great points too. Fix the system. Learn to do more with less. Cut the fat. Do you jobs.
November 3, 2008

8:44 a.m.

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olsonmt writes:

your
November 3, 2008

9:19 a.m.

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jbowen43 writes:

It's always fascinating to read the uninformed posts put up by the anti-school crowd. A little research would show them that Morrison has the facts and they don't. Not only are textbooks in some schools out of date there aren't enough of them. Each student should have a text book if one is required. Sadly in too many schools students share textbooks. Education should be the primary job of the state and county governments. Education reduces crime. Education creates wealth. Let the U S Government defend the constitution.
November 3, 2008

9:29 a.m.

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Chacmool writes:

Please provide an example where additional funding resulted in a better product. Utah is at the bottom in funding and in the top 5 in actual results (test scores). DC spends the most per student in the nation, and is last in results. Please explain these 2 examples. Pouring more money into this bottomless pit called public education does nothing to raise the results of the education system.

The "see what I believe" bleeding heart will automatically parrot the argument that test scores do not measure the education, as instructed by their cult leaders. The idea is to have no actual way to measure public teacher's performance so as to acieve the teachers union's agenda. Test scores do accurately measure skills that result in employment such as math and science, and even geography, history, etc, etc. Test scores do not necessarily measure skills that are much more unlikely to result in actual employment and are hobbies for most people in the long run - art, PE, music, etc.
November 3, 2008

10:44 a.m.

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Elwood writes:

Morrison puts her agenda right in front of us....
"Districts across Colorado are struggling with giant budget shortfalls made worse by negligible annual per pupil increases that simply don’t keep pace with soaring health care, pension and energy costs."

Where is the money for the children in this statement? Sounds like it all goes to benefit teachers and administration to me.
November 3, 2008

12:19 p.m.

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tromiano writes:

Simply throwing more money into education is not the solution - the United States as a whole pays more money per student than any other developed nation, and is still lagging behind in math and literacy. This isn't an issue of more funding: it's an issue of how well the existing funding is spent.

The very paradigm of how we do education in this state needs to be challenged: allowing for competition within districts and between districts is a great place to start. Charter schools, online schools, online school hybrids and (dare I say) private schools are a great way to help accomplish this. It's also time to end the 'all teachers are created equal' mentality perpetuated by teacher's unions, who regularly fund cadidates and initiatives that are interested in maintaining the status quo. Better efficiency is what is needed, and until the public school system can demonstrate competency in this regard, they should not be given a single extra dime.
November 3, 2008

2:06 p.m.

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BikerChick writes:

..
DUMB AND DUMBER.

All we need to do is recruit 230,000 K-12 kids from France, and teach in French.

So simple.

{If you don't get it, you're not paying attention . Fully 25% of the students are children and grand-children of illegal aliens. Put the crooked employers in jail and watch the student crowding fade as the test scores skyrocket.}

If Obama lovers don't like the approach, that is proof-positive that we are on the right track.

WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR EDUCATING THE CHILDREN OF THIRD-WORLD CITIZENS.

P.S. In addition, implement vouchers across-the-board for K-12 education. In three years, the deadwood teachers will no longer be an expensive problem, and the anachronistic no-value-added unions will be history.
..
November 3, 2008

2:27 p.m.

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BetterEducated writes:

Hey, folks, it's EXPENSIVE to keep those nasty teachers in line!
It's EXPENSIVE to keep those administrators happy until they get to retire at your expense!
It's EXPENSIVE to continue the Business As Usual that results in uneducated children, distressed workers, and taxpayers watching people with better educations moving into Colorado to take our kids' jobs!
The school districts are not accountable to you? That's too bad. The school districts ignore you? That's too bad.
The school districts make no sense to you? Gee, that's too bad.
Who actually OWNS these school districts, OWNS the education of your children, OWNS your local teacher?
You never elected the people who actually spend your money, and can't recall them either. The people who REALLY own the school districts are well-paid administrators and their longtime and VERY well paid attorneys.
DPS' current attorneys are the same exact folks who didn't mind spending YOUR tax money to defend DPS before the US Supreme Court, arguing that people of color weren't REALLY getting screwed in Denver schools, when to that Court (and most honest citizens) it was plain that they were.
Call me naive but I would have expected a school district that really intended to change its unethical and illegal ways, to get some attorneys on board who were LOTS more interested in healing schools than in being paid to keep them wounded. How do these people sleep at night?!! And when is Colorado going to say ENOUGH!!?
I'm a state native who wishes she had raised her family just about anyplace else. This state just doesn't bother to regulate the local school districts. It would be hard to feel a whole lot more stepped-on by a government I was taught to trust, believe in, AND FUND.
Sign me Thoroughly Disgusted.
November 3, 2008

4:55 p.m.

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BrianSchwartz writes:

You should vote NO on 59. Why? Because:
* It is a permanent tax increase.
* It is really about raising general tax revenues.
* It violates property rights.
* It increases government interference in our economy and our lives.
* It will be bad for Colorado's economy.
* It will be another boondoggle.
* It is deceptive.
Find out more at: http://www.VoteNo59.com
November 3, 2008

7:34 p.m.

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mmannino writes:

Here is a radical proposal to reduce education costs. Remove the tremendous subsidies for early retirement in PERA and DPSRS, the two largest pension plans for educators. School employees (as well as many other state employees) feel it is their birthright to retire at in their 50s (early 50s for many) with 75% of their highest average salary (typically inflated near retirement), inflation protection, and subsidized early retiree medical care. This subsidy is worth on the average $500,000 per retiree beyond the contributions (employee and employer plus interest). Can we afford such outrageous compensation? There is no counterpart in the private sector. Why can't state employees work to normal retirement age like the rest of state residents?

Vote agaist amendment 59. It's the outrageous pensions stupid!
November 4, 2008

8:28 a.m.

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BetterEducated writes:

I know this is a terrifically unpopular view -- and that it is sort of a "two wrongs make a right" solution -- but I think it would be better if all these workers just received social security instead.
Not only would this create parity among them in perspective with the rest of us -- but then those benefits would be totally portable as they are in the private sector -- and then maybe people who weren't cut out to be teachers (or whatever) could find something else to do.
The last time I proposed this, I was strongly reminded by another poster that SS itself is in a terrible mess, so I appreciate that my "solution" has its problems. :-)

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MORRISON: 59 helps us play catch-up with education funding

By Liane Morrison

Published November 3, 2008 at 12:01 a.m.

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