State lawmakers are looking to tweak how Colorado distributes money to help school districts support their neediest students, fearing that the current definition of “at-risk,” a measure used to determine funding, is no longer accurate. Tens of millions of dollars could be on the line. The state uses free and reduced-price lunch sign-ups to help […]
school funding
Posted inEconomy, Growth, Housing, News, Politics and Government
Proposition 120: Voters will decide if Colorado property taxes will go down — at least for some
Colorado’s residential property taxes are already among the nation’s lowest, but a measure on the 2021 statewide ballot would drop them ever lower — for some. Proposition 120 would, if approved by voters, reduce the property tax assessment rates for multifamily housing to 6.5% from 7.15% starting in 2022. If you owned affected property valued […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado’s education pie just got bigger. Now lawmakers want to give a larger slice to higher-needs students.
Expecting a cash infusion after the Colorado Supreme Court gave its blessing to raising local school district taxes, lawmakers are proposing major changes to how the state spends its education dollars. House Bill 1325 would expand the definition of children living in poverty and qualifying for additional funding and, for the first time, give districts more […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
8 big things you need to know about Colorado’s $34 billion state budget
Colorado lawmakers this week began debating the state’s $34.1 billion budget, which helps chart a path out of the coronavirus crisis and sets aside millions of dollars for equity-related initiatives and a historic sum for future economic downturns. The legislature was able to reverse funding cuts made as the pandemic descended upon the state last […]
Posted inBusiness, News, Politics and Government
Now that Colorado lawmakers have put Gallagher repeal on the ballot, will they actually be able to pass it?
When the General Assembly two years ago agreed to study the state’s dysfunctional property tax code, reform advocates were optimistic that years of warnings would finally lead to action. A bipartisan panel came up with a variety of options to repeal and replace the Gallagher Amendment, the constitutional measure that for decades has squeezed essential […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Colorado needs emergency tax reform to avoid irreparable harm
I get the great privilege to be an English language arts and computer science teacher in our beautiful Four Corners area. I love where I live, with its beautiful mesas, mountain vistas and an endless playground of woods and rivers. But more importantly, I love my students, who (despite coming from a deeply impoverished area) […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Opinion: Why we need to reach hard-to-count Coloradans. There’s a lot at stake.
“Census undercount” is a daunting phrase arriving in most households with a thud, like “infrastructure decline” or “education reform.” It definitely sounds like a problem, somebody else should certainly be doing something about it, now what’s going on with Harry and Meghan? So we’re going to get specific right away, before we lose you. Let’s […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
We now know the full cost of Colorado’s full-day kindergarten expansion
More Colorado children than predicted have enrolled in full-day kindergarten, but these additional students are unlikely to break the state budget — in part because Colorado has fewer students in the older grades. Complete pupil counts for the 2019-20 school year won’t be released until later this month, but early numbers provided to legislative analysts […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Colorado lawmakers hoped to finally change the school funding formula after 25 years. They may have to keep waiting.
An effort to change Colorado’s longtime school funding formula has hit a wall just days before the start of the 2020 legislative session — for now, at least. Legislators on Thursday decided to change course and take more time to pursue tweaks to the Public School Finance Act of 1994 through legislation. Since the end […]
Posted inEducation, News, Politics and Government
Part calculator, part crystal ball: Colorado lawmakers’ simulator testing tweaks to state’s school-funding formula
It’s hard to say how changes to a 25-year-old school funding formula will impact individual districts across Colorado, but for state lawmakers contemplating changes, an advanced simulation tool offers a peek into how tweaks could play out. The tool, called a simulator by its creator, EdBuild, is part calculator and part crystal ball. “At the […]