For educators accustomed to thinking in letter grades, this fall’s election comes down to two letters: C and D.
And for Denver teachers, toss in an A, as in, 3A.
Even though there are few school-related issues on ballots across Colorado – schools are asking for $273 million in bonds compared to $1 billion last November, for example – education officials say the stakes are still very high.
It’s all about Referendums C and D, they say. If they pass, schools continue to tread water. If not, they fear, state lawmakers will find ways to trim around the edges and cut K-12 spending – even though the constitution mandates at least nominal spending increases.
“This is a watershed election for public schools in Colorado,” said Phil Fox with the Colorado Association of School Executives. In fact, he’s on loan from his job with CASE to help the Yes on C and D campaign as an in-kind contribution.
“If C and D fail, we’ll soon rival Guatemala in terms of school funding. That’s what’s at stake. We’re definitely in the bottom 10 [in state funding for K-12] and in another three of four years, if C and D fail, we’ll be at the bottom.”
Referendum D also authorizes long-term bonding for state projects, including $147 million for K-12 school construction and upgrades and $50 million for Colorado universities, colleges and community colleges. (That $147 million, however, only makes good on the state’s pledge, prompted by a lawsuit, to provide $190 million over 11 years for the most serious capital needs.)
Some districts, believing C and D were so important to the health of their schools, held back from asking voters for bond issues to build schools, or mill-levy increases to pay for operational costs, because they didn’t want to clutter up the ballot, afraid it may provoke wary voters to throw up their hands and vote no on everything.
But Fox, who’s been analyzing school elections since 1993, a year after the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights passed, says school issues have the same success level no matter what’s on the ballot. About 78 percent of bond issues pass each year, and 63 percent of mill-overrides are approved. (His study indicates they have a better chance of passing during presidential election years, which draw more voters.)
Of the 16 districts seeking $66.2 million in mill-levy overrides, Denver’s Issue 3A has drawn the most attention and, at $25 million, is the largest.
ProComp, as 3A is known, would revolutionize the way teachers are paid by rewarding teachers with bonuses and higher pay for boosting student achievement or teaching in the most challenging classrooms. It also lifts the caps that max out longtime teachers’ salaries, and allows young go-getters to earn more money now.
But first, DPS needs the extra $25 million a year to pay for the bonuses and salary hikes. If approved, the mill-levy override would add an extra $2 per month on your tax bill for every $100,000 of a home’s actual value. That’s about $5 a month for the average homeowner.
ProComp was one of the reasons Denver Public Schools Superintendent Michael Bennet was excited to take his new post. It’s a pioneering plan and he knows that to make Denver a premiere urban school district, DPS must attract and retain top teachers. ProComp will do that.
Of the other major mill-levy overrides:
St. Vrain Valley RE 1J, which includes Longmont, is seeking $17.3 million for higher teacher pay, smaller class sizes and to operate new schools.
Falcon 49 in El Paso County is seeking $7.5 million a year to pay back bond debt to build new schools. It’s a reverse from what districts normally do, that is, ask voters to approve a bond to build schools.
Thirteen districts are seeking $273.6 million in bonds, including:
Thompson R-2J, which includes Loveland, wants $89 million to build two new elementary schools and upgrade others.
Brighton 27-J wants $68 million to build three new elementary schools and one middle school, while upgrading others.
Aspen 1 wants $33 million to build a new middle school and new elementary school classrooms.
But all eyes will be on C and D.
Even if it’s approved, there’s talk in education circles of going back to the voters statewide, possibly next year, with an initiative to boost school funding similar to Amendment 23. It was approved by voters in 2000 and increases K-12 funding each year by the rate of inflation plus 1 percent. More than a dozen new tax ideas have been raised, from a statewide sales tax for schools to changing property tax assessments to raise more money.
Meanwhile, some conservative lawmakers may want to take a run at Amendment 23, which they blame for part of Colorado’s fiscal crunch since it mandates spending increases – even when revenue is in decline.
Dan Haley can be reached at dhaley@denverpost.com.
