A claim that Colorado’s system for funding public education is not only inadequate but also unconstitutional has been tossed out of court.
A lawsuit filed by 14 school districts and dozens of parents connected with Boulder-based Children’s Voices claimed the state fails to provide a “thorough and uniform” public education system as required by the Colorado Constitution.
In his ruling last week, Denver District Judge Michael Martinez relied on Amendment 23, which mandates that K-12 education be funded at the rate of inflation plus 1 percent from 2001 through 2011.
Whether the funding formula “is adequate is an issue to be decided by the voters and the legislature,” the judge wrote in his decision.
The leader of Children’s Voices said she was discouraged and hoped to appeal directly to the Colorado Supreme Court. Kathy Gebhardt said Amendment 23’s formula wasn’t meant to become a ceiling and that school districts’ actual costs far exceed it.
“All you really need to do is drive around and look at the schools in the state to see they are not thorough and uniform,” she said, citing things such as teacher salaries, special education and facilities.
Attorney General John Suthers called the decision “a victory for local control and for the idea that it is the responsibility of elected officials – not the courts – to decide how we fund public education.”
The lawsuit also claimed that dollars that could go to classrooms are being choked off by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, a constitutional amendment that limits government spending, and the Gallagher Amendment, which limits residential real estate valuations.
An analysis showed Colorado schools are underfunded by up to $1 billion a year because of the state funding system, Gebhardt said.
Staff writer Jennifer Brown can be reached at 303-820-1593 or jenbrown@denverpost.com.
