At Our Core: Know Before You Go to Tomorrow's Rally!

By Bill Kurtz, 4/26

Thousands of teachers and public education supporters will gather tomorrow at the State Capitol calling for state legislators to increase funding for our students and schools. Because of the anticipated size of the rally, school districts across the state canceled classes in order to give teachers a chance to make their voices heard. How did we get to this point?

Despite a booming economy, the state of Colorado does not nearly adequately fund public education. On Friday, educators from across the state will call for real change and demand action from our lawmakers to change this.

Let’s look at the facts. According to the Colorado Fiscal Institute, Colorado ranks 46th in the U.S. in teacher pay and dead last when the average salary is adjusted for cost-of-living. We also rank 42nd in per-pupil funding.

In fact, when you look closer, Colorado is actually going backwards in recent years. Over the past several years, because of how the state interprets the school finance formulas, DPS has lost more than $500 million in funding from the state.

There are some signs of hope. Last week, the House Education Committee passed a bill, which calls for a little more than $7 billion in total education spending for the 2018-19 budget year, nearly a 7 percent increase from this year. If passed and signed by the Governor, this increase of $475 per student in per-pupil-revenue would be one of the largest that Colorado school funding has seen in years. In addition, a possible ballot measure in November would, among other things, raise corporate taxes and income taxes for those earning more than $150,000 per year. If voters approve the increase, it would generate an estimated $1.6 billion for education.

What we do know is the status quo is no longer acceptable, and I look forward to joining you at the rally on Friday. In the past, I have testified before legislators asking them to dedicate more dollars toward public education. But we need so much more. I am hopeful that our collective voices will be too loud to ignore.

For up-to-date logistics for the rally, click here.

If you’d like to learn more about what lawmakers are doing and considering, read these recent articles from Chalkbeat:

• Colorado lawmakers try to pass the hot potato of teacher pay to local districts
• School funding measure would raise $1.6 billion with income, corporate tax increases
• Colorado schools getting a bump in state’s 201-2019 budget

And here are some additional resources on the state of education funding:

• The Denver Post: What you need to know about why Colorado teachers are walking out of classes and onto the Capitol
• The 74 Million: States that spend the most and least on education and how they perform
• The Education Law Center: Is School Funding Fair?
• The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: A Punishing Decade for School Funding
• Colorado Public Radio: THE TAXMAN: How Douglas Bruce And The Taxpayer’s Bill Of Rights Conquered Colorado

Thank you for all you do.

Bill