Who Pays For Education? Amendment 73 Asks Voters To Decide

BOULDER, CO - Coloradans who make more than $150,000 a year will be kicking in a bit more for education if statewide initiative Amendment 73 passes this November. The measure raises money for the state's schools with a graduated income tax—from 0.37 percent to 3.62 percent–for residents over that earning threshold. Further funding would come from a hike in the the corporate income tax rate and residential property tax assessment rate that would freeze at 7 percent. Those funds would be spread out across the state, so as Boulder Valley School Board member Shelly Benford told the Daily Camera this fall, in an affluent area like Boulder County, the amount of tax area residents pay will "far exceed" the amount that local schools receive.

Nonetheless, Benford was in the minority when the Boulder Valley School Board passed a resolution in favor of the amendment this September with a 7-2 vote. The amendment is the latest way for Colorado to make up perennial education funding shortfalls. According to National Center for Education Statistics, Colorado needs to spend between $2,000 and $2,800 more per pupil to meet the national average. Across the state, districts are releasing statements saying that they would spend Amendment 73's money on increasing teacher pay, reducing student-to-teacher ratios, creating more mental health services for students, and expanding pre-schools.

The fact that Colorado has climbed up to 28th position in the national school funding rankings belies the unequal positions of school districts across a financially diverse state. As Chalkbeat reported, in rural Colorado many districts went to a four-day week this year because they lacked funding for the fifth day. Often, school districts get their funding from local bonding measures–Boulder had a big one in 2014–and Amendment 73 seeks to create more stable funding statewide.

Coloradans are fairly practiced at saying "no" to statewide school funding measures–three such proposals have gone down in the last 7 election cycles. This time around, many Amendment 73 opponents, including Republican candidate for governor Walker Stapleton, are concerned that the measure doesn't provide specific restrictions on how the money should be spent. Democratic candidate Jared Polis has not spoken strongly for or against the amendment.

Boulder is home to a much higher-than-average share of the state's $150,000+ annual earners. Additionally, due to the fixed proportions of the Gallagher Amendment, a booming real estate market in the area has meant a steady decrease in the residential property tax assessment rate–a decline Amendment 73 would halt at 7 percent. Benford is correct in her analysis that Boulder would pay in more than it gets out–though Camera reporting estimates the measure would nonetheless mean $48.7 million more a year for Boulder Valley schools.

If Amendment 73 passes, the changes will be written into the Colorado Constitution without a sunset. Because the measure requests a constitutional change, it requires 55 percent of the statewide vote for passage.

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