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Amendment 66: Unfair and Overpriced

Amendment 66: Unfair and Overpriced

IB-2013-E (August 2013)
Author: Ben DeGrow

PDF of full Issue Backgrounder
Scribd version of full Issue Backgrounder

Overview
Update, 9/6: Two small changes were made. 1) Labeling on the first graphic was corrected for clarity. 2) Due to an adjustment in Legislative Council calculations, the number of rural districts losing dollars on a per-pupil basis was changed from 13 to 20.

Amendment 66 on the November 2013 Colorado ballot proposes a nearly $1 billion statewide income tax increase to pay for a new school finance formula and other education funding priorities. A majority vote at the polls would activate the policy changes in Senate Bill 213, approved by the legislature’s Democratic majority and Gov. John Hickenlooper. The policy package tied to approval of the tax increase proposal raises four primary concerns:

  • A redistribution scheme that unfairly burdens taxpayers in certain communities
  • A constitutional mandate that restricts the legislature’s ability to allocate resources
  • A funding formula that creates inequities based on where a student is enrolled
  • Inadequate policy changes that offer no real hope of better student outcomes