2023 Handbook on K-12 Policy Issues for Colorado School Board Members
- October 16, 2023
EDUCATION – Issue Backgrounders
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- EDUCATION – Issue Backgrounders
Setting the Standard for Pro-Worker Transparency0
- March 27, 2009
As the influence of organized labor grows in Colorado’s public sector, so does the need for greater accountability and transparency. Through stricter enforcement of a federal law designed to ferret out union corruption, the U.S. Department of Labor in recent years has set the highest standard for disclosure of union finances. This enforcement has yielded real but limited gains in bringing restitution to members and fee-payers wronged by the malfeasance of certain union officials.
READ MOREShining the Light on Colorado School Spending0
- January 14, 2009
In the interest of expanding public accountability and economic efficiency, Colorado school districts, charter schools, and other local public education agencies ought to follow the lead of state government by exploring online financial transparency.
READ MOREAssessing Colorado Rural Public School Performance0
- November 14, 2008
Author Paul Mueller analyzes performance data from the School Accountability Reports for all 86 rural Colorado school districts, and compared them to demographic factors traditionally associated with lower achievement. Two school districts – Sargent and La Veta – are cited as examples of “beating the odds” with effective instruction despite a high-poverty or high-minority student population.
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Amendment 49 and Government Payroll Reform0
- October 27, 2008
Amendment 49 on the November 2008 Colorado ballot proposes to limit government payroll deductions to specified items. The amendment effectively prohibits the collection and transfer of funds to private non-charitable groups that lobby government officials and fund campaigns including such groups as political parties, professional associations, and labor unions. Current Colorado law allows government payroll systems to administer and deliver money to these groups.
READ MOREA Second Look at K-12 Cash: Updating the Facts about Per-Pupil Spending in Colorado0
- June 12, 2008
A follow-up to the 2006 report “Counting the Cash”, this publication highlights reported statistics to provide needed context to the debate about K-12 education funding.
READ MOREA Property Tax Increase by Any Name: The “Colorado Children’s Amendment” and Growing School Revenues0
- April 8, 2007
On March 12, 2007, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter proposed the “Colorado Children’s Amendment,” a plan to spend $84 million to expand preschool and kindergarten programs. To free state money to fund the programs, he proposed a mill levy rate “freeze” that would shift some of the school funding burden to local sources. On April 10, the governor revised the plan— offering tax relief to property owners in 33 school districts while creating higher property tax bills in 104 districts. The annual revenue estimate for the plan’s new version is $55 million.
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