Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Parts of failed school plan will be revived

Article published Jan 11, 2014


Parts of failed school plan will be revived

Focus will be on popular parts of tax measure

By KRISTEN WYATT
Associated Press
DENVER – An ambitious plan by lawmakers last year to overhaul Colorado’s school finances was rejected by voters, but it’s not exactly back to the drawing board as legislators this year try to revive pieces of the mammoth education overhaul.

As the 2014 legislative session opened last week, lawmakers started eyeing Colorado’s sizable budget surplus to fund some of the ideas, including additional support for students learning English and more help for struggling readers.

Democrats who control the Legislature and the governor’s office also want to see flexible student count days and expanded training for teachers – two ideas in the education finance overhaul.

“I’m hopeful that we can work together to find ways to implement various common-sense enhancements to our schools,” Democratic House Speaker Mark Ferrandino told his colleagues as the session opened.

There’s no doubt that the overall school proposal is dead, though. The plan was several years in the making but took effect only if voters approved an income tax of about $1 billion a year to pay for it.

Voters last November rejected the idea nearly 2-to-1. Though the measure could be revived for future ballots, education analysts predicted lawmakers would be more likely to looks for popular elements of the package to revive, not the whole thing.

“The public said, ‘We’re not doing a tax increase because we don’t understand enough about where it would go,”’ Jane Urschel said, head of the Colorado Association of School Boards.

Among the pieces that could be revived:
New methods for counting students are at the top of the list. The failed overhaul measure would have shifted attendance-count days from a single, once-a-year count to more frequent gauges, setting up more accurate funding for schools.

“We are going ask the General Assembly to pass legislation that will ensure a more accurate assessment,” Gov. John Hickenlooper told lawmakers in his annual address.
New transparency requirements for school budgets.

More money for teacher development.

Money to implement a new teacher evaluation system that ties tenure in part to student test scores.

Money to implement a law requiring additional help for young students who need reading help.

Education allies are hoping lawmakers first devote money to boosting overall funding. The proposed budget from Hickenlooper increases per-pupil funding by $400. But the governor’s proposal doesn’t attempt to backfill cuts made during the recent recession.
“Our No. 1 priority is erasing that,” Urschel said.

Colorado is set to end this fiscal year with a budget surplus in the neighborhood of $500 million, according to a December projection from the Legislature’s economists.
Higher education, not just K-12 education, is a likely winner from the budget surplus, too. The governor has called for lawmakers to add $100 million to public colleges and universities and set a 6 percent annual tuition hike cap, a proposal that has already been introduced by Democrats in the Senate.

“Affordable access to a college or trade school education is critical to protect our freedom to succeed,” Senate President Morgan Carroll said in her session-opening remarks.

The surplus alone may not be enough to pay for all the education upgrades lawmakers want, though. Democratic House Speaker Mark Ferrandino warned his colleagues that there isn’t enough spare money lying around to make education upgrades without new taxes.

“While some have argued for reform before resources, let me say this: Reforms will not work and our schools will not get better if they are not adequately funded. Period,” Ferrandino said after he gaveled open the session last week.

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