Editorial
Grand Junction Sentinel
Sunday, April 15, 2007
A plan to freeze property tax rates for most school districts in the state — which was introduced at Gov. Bill Ritter’s behest last month, then was quickly dropped amid widespread opposition — is expected to reappear in the Colorado Legislature this week.
And, while changes have been made since its original incarnation, the plan is continuing to draw fire from a number of lawmakers, mostly Republicans.
Nevertheless, Ritter’s proposal is a sincere effort to try to address a very real problem: the coming shortfall in the state education fund, which was created by Amendment 23 in 2000. Without additional revenue, the fund is expected to run out of money in 2011. When that happens, substantial cuts will be required in other programs to make up the differences.
Ritter’s idea to avoid that is to change a state law passed in 1994 which requires school district mill levies to drop as assessed valuation rises, even if the districts’ voters have approved TABOR Amendment overrides.
By freezing mill levies at current levels for 145 school districts, the plan would ensure the amount of money in the state education fund does not fall below $97 million, according to information from the governor.
One change in the plan from the March version is a provision to decrease the mill levies of 33 mostly rural school districts that currently have higher than average tax rates. Making that change will help re-establish tax equity among the state’s school districts, said Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer.
The original version of this plan had a serious flaw. It would have used the revenue from the first three years of the tax-rate freeze to pay for expansion of other education programs, rather than applying the additional money to immediately shore up the education fund.
Dreyer told The Daily Sentinel no funding is expected to be earmarked for such programs when the tax-rate freeze is introduced this week. We hope that remains the case as the legislation moves forward.
Some critics of the plan attack it as a tax increase because it will prevent mill levies and local property taxes from decreasing. That argument isn’t without merit.
However, the state has been assuming more and more of the cost of K-12 education in Colorado, from 53 percent in 1994 to 64 percent this year. If that trend isn’t halted, it means more state revenue will be required to meet the mandates voters approved with Amendment 23.
The latest Ritter proposal offers a feasible means of solving a serious financial problem and avoiding the deep cuts in things like higher education and social programs that the state experienced early in this decade. It deserves thoughtful consideration by the Legislature.
Those who are quick to condemn the governor’s plan should explain how they would solve the education revenue crunch.
Grand Junction Sentinel
Sunday, April 15, 2007
A plan to freeze property tax rates for most school districts in the state — which was introduced at Gov. Bill Ritter’s behest last month, then was quickly dropped amid widespread opposition — is expected to reappear in the Colorado Legislature this week.
And, while changes have been made since its original incarnation, the plan is continuing to draw fire from a number of lawmakers, mostly Republicans.
Nevertheless, Ritter’s proposal is a sincere effort to try to address a very real problem: the coming shortfall in the state education fund, which was created by Amendment 23 in 2000. Without additional revenue, the fund is expected to run out of money in 2011. When that happens, substantial cuts will be required in other programs to make up the differences.
Ritter’s idea to avoid that is to change a state law passed in 1994 which requires school district mill levies to drop as assessed valuation rises, even if the districts’ voters have approved TABOR Amendment overrides.
By freezing mill levies at current levels for 145 school districts, the plan would ensure the amount of money in the state education fund does not fall below $97 million, according to information from the governor.
One change in the plan from the March version is a provision to decrease the mill levies of 33 mostly rural school districts that currently have higher than average tax rates. Making that change will help re-establish tax equity among the state’s school districts, said Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer.
The original version of this plan had a serious flaw. It would have used the revenue from the first three years of the tax-rate freeze to pay for expansion of other education programs, rather than applying the additional money to immediately shore up the education fund.
Dreyer told The Daily Sentinel no funding is expected to be earmarked for such programs when the tax-rate freeze is introduced this week. We hope that remains the case as the legislation moves forward.
Some critics of the plan attack it as a tax increase because it will prevent mill levies and local property taxes from decreasing. That argument isn’t without merit.
However, the state has been assuming more and more of the cost of K-12 education in Colorado, from 53 percent in 1994 to 64 percent this year. If that trend isn’t halted, it means more state revenue will be required to meet the mandates voters approved with Amendment 23.
The latest Ritter proposal offers a feasible means of solving a serious financial problem and avoiding the deep cuts in things like higher education and social programs that the state experienced early in this decade. It deserves thoughtful consideration by the Legislature.
Those who are quick to condemn the governor’s plan should explain how they would solve the education revenue crunch.
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