Colorado

Elected officials within the state of Colorado continue to attempt to address issues related to the funding of P-20 education, despite numerous limits placed on them due to anti-tax Constitutional Amendments and a divided legislative body, where the senate is controlled by the Republicans and the house is controlled by the Democrats. There is a growing sense of frustration in the state that could result in ballot initiatives aimed at restructuring the state's funding formula.¹ The current state of P-20 funding has been described as "a slow-moving collision involving Colorado tax policy, growing inequities in public schools, and other spending priorities like [the] state's health insurance program and roads."²

FUNDING PRIORITIES

P-12

The biggest funding priority for P-12 public education is to ensure that there is sufficient money in the system to provide all students with a world-class educational experience. However, the systemic changes that need to be instituted for this to occur will not be addressed in one legislative session. Rather, the voters of Colorado will need to amend the state constitution. The key funding priorities to come out of the 2017 legislative session are highlighted below:

• • Rural school districts: Rural schools are experiencing a teacher shortage. In an effort to address this, the legislature formed a committee to examine the issue. In addition, the retirement system was amended to allow teachers from suburban and urban areas to retire, relocate in a rural setting, and earn a salary while also drawing a retirement.

• • Full-day kindergarten for all students: A bill stalled in committee to provide all students with full-day kindergarten, due to a lack of resources to fund it, but not due to a lack of support.

• • Committee on school finance: Finally, a committee was formed to explores the numerous issues related to the state's current funding formula.³

Higher Education

For higher education in Colorado, funding remained relatively stable during the 2017 session. Total funding rose from approximately $4.122 billion in the 2016-2017 fiscal year to $4.301 billion for 2017-2018 budget cycle. Of note are three pieces of legislation that largely defined the last session and that clearly intersect with the "slow-moving" sentiment felt in P-12 education.

CHANGES TO FUNDING FORMULA

P-12

House Bill 17-1082 required that the first $40 million dollars in retail marijuana tax revenue be credited to the state's construction assistance fund, also referred to as Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST). Due to a lack of discretionary revenue at the state level and given that all proposed tax increases must be approved by voters, this was the only change made to the state funding formula.

Higher Education

In what is mostly like the most significant legislation adopted this year, a similar shift away from the state's higher education master plan component implementing a performance-based model⁴ was adopted. Since the plan was not implemented in 2016-2017, state legislators opted for an adapted model where "the department and the public institutions shall affirm annually the institutions' contribution toward meeting master plan goals. The department shall report annually to legislative committees concerning the institutions' progress towards those goals using data collected for state and federal reporting and state funding purposes" but outlines little around how these metrics would be tied to funding. This same piece of legislation removed requirements around program termination, modification, or creation, giving more decision-making power to institutions. It also amended requirements related to the approval of capital project plans, and student fee waivers. Much of this portion of legislation appears related to giving institutions and governing boards more local decision-making authority and leaves little certainty about the mechanisms for funding.

PRESSING STATE ISSUES AFFECTING FUNDING

P-12

Addressing the Budget Stabilization Factor, which takes, on average, $800 million away from public education annually, remains the most pressing issue in Colorado's funding formula. In addition, the state has required that water be tested in all schools to ensure lead levels are acceptable.⁵ Finally, the 2017 legislative session produced...