House panel reduces K-12 school budget
$260M sliced on a 13-0 vote; one Dem weeps
$260M sliced on a 13-0 vote; one Dem weeps
by Joe HanelHerald Denver Bureau
DENVER - Legislators dealt K-12 schools their first big cut in a decade Thursday, cutting $260 million in a vote that caused at least one Democrat to weep. School advocates called the cut unconstitutional, but they did not put up a big fight because most other state departments have money troubles, too.
“School finance is like a Russian novel. Long, boring, bloody, and in the end, everybody dies," said Jane Urschel of the Colorado Association of School Boards.
The House Education Committee wrote the first chapter in that novel Thursday, passing the School Finance Act 13-0.Rep. Cherylin Peniston called it “the saddest vote I've made in four years."
Also known as House Bill 1369, the act needs further approval from the full House and Senate before Gov. Bill Ritter can sign it into law. The $260 million cut is part of the $1.3 billion that lawmakers will trim from the state budget in the next three weeks. Until Thursday, schools had escaped the worst of the cuts during the recession thanks to Amendment 23, a voter-approved constitutional amendment that mandates increasing state spending on schools.
After insisting for years that the school budget was untouchable, Democrats this year followed Ritter's lead and decided that parts of the school budget could be cut. Ritter himself borrowed the idea from Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, who had proposed it in previous years.
The cuts will filter down to local schools. Durango School District 9-R is preparing to trim $2.9 million next school year, while Montezuma-Cortez schools have adopted a four-day week to save money.
The cuts will filter down to local schools. Durango School District 9-R is preparing to trim $2.9 million next school year, while Montezuma-Cortez schools have adopted a four-day week to save money.
Even before the cut, Colorado schools got $1,900 less per student than the national average, said Bruce Caughey, executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives.
“It's an ongoing problem. It's something that has its roots in both a constitutional problem as well as a revenue problem. It's something we need to somehow develop the political will to correct," Caughey said.
“It's an ongoing problem. It's something that has its roots in both a constitutional problem as well as a revenue problem. It's something we need to somehow develop the political will to correct," Caughey said.
Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, disagreed that it was a question of “political will."
“There are some of us … who believe that more money doesn't automatically equate to a better education, and more money doesn't automatically equate to better schools," McNulty said.
But another Republican, Rep. Tom Massey of Poncha Springs, defended school districts.
“I don't think the general public has a clue on what it really costs to run a school district on a day-to-day basis," Massey said.
“There are some of us … who believe that more money doesn't automatically equate to a better education, and more money doesn't automatically equate to better schools," McNulty said.
But another Republican, Rep. Tom Massey of Poncha Springs, defended school districts.
“I don't think the general public has a clue on what it really costs to run a school district on a day-to-day basis," Massey said.
The hearing was wrenching for Democrats, and Rep. Nancy Todd of Aurora appeared to weep while casting her vote. Education Committee Chairman Michael Merrifield, D-Colorado Springs, called it a “history-making moment." “I can just remember saying in every campaign I ever ran, I will never vote to cut education funding, and getting rousing cheers every time I said it. To those of you who are listening and my constituents, I apologize for not telling the truth," Merrifield said.
