In a time when students’ needs are only increasing, school funding is more important than ever. Currently, the level of funding for schools in Colorado depends largely on property wealth. This is primarily an unintended result of how Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) amendment, which restricted the amount of revenue the state collected and spent, was implemented. Over time, this has created enormous inequities in the way our state collects and spends money in school districts. The pandemic has only widened these inequities and led to more budget cuts, making this a critical issue in our current legislative session.
Our school funding formula is undoubtedly complex. However, Leslie Colwell joins us in episode 7 to help answer all our questions. In this week’s discussion on The West Steps, Leslie simplifies the structural factors that have compounded over time to create our highly inequitable school funding system. Join us for an informative overview of the current issues facing school funding, how they came to be, and the proposed bill that could begin to correct this issue. Students deserve access to high quality education no matter where they live, making it especially important to continue advocating for bills such as this one in order to ensure all students benefit from state funding.
To read more about this bill and its journey through the legislature, click here.
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