The Denver Post reports today that State Representative Kent Lambert (R-Colorado Springs) has filed a lobbyist-ethics complaint against the Colorado Education Association for spreading misinformation about the Governor's property-tax measure before the legislature: He cited an e-mail Mason sent to eight CEA members and a CEA website posting as including the misleading statements. According to Lambert, Mason and the CEA are saying the proposal, which was added Monday to the annual funding bill for schools, would "take pressure off future cuts to K-12" and "is NOT a tax increase." Of course, both statements are untrue. Amendment 23 protects K-12 from any potential future cuts - even before Amendment 23, K-12 rarely received a funding cut. … [Read more...]

Colorado's liberal, out-of-touch House Education Committee has just voted to approve the governor's amendment to the School Finance Act that would raise taxes for most property owners in the state. The vote passed on an 8-5 party line vote, with all Democrats lining up to raid taxpayer pockets. By listening to much of the testimony, you would think that school revenues in Colorado are running dry. Nothing could be further from the truth. And whenever other possibilities for raising funds for education have been introduced, the Democrats resist - unable to dream of doing anything but hiking property taxes. The dirty little not-so-secret? The property tax increase advertised for the "children" is being used so the state government can … [Read more...]

My report for the Independence Institute on Governor Ritter's tax-raising proposal to fund new education programs is officially released today. Here is the summary: On March 12, 2007, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter proposed the “Colorado Children’s Amendment,” a plan to spend $84 million to expand preschool and kindergarten programs. To free state money to fund the programs, he proposed a mill levy rate “freeze” that would shift some of the school funding burden to local sources. On April 10, the governor revised the plan—offering tax relief to property owners in 33 school districts while creating higher property tax bills in 104 districts. The annual revenue estimate for the plan’s new version is $55 million. State … [Read more...]

In yesterday's Pueblo Chieftain, my opinion piece arguing the case against Governor Bill Ritter's property tax hike to subsidize state preschool and kindergarten programs ran as "counterpoint" to the argument for the Governor's proposal by State Treasurer Cary Kennedy. Kennedy skillfully avoided discussion of the back-door tax hike while plugging the benefits of the plan for Pueblo. How? Under the Governor's revised plan, 33 school districts will receive a tax cut while most districts will receive a tax increase. Pueblo happens to fall in the latter category. But that doesn't take into account the plight of taxpayers in Grand Junction, Englewood, Pagosa Springs, Wray, or nearby Alamosa, among others. But two points are worth repeating … [Read more...]

The reactionary Democrats in the State Capitol are at it again, and one of them got caught in a lie! This afternoon, the House Education Committee - on a party line vote - killed Senate Bill 73, a proposal sponsored by two commonsense Democrats (Senator Chris Romer and Representative Michael Garcia) and supported by the Republican caucus. The bill would require students receiving a public high school diploma to demonstrate basic English competency. It even lets local school boards define the standards. SB 73 passed the Senate 33-1, with only arch-education establishment apologist Senator Sue Windels (D-Arvada) voting against it. But the House Education Committee is stacked with a flock of reactionary Democrats, who want to preserve the … [Read more...]