Latest news with #SchoolFinanceAct
CBS News
02-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
An 11th-hour amendment creates a new education fund in Colorado with millions of dollars more for K-12 schools
An 11th-hour amendment creates a new education fund in Colorado with millions of dollars more for K- An 11th-hour amendment creates a new education fund in Colorado with millions of dollars more for K- An 11th-hour amendment creates a new education fund in Colorado with millions of dollars more for K- With a week left in the legislative session, a hearing to finalize school funding took an unexpected turn. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a new education fund Thursday at the State Capitol that will include $233 million more for K-12 schools. The money will come from income taxes -- the same as the State Education Fund, which is not impacted. The change affects next year's budget and will mean less money for other expenditures. State Senators Barb Kirkmeyer (R-Col) and Chris Kolker (D-Col) CBS State senators Barb Kirkmeyer (R-Col) and Chris Kolker (D-Col) say it's all about priorities. "Sen. Kolker and I put down a marker that said we are going to fund education first," Kirkmeyer told CBS Colorado. For years, she and Kolker have listened to colleagues claim school funding is a top priority. They say it's time to walk the talk. "Education is the one thing in our constitution that provides a permanent source of funding," Kolker told CBS Colorado. "We just haven't fulfilled that promise." Funding for K-12 schools should be growing by inflation every year, but for 15 years, lawmakers shortchanged it by billions of dollars. Last year, they finally met their constitutional obligation, while also passing a new School Finance Act that promised even more money. A year later, Kirkmeyer says, they're already backpedaling, "We can't keep going down this path," she said. She and Kolker decided to blow things up. They brought an amendment to the School Finance Act during an Appropriations Committee hearing. It creates a brand-new education fund. "We named it the Kids Matter Trust Fund for a reason -- because kids do matter and so does their education," said Kirkmeyer, who dared her colleagues to oppose it. "If you can't agree to this, it tells me you don't think we should be funding education first." She says the $233 million can only be spent on per pupil funding and programs like special education. "We are done with the time when we don't fund education, and we balance the budget on the backs of students," Kirkmeyer said. Kolker says the new fund will be embedded in the State Education Fund, which he says will be insolvent within a few years without additional money. "My message to kids, parents, teachers, schools, everyone involved in public education is, 'We see you, hear you,'" Kolker said. "All of us want to increase funding for education. Everyone down here wants to do that. We have to find the right methods to do that, and we believe we have." Kolker and Kirkmeyer say they didn't intend to blindside anyone with the amendment to the School Finance Act. They had a bill drafted that would have set up the fund, but were told it was too late in the session to introduce it, so they found a different avenue. Both say they are confident the amendment will stick when the bill goes to the Senate floor.
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Denver business advocates take fight against retail crime to nation's Capitol
DENVER (KDVR) — Denver's business leaders are joining other U.S. cities in fighting against organized retail crime. The Downtown Denver Partnership and the International Downtown Association participated in the 'Capitol Hill Fly-In' in Washington, D.C., where advocates shared concerns about crime, housing and office vacancies with Senator Michael Bennet, Senator John Hickenlooper, Rep. Jason Crow and Rep. Diana DeGette. School Finance Act passes Colorado House despite state budget constraints DDP spokesperson Britt Diehl tells FOX31 retailers need support at a time when Denver is experiencing tremendous growth. 'This is an increasing challenge for downtowns, for cities across the country,' she said. The DDP joined leaders and advocates from more than 30 other cities to support the 'Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act,' introduced in the House of Representatives on April 10. The measure, which provides support under the Department of Homeland Security, provides training and assistance to help reduce shoplifting and other crimes. 'We need tools at the local state and federal level to be able to address these crimes as they increase and organized crimes specifically,' said Diehl. A 2024 National Retail Federation study found that between 2019 and 2023, retailers experienced a 93% increase in shoplifting. Dueling approaches: Aurora and Denver clash over homelessness strategy Derek Friedman, owner of Sportsfan apparel shops on Federal and the 16th Street Mall, told FOX31 his businesses have been hit hard by shoplifters, resulting in six-figure losses. 'It has a dramatic impact on what we can pay our employees, whether or not they're going to get bonuses or whether or not we can do things like expand,' said Friedman. Friedman said retailers will benefit from any effort to crack down on shoplifting, including increased public awareness of fines and sentencing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Colorado Senate debates state budget in tight financial year
Colorado state senators listen as Colorado Senate President James Coleman, a Denver Democrat, delivers opening remarks on the first day of the 2025 session of the Colorado Legislature on Jan. 8, 2025, at the Colorado Capitol. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline) The Colorado Senate began debate Wednesday on the annual state budget bill, a spending plan that tries to close a $1.2 billion funding gap and absorb the rising cost of Medicaid in the state. The bill, known as the 'long bill,' and the dozens of accompanying pieces of legislation creates a $43.9 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins in July, about a 3.6% increase from last year. That includes about $16 billion in general fund spending. As it stands, the general fund would end the next fiscal year with about $2.5 million above the required reserve amount. 'I've said this a number of times and I will keep saying it: This is a budget that no one will like but we can all be proud of,' Sen. Jeff Bridges, a Greenwood Village Democrat, told his colleagues in a caucus meeting on Tuesday. 'That is because we took a $1.2 billion-in-the-hole starting point and have managed to deliver a budget that maintains our commitment to K-12, maintains our commitment to Medicaid and maintains our commitment to higher ed. We have done that largely through some pretty painful ongoing cuts, combined with one-time transfers.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The budget includes $150 million in new K-12 spending and a 1.6% Medicaid provider rate increase. Those are lower increases than advocates hoped for, but it is not the apocalyptic scenario some feared. The larger picture of education funding is left to the School Finance Act, which has not yet been introduced. The Senate gave preliminary approval to the budget on Wednesday night. It still needs to undergo a formal recorded vote before heading to the House for consideration. It is written by the six-member, bicameral Joint Budget Committee, which includes Democrats and Republicans, after months of meetings and presentations from state departments and agencies. The primary goal this year was to craft a balanced budget as required by the state constitution while facing down a massive funding gap created by ballooning costs of state programs like Medicaid. Part of the issue is that Colorado is constrained by the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights, which restricts how much revenue the state can keep based on inflation and population growth. That revenue cap is not rising as fast as those program costs, at the same time pandemic-era federal funding dries up. This year, the general fund appropriation for the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which administers Medicaid, is larger than the one for the Department of Education for the first time. It would grow by 6.8% under the proposed budget. But TABOR limitations should not be blamed for the budget woes, Republicans argue. Rather, they say the blame should be on the expanding state government and the associated spending. 'We've created a structural deficit with the way we've been spending over the last six years. We need to restrain our spending, not claim that we need more money,' Minority Leader Paul Lundeen, a Monument Republican, said ahead of debate on Wednesday. Most of Wednesday was spent debating amendments to the long bill, attempts by individual lawmakers to put their mark on the budget and signal the programs and investments that are important — or not — to them. That ranged from failed amendments to cease funding transgender health care in the Department of Corrections to a successful one that would create more spending for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program administration. The House will vote on its own series of amendments to the long bill and then the bill will head to a conference committee made of JBC members. It's rare that budget amendments stick around until the final version that heads to the governor's desk. Overall, about a dozen departments will see a budget reduction compared to last year. The budget balances itself by proposing various repeals and adjustments to current programs, including some that were only recently created through legislation. One cut changes the state's responsibility to cover 75% of phone calls for incarcerated people, instead of 100% as passed into law in 2023, and would save about $2.3 million. Another repeals the Kidney Disease Task Force formed in 2021. The state's transportation department is poised to absorb a large share of the budget cuts. One cut would slash about $64 million in the budget by adjusting the schedule of transfers of general fund money to the State Highway Fund, which was created through 2021 legislation that requires a certain amount of investment over a decade. The state will eventually meet that investment obligation, but on an adjusted schedule. It wouldn't be on the hook for $50 million earmarked for next year, for example. The budget would also eliminate $7 million for the Revitalizing Main Street program, which helps local communities improve their downtown infrastructure. And it takes back about $71 million in awarded transportation grants to local governments for small-scale improvements like bike lanes and walking paths. That money has been awarded but the projects are not under contract. 'These are great investments, valuable stuff. But given the budget shortfall we have this year, we identified this as a place where an investment we made some years ago, we can probably put those dollars to better use this year,' Bridges said. 'If you can find $72 million worth of cuts somewhere else, then let's talk. But this is the single largest piece we will be transferring into the general fund.' About $34 million would be cut from the Healthy School Meals for All program in the Department of Education, which provides free breakfast and lunch for public school students. It leaves $8 million to sustain the program until December. Voters will likely face a ballot question this fall proposing to raise more tax dollars to fund the program. Senators wrestled with a cut that would repeal Medicaid coverage for services provided by community health workers as defined in a 2023 law, which would save about $11.7 million in the upcoming budget year and $13.7 million in the 2026-2027 fiscal year. That reimbursement program was passed in 2023 and was set to be implemented starting this July. An amendment to fund community health workers for at least the first year using excess general fund reserve was approved. 'We know the benefits that community health workers are to all our communities, whether it's Front Range or rural. They offer wraparound services, whether it's social services, transportation, other things that lead to better outcomes for the people of Colorado,' said Sen. Kyle Mullica, a Thornton Democrat. Democrats control strong majorities in both the House and Senate. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
CBS News
26-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Colorado budget writers approve changes to free school lunches, food banks, and multi-modal projects
The Colorado state budget is starting to take shape as budget writers finalize $1.2 billion in cuts. Those cuts include $1 million to food banks, $72 million to multi-modal projects, and the elimination of the Disordered Eating Prevention program, Kidney Disease Task Force and school mental health screenings. "It is excruciating, it's painful, it's hard choices," said Senator Jeff Bridges, Chair of the Joint Budget Committee, which is still determining funding for K-12 education and Medicaid. While Governor Polis's budget request called for using a one-year student headcount instead of a 4-year average to determine per-pupil funding for K-12 schools, Bridges said that won't happen. "We're not eliminating averaging. Not next year," he asserted. He said the committee has set aside $150 million more for K-12 right now and, depending on whether lawmakers decide to implement the new School Finance Act, that could climb to $250 million. "Funding for schools will absolutely increase. How that increases and by how much that increases, that is up for debate," said Bridges. Funding for Medicaid is also up for debate. The Governor's budget request called for keeping provider rates flat. Senator Barb Kirkmeyer, who also sits on the Joint Budget Committee, wants an inflationary increase. "I'm really disappointed we waited until the last day. Here we are, trying to close out budget, and they're talking about cutting Medicaid. Because, when we don't increase the Medicaid provider rate, it's effectively cutting Medicaid by 2.4%." Kirkmeyer has identified other cuts instead, including $16 million in unspent funds in the Behavioral Health Administration, $10.5 million from the Multimodal Opportunity Fund, $28.4 million from a universal preschool reserve fund, and $9 million from a fund in the legislative branch that is being used for office renovations and new furniture. "Furniture? Because that's more important than families?" Kirkmeyer said. "We have to pick priorities here." So do voters. A program that funds free school lunches for all K-12 school kids is $42 million over budget. The committee voted to spend $8 million to keep the program going through December. Then it would be available only in schools where 25% of students qualify for federal assistance programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and free and reduced lunch unless two ballot measures pass in November. The measures would provide additional money for the program by limiting the tax deductions that high-income earners can claim. "Making sure kids can learn means making sure they're not hungry," said Bridges. "This is a core of how we make sure that all the other dollars we invest in education are going to good use. If voters say yes to both, Healthy School Meals for All will continue. If they say no, then Healthy School Meals will change." New revenue forecasts released last week show Colorado's economy is growing, but unemployment is creeping up and consumer spending is slowing, increasing the risk of a recession. Economists have said much depends on what happens at the federal level where Congress is considering cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from Medicaid. If that happens, the legislature will likely have to come back for a special session.
CBS News
04-03-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Colorado Gov. Polis and speaker nearing an agreement on school funding proposal
K-12 schools in Colorado will lose $50 million instead of $150 million under a new proposal by Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie. The proposal allows districts to continue to use an average enrollment over several years to calculate per pupil funding. Governor Polis budget request called for ending rolling averages. Still, his Budget Director Mark Ferrandino says he now supports a gradual move to a single year count and is waiting for school districts' feedback before signing off on the proposal. The deal comes after backlash from many school leaders over the governor's budget request, which changed how students are counted. Many districts accuse the Governor of reneging on a deal made less than a year ago when lawmakers overhauled the School Finance Formula. They allowed districts to continue average enrollment for three more years. Speaker Julie McCluskie says a billion-dollar budget shortfall changed everything. "I want to fully implement everything that we made a commitment to last year. We are in a different budget reality," she said. State Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer -- who sits on the Joint Budget Committee -- fought for an amendment to the new School Finance Act last year that called for pausing the original deal if there wasn't enough money. She says that is what needs to happen. "How do we take this seriously? This new school finance formula was just done in the last session and here we are six months later and they're reneging on deals that were cut. They're cutting education funding which we said we weren't going to do," Kirkmeyer said. Scott Smith, the Chief Financial Officer for Cherry Creek Schools, says his district would lose $17 million next school year. Smith says small rural districts would be hit hardest. "I don't think you achieve more equity in this state by cutting some of our most impoverished districts the most," he said. He says lawmakers and the governor talk a big game when it comes to school funding, but they don't walk the talk. "Why should we trust that any deal we reach now will be honored in the future?" Smith said. Smith says districts are trying to make decisions about hiring and pay for next school year and can't do so if they don't know what their funding will be. "We have 65 schools and I'm projected to lose 250 students next year. So that's basically four kids per school. Where do I save that money?" Smith said. "There's no school to close. There's no teacher to lay off." McCluskie's proposal also implements 10% of the new School Finance Act, caps BEST grants for school construction and eliminates the state match for mill levy overrides. "We've heard from our districts. We're responding. We are fighting to keep that averaging in for the moment," said McCluskie. Right now school districts are making decisions about staffing and pay for next school year.
