It was known as Amendment 66 on Colorado’s ballots Tuesday, an initiative that would have increased the income taxes paid by the average household in the state by $133, which would be sent primarily to fund schools in lower-income neighborhoods. It had the backing from the strange partnership of the teachers unions and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. However, when the people of Colorado spoke, the measure was defeated resoundingly, wrote the New York Times, 65 to 35 percent.
The details are these: Colorado residents now pay a flat 4.6 percent income tax. If Amendment 66 had passed Tuesday, those who have incomes over $75,000 a year would have paid a 5.9 percent income tax, and those who make less than $75,000 would have paid 5 percent. The additional revenue, an estimated $1 billion every year, would be sent to schools in poor, rural areas, as well as to expand preschool and technology acquisition programs across the state, supporters said. It would also have encouraged programs called “innovative” by some, including longer school days and years.
Education Week, in the magazine’s typical “send more money to public schools” fashion, said the defeat of Amendment 66 “proves once again that while voters want better schools, they usually want someone else to pay for them.” But in addition to spreading this narrow-minded view of the good people of Colorado, the magazine also reported, without commentary, that about $28 million will flow into school construction projects each year from a voter-approved tax on medical marijuana. That measure won easy acceptance.
The Times quoted one voter in the state, a Democrat, as saying she felt guilty voting against the amendment. “It tugged at my heartstrings,” she told the Times. “I just don’t always believe that money solves problems. It’s difficult for me to write a blank check to the government.”
Editorial
To the voters of Colorado, we say “Bravo!” Thank you for your input and for the clear message you’ve sent. Money doesn’t always solve problems, and in this case, money, poured in at the end from Gates and other wealthy philanthropists, doesn’t always win elections. People are starting to get, I think, what it means when we say that public schools belong to the public—not to the teachers unions, not to wealthy philanthropists or captains of industry, not to the parents of the kids who now attend any given school, but to the public at large. That’s what this vote clearly shows.
In some ways, this tax increase would have been a windfall for the schools. In the 2012-13 school year, the state spent an estimated $8.9 billion on public day schools. That comes out to about $10,199 per enrolled pupil, which is low among states. The national average for the 2012-13 school year was an estimated $11,068 per enrolled pupil, according to National Education Association figures, here. The extra billion dollars would have brought the per-pupil spending up to about $11,350, a bit above the national average, but more importantly, would have concentrated the money in the neediest schools.
One state senator suggested Coloradans just take pride in being a low-tax state and so would have rejected any income tax hike, no matter what the money was for. I don’t think that’s quite right, though. My guess is, Coloradans would be willing to spend the money if they knew they could count on their government to deliver higher-quality schools. State Republicans, most of whom opposed the measure, said it amounted to a hike in taxes without providing any guarantee of lower class sizes or improvement in student achievement. I think this view is closer to reality.
In their opposition, however, Republicans offered no counter-proposal that they thought might result in greater student achievement, but I agree 100 percent with the assessment of the “throw more money at schools” idea. It cannot guarantee improved student achievement. If anybody tells you he can guarantee higher student achievement, by the way, first call him a liar, and then, ask him what he plans to do about poverty, including generational poverty. This has been called the greatest problem facing schools today, and it cannot be solved by giving schools more money.
