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Opposition to 60, 61 and 101
Colorado League of Charter Schools
Board Resolution - Opposition to 60, 61 and 101
The Colorado League of Charter Schools' board of directors has officially voted to oppose three measures on the November 2010 ballot: Amendments 60 and 61 and Proposition 101.
The League Board believes that voter approval of any of these three measures would be extremely detrimental to public education in Colorado and would severely limit the continued success and growth of charter schools in the state.
Overall, analysis has determined that should these measures pass, then the current per-pupil operating revenue currently received by charter schools would not be able to be sustained and future capital expansions will be nearly impossible.
Proposition 101 | Amendment 60 | Amendment 61 | Impact on Charter Schools
Proposition 101
This initiative is an amendment to the Colorado Revised Statutes. It includes reductions in several revenue streams including: an eventual reduction in the State income tax rate to 3.5% from the current 4.63% (~$1.2 billion current-year equivalent); near elimination of the specific ownership tax on vehicles (~$500 million out of local school and other revenue); reduction of vehicle registration fees to $10 (~$375 million out of state and local road and bridge funds).
Amendment 60
This initiative is an amendment to the state Constitution. It includes several major changes in property tax policy, including: a 50% reduction in school district mill levies with a required State backfill (~$1.2 billion current-year equivalent); requires enterprises and authorities to pay property taxes; repeals local property tax “de-Brucings”; limits future property tax increases to 10 years.
Amendment 61
This is also an amendment to the Constitution. Its major provisions include: prohibits all levels and divisions of government from bonding, lease-purchase, revenue anticipation, etc., even if they have the authority to do so now; limits local voter-approved borrowing to a maximum 10 years; requires constitutional votes for state issues; changes local borrowing limits to a fraction of the currently allowed maximums.
What is the impact of these issues on charter schools?
There will be significant impacts on charter schools from Proposition 101 via reductions in the State’s General Fund operating budget and the near elimination of the specific ownership tax. Amendment 60 cuts the local school mill levy in half and, as a matter of practicality, it is not certain the State will be able to meet the required state backfill along with all of the other required cuts. Therefore, there is a real probability that the reductions in Amendment 60 ultimately reduce funding for all K-12 education. Amendment 61 will be most directly damaging to charter schools due to the financing prohibitions. For example, many charter schools have pursued lease purchase agreements for their facilities. Under Amendment 61, these types of financing would now require a vote of the people and the amortization period could only be for 10 years, making the annual payments prohibitively expensive.
Overall, analysis has determined that should these measures pass, then the current per-pupil operating revenue currently received by charter schools would not be able to be sustained and future capital expansions will be nearly impossible.