School Finance Act passes Colorado House despite state budget constraints
Teachers and lawmakers alike are happy that education cuts did not happen during a tight budget.
Rep. Evans speaks on first 100 days in office as constituents push for more access
'I want our teachers to know that we heard them. That we are not cutting public education and instead we are driving more dollars to them, in the classroom, making sure they have the resources, the staffing, the curriculum, the technology; everything they need to help kids learn,' said Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie.
She is relieved that students in Colorado are set to see more funding next school year than they did this year.
'The legislature has really come through, and now we are at a situation where every district will get at least the same amount of funding they did last year. And many will get a little bit more. That is a much better position to be in than where we first started,' said Kevin Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association.
The work started with a new school finance formula that was passed last year and will now be implemented over seven years rather than six. Districts are set to see an increase of nearly $257 million, with more than $10 billion total to fund education once the session ends. The funding amounts to over $410 more per pupil, bringing the state's average to $11,863 in per pupil spending every year.
The act's passage comes after lawmakers reached a compromise on the way student enrollment averages are counted in the state. The governor had originally proposed using one-year averages for student enrollment counts in each district, sparking a huge teacher rally at the Capitol earlier this year.
'The averaging tool in our formula has just been a way to help stabilize funding for districts. The governor had proposed eliminating that tool and it would have impacted our districts by about $147 million. We have kept averaging in the bill for next year,' McCluskie said.
Northern Colorado manufacturers meet with Polis to discuss Trump tariffs
While lawmakers kept the four-year enrollment averaging in place, it could change to a three-year averaging mechanism if the state is in better fiscal shape. With state budget leaders already warning that bigger cuts are likely to come next year, teachers said the state needs to find a better way to fund education.
'I continually refer to our current situation as the Hunger Games. We pit really need things that citizens want deserve to have here in this state against each other,' said Vick. 'I think TABOR [Taxpayer Bill of Rights] is one of the things we need to take a look at in terms of how it is artificially restricting our ability to even grow out of negative balance situations.'
Speaker McCluskie also said it is time for the state to have a conversation about TABOR.
While $10 billion sounds like a lot, teachers and lawmakers alike said the state could do better. Colorado is still down about $7,000 a year in per-pupil funding compared to the national average of $18, 614 according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
The bill now heads to the Senate to go through the legislative process in that chamber.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
2 hours ago
- Axios
Scoop: Dems are trying to stop a "nasty" internal battle in Texas
Texas' mid-decade redistricting has left members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus scrambling to fend off what some predict would be one of the most brutal battles in the group's history, Axios has learned. Why it matters: A new map would put the group's chair, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), and one of its longest-serving members, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), in the same district. Lawmakers fear it would be a bloodbath if they both run. "It'll be a nasty race, probably," said one House Democrat, who, like others quoted in this story, is a Progressive Caucus member who spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer candid thoughts about the group's sensitive internal dynamics. The race would be yet another front in Democrats' bitter civil war over age: Casar is 36 and seen as one of the party's rising stars, while Doggett is 78 and was first elected in 1994. "It's a mess," said a senior House Democrat, who told Axios that lawmakers are "carefully" nudging Doggett to bow out. State of play: Texas Republicans have embarked on a rare mid-decade redrawing of their state's congressional maps at the urging of President Trump. Their aim is to pack the state's House Democrats into as few districts as possible to maximize the number of Republican seats in the state. Under the proposed map, five new seats that are either solidly or lean Republican would be squeezed out, leaving Casar and Doggett to fight for just one Austin-based seat. What we're hearing: Several lawmakers noted Doggett was the first House Democrat to call on President Biden to withdraw his bid for reelection last year over concerns about his age and fitness. "This will be an opportunity for Lloyd to kind of take his own advice," said the first House Democrat, who warned Doggett would "taint his legacy" by running and that Casar "will win." A third House Democrat told Axios: "He was one of the first people to call for President Biden to step aside for new leaders, and I think this may be one of those moments." A fourth said that "30 years is more than enough time" in Congress, and Doggett is "a terrific legislator, but so is Casar. And Casar is just getting started." Between the lines: "This is a perfect example of how long-serving members in our party are not willing to make room for the next generation of leaders," said the fourth House Democrat. "Others wish [Doggett would] step aside," the lawmaker added. "That would show leadership in a time when we desperately need it." The other side: "Promoting this type of division and infighting is exactly what Republicans want. Greg and I are both committed to working together to stop this outrageous gerrymandering," Doggett said in a statement. "While CD37, in which I had already filed for reelection, continues under the new map to contain two-thirds of my current constituents, my focus remains on protecting our democracy from Trump using redistricting to elect more Republicans." "I hope all my CPC colleagues will also make that effort their top priority. As to President Joe Biden, I did speak out when others were silent, not about his age, but his ability and electability." Zoom out: Democrats have vowed to fight the proposed map, including potentially with a lawsuit and by breaking quorum in the state Legislature, but those efforts would likely be long shots. Like Doggett, Casar has said his focus is on stopping the redistricting. His spokesperson did not provide comment on this story. "Congressman Doggett and I are united in fighting back against this illegal map," Casar said Wednesday on CNN. Zoom in: Doggett, in his own CNN appearance on Thursday, began making the case for his reelection. "We do need young leaders, but we don't need everyone in our team to play the same position," he told host Manu Raju. "Some are strong on social media. Some are strong in dealing with the details of these bills and how to fight back against the Trump administration." Flashback: Republicans have twice before targeted Doggett, redrawing his district and forcing him to run in a different, majority Hispanic district. Each time, new constituents returned him to Washington. The bottom line: At the end of the day, "they both have the right to run," said the senior House Democrat, adding that the issue is "very sensitive."
Axios
2 hours ago
- Axios
House Republicans postpone Ghislaine Maxwell deposition
House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said Wednesday he will delay a deposition with Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell until after the Supreme Court rules on her case. Why it matters: House Republicans are firmly ruling out Maxwell's request for congressional immunity in exchange for her testimony, which has put her and the committee at an impasse. In a letter to Maxwell, Comer wrote that he is "unwilling to grant you congressional immunity" or send Maxwell questions in advance. He said the committee will, however, wait until the Supreme Court has ruled on her request for an appeal of her sex trafficking conviction. State of play: Comer had initially planned to hold the deposition on Aug. 11 and had been working with the Bureau of Prisons to be able to have it at the Tallahassee prison where Maxwell was being housed. Now, the hearing isn't likely to occur until October at the earliest, with the Supreme Court scheduled to hear Maxwell's writ of certiorari on Sept. 29. Maxwell was moved from Tallahassee to a minimum security prison in Texas on Friday for undisclosed reasons.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Dems' grim outlook for '26, ‘Palestine' is a made-up cause and other commentary
From the right: Dems' Grim Outlook for '26 'November 2026 may not go the way conventional wisdom suggests,' and Dems may lose, warns the Washington Examiner's Michael Barone. During midterm elections, 'the president's party almost always loses the House and, slightly less often, Senate seats.' But this time around, 'it looks like the Democrats' baggage, especially from the Biden years, is heavier than the loads Trump Republicans must juggle.' Black marks like 'the Russia collusion hoax, COVID-19 school closings, 'transitory' inflation, the Hunter Biden laptop, and open borders immigration' have too deeply damaged' Dems' credibility. Trump and Republicans are also becoming widely popular, with 'Republican gains' being 'widespread while Democratic gains are scarcely visible.' 'Nothing's inevitable in politics, but so far, the Democrats have not gotten up off the floor.' Mideast beat: 'Palestine' Is a Made-Up Cause Advertisement Westerners should 'understand that the George Soros-funded agents of Jew Hate and chaos' in the streets 'have zero to do with the overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world,' argues Christopher Messina at Messy Times. As Dalia Ziada, an Egyptian political analyst notes, protesters claim ' 'Palestine' is the cause of all Muslims,' but there's 'no trace of anything called 'Palestine' or anything similar to it in the Quran or the Prophetic Hadiths!' Indeed, the 'Palestinian Cause' was 'invented by the Pan-Arabist communists,' who 'attached it to Islam' to 'fool ordinary Muslims' and gain 'legitimacy' to commit crimes against nations 'in the East and the West.' 'I am a Muslim,' but Palestine 'will never be my cause,' because it hinders 'peace' — 'a divine obligation of all Muslims.' Former U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the National Bar Association's 100th Annual Awards Gala in Chicago on July 31, 2025. REUTERS Capitol watch: Rep's War on DC Dementia Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) wants a 'way for Congress to evaluate whether some politicians are no longer fit to serve,' reports The Free Press' Gabe Kaminsky. Most Dems 'would rather talk about anything other than the Biden cover-up — and the wider problem of the gerontocracy that runs the party and Washington.' But, Gluesenkamp Perez is pushing'an amendment that would direct the Office of Congressional Conduct to develop a standard to determine House members' 'ability to perform the duties of office unimpeded by significant irreversible cognitive impairment.' ' Some Democratic colleagues took her move 'personally,' and it 'failed in her first attempt to tuck it into a federal spending bill, with Democrats and Republicans all voting against its inclusion.' But her office is 'still exploring avenues to build a coalition.' Advertisement Liberal: Democrats' Best Way Back 'The Democratic Party faces a conundrum,' observes the Liberal Patriot's John Halpin. Despite President Trump's struggles with voters on 'his overall job approval rating' and among specific issues, 'Democrats are doing even worse with Americans.' They've tumbled 'from roughly a 3-point net unfavorable rating just before [Joe] Biden was elected in 2020 to a 30-point net unfavorable rating today.' With polls showing more than half of voters believe 'Congress isn't doing enough to keep Trump in line,' a 2026 message 'arguing for divided government to stop Republican overreach' may help 'Democrats to retake the House.' Ahead of 2028, Democrats should offer 'new voices without cultural baggage' and a message of 'economic uplift for America's working- and middle-class families.' Advertisement Foreign desk: Chinese Dam's Regional Threat China has 'officially acknowledged' that it's building 'the biggest dam ever conceived,' gasps Brahma Chellaney at The Hill. The structure will 'generate nearly three times as much hydropower' as the massive Three Gorges Dam but 'portends a looming geopolitical and environmental crisis.' The new dam 'is on a geologic fault line — a recipe for catastrophe.' Moreover, 'capturing silt-laden waters before they reach India and Bangladesh, the dam will starve' farmers of crucial riparian nutrients. While China's dam-building 'has long alarmed downstream nations, from Vietnam and Thailand to Nepal,' this project 'raises profound questions about regional stability.' By seizing control over regional water, 'China is methodically locking in future geopolitical leverage.' — Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
