$500M in School Funding Stripped from State Budget

DENVER – Last night, the Democrat-controlled Conference Committee on
HB22-1329
, the state budget, or Long Bill, rejected
an amendment
that appropriated $503,267,250 to fully fund Colorado’s education system by paying off the Budget Stabilization Factor without raising taxes.
The amendment, championed by Senators
Paul Lundeen (R - Monument)
and
Barbara Kirkmeyer (R - Weld County)
, was adopted by the full Senate during debate on the budget last week.
“It’s indisputable: our schools are failing,” Senator Lundeen remarked. “We presented a real opportunity to increase funding to our schools and get more money in our teacher’s paychecks– all without raising taxes. I am immensely disappointed to see this amendment stripped from the budget after the Senate voted to adopt it.”
“Amid the worst teacher shortage we have seen in this state, our Democrat colleagues opted to play politics instead of prioritizing our students,” Senator Kirkmeyer said. “The state of Colorado has the 49th lowest paid teachers in the nation. This amendment would have not only fully funded our education system without raising taxes, but could have put an extra $4,500 in the paycheck of every teacher in Colorado.”
This is the second attempt this session by Senators Lundeen and Kirkmeyer to fully fund Colorado’s schools and pay teachers more.
Senate Bill 22-039,
which would have eliminated the Budget Stabilization Factor and created the HOPE Scholarship program, was killed by Democrats in the Senate Education Committee on February 24th.
The Republican effort to expand educational opportunities for Colorado students is a central priority of the
Commitment of Colorado legislative package
.
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