Durango School District 9-R endorsed Proposition HH during a board of education meeting last week.
If passed, Prop HH would direct a significant amount of money toward public education under the terms of the law that enable the state to retain more tax revenue. The bill would impact property taxes and TABOR refunds through 2032.
The district said in a news release it endorsed the bill because the revenue collected by raising the Taxpayer Bill of Rights by 1% would ensure no loss to school funding and potentially give additional revenue to the State Education Fund.
“Proposition HH offers a more reliable revenue stream for education by raising the TABOR cap by 1% and using that cap increase to fund local government entities such as school districts, water districts, etc. and then depositing excess funds into the State Education Fund,” board member Katie Stewart said of the decision. “Should Prop HH pass, it would offer a consistent revenue stream for school districts in Colorado – something that hasn't been accomplished in almost 15 years.”
Public education in Colorado hasn't been fully funded since the Great Recession hit, Stewart said.
The State of Colorado balanced the budget by creating the Budget Stabilization Factor, previously known as the Negative Factor, a state budget element that proportionately reduces the amount of total funding for each district to balance the state’s budget.
The law would establish a new public school fund and provide $72 million to that fund in its first year, utilizing the additional 1% of state income that is retained. A lesser sum of money – no more than $20 million – would also be moved into a fund intended to provide grants for home construction.
Prop HH could allocate up to $789 million in retained revenue to the education fund by 2027, according to reporting from Colorado Public Radio.
However, Prop HH has been met with skepticism by some because its wording is confusing and its impacts are convoluted. Stewart defended it by saying it was the best option Colorado school districts have for increasing funding at this point.
“Proposition HH is a semi-complicated answer to a very complicated issue: TABOR. Having to dissect the tangle of policies embedded in the state constitution – the Gallagher Amendment (passed in 1982), TABOR (passed in 1992), Amendment 23 (passed in 2005) and then the repeal of Gallagher in 2020 through Amendment B – that lead to Prop HH being referred to that ballot by the state legislature and (Gov. Jared) Polis makes the messaging complicated. When you couple that with misinformation from those opposed to HH it's understable why there is criticism around this ballot initiative,” Stewart said in an email on Friday.
She also said it’s the best answer for education funding for the time being.
“Fully funded public education would mean the district could do more work around deferred maintenance, infrastructure and equipment, staff housing, and of course, staff pay. The district has worked diligently to boost staff pay by an average of 17-20% over the past two years. Unfortunately the district's funding has not allowed us to tackle the high cost of living paradigm that impacts mountain communities across Colorado, but Proposition HH gets us one step closer,” she said.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
