Opinion: Polis’ proposed cuts to education funding are unacceptable

Colorado public educators are being asked to do more now than ever before, and our schools need the funding to serve students and families at the level they expect and deserve.

For nearly 15 years, the state balanced the budget on the back of public education. Recently, we’ve made significant progress in reversing that trend with the elimination of the budget stabilization factor, increased funding for rural schools, and the creation of a new school finance act.

Gov. Jared Polis’s proposal to eliminate averaging funding and related proposals on declining enrollment would slash up to $150 million from school district budgets and immediately reverse the important progress Colorado has made in supporting public education. We can’t afford to go backward.

Cuts of this magnitude stand to negatively impact approximately two-thirds of Colorado school districts. It would mean things like teacher layoffs, increased class sizes, reduction in counseling and mental health support for students, less money to keep schools safe, and decreased programs for students. For many communities, it would be nothing short of catastrophic.

Any suggestion that schools are taking advantage of taxpayer dollars is not only wrong, but offensive. There is widespread agreement that Colorado public education has been underfunded for many years, and educators and schools are working harder than ever — with the funds and support they do have available — to provide an outstanding education for students.

Averaging student enrollment counts over several years to establish funding levels has existed for years to provide stability for students in districts with declining enrollment. It ensures that districts don’t have to disrupt the educational experience of students by abruptly needing to combine classes and eliminate a teacher in the middle of the school year, for example.

It is, and continues to be, a solution that works to address declining enrollment. Districts are not afraid to make tough decisions like deciding to close a school with low enrollment, but those decisions have to include community involvement and a thoughtful plan to ensure a successful outcome. It cannot happen overnight.

The Colorado Association of School Executives, the Colorado Education Association, the Colorado Association of School Boards, and the Colorado Rural Alliance recognize the very challenging budget shortfall that Colorado faces and know that decisions about cuts are not easy ones.

Public education has faced devastating funding cuts for years and can’t experience more at a time when we’re just starting to recover from chronic underfunding. Those organizations expect that the new school finance act, House Bill 1448, will be implemented as approved by the legislature last spring.

Bret Miles is the executive director of the Colorado Association of School Executives.

Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more.

To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.