A state task force says Colorado public schools would need a funding increase of $800 million to $1.5 billion a year for the state’s expenditure on K-12 education to be deemed “adequate.”
Colorado’s fiscal 2006 state budget includes $4.5 billion for K-12 schools.
The 16-member task force, which includes representatives from public schools, business, and a teachers’ union, as well as a school finance expert, was appointed by a state legislative committee.
The group, which released its report this month, says the state’s 1994 school finance law would need to be rewritten as part of the process of ensuring adequacy.
Additional state revenue would be needed to pay the costs, the task force says, and it outlines some potential changes to the tax code. The panel did not endorse any specific approach, however.
