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This time will be different.
At least that’s the hope of supporters of Proposition NN, a ballot measure to raise funding for schools. They launched a statewide “yes” campaign on Friday to raise support for the measure.
The November ballot measure represents the fifth attempt in the last decade to ask Colorado voters to make tax changes that would raise more money for public education, among other things. Each of the three previous ballot measures were defeated. Another proposed measure in 2022 never made the ballot.
The revenue from Prop NN would be used to increase teacher salaries, reduce class sizes, and invest in career and technical education. Extra revenue would also be used for other state spending.
More than 100 supporters, who gathered in front of the castle-like West High School near downtown Denver, said they believe Coloradans have finally grown tired of underfunded schools. In recent years, lawmakers have wrangled steep budgetary cuts but continued investments in public education. However, state studies show Colorado needs billions more to adequately fund its schools.
Joshua Duran, a shop teacher at Denver’s Skinner Middle School, said teachers across the state face hardships that he believes voters will find sympathetic. He works about 16 to 20 hours a week driving an Uber to supplement his teaching salary. He also works with his father in the summer installing custom cabinetry and remodeling bathrooms.
That has meant long hours away from his family. The stress sometimes makes it difficult to do his best for his students, he said. The money from Prop NN would help pay his salary, but also go toward bettering instruction and resources in schools, he said.
“I just feel like the mood is different this time,” he said. “We’ve been trying forever, but I think that the time is right.”
Kevin Vick, president of the Colorado Education Association, the largest teachers union in the state, said their polling shows there’s support statewide to raise money for education.
Other issues facing schools include high teacher turnover, teacher wages that aren’t competitive enough, and large class sizes, he said.
“We think voters see that this is needed and it’s time,” Vick said.
The union planned the measure, which lawmakers put on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Prop NN asks voters to allow the state for 10 years to keep some or all of the revenue that would otherwise be refunded under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, or TABOR, which caps government spending.
A state legislative analysis shows the measure could raise billions more for schools.
Like previous ballot initiatives, the measure faces opposition from many conservative leaders, some who have said the measure represents a hit to Coloradans’ wallet. And conservative groups, such as the Independence Institute, have called the measure a de facto tax increase because it cuts TABOR refunds.
The measure is projected to reduce the TABOR refund of a taxpayer who makes $100,000 a year in 2027 by $28, or $56 for a joint filer, according to a draft legislative council ballot measure explainer.
Parents and school board members at the Yes for Colorado Kids rally on Friday said they’ll work hard to help voters understand why Prop NN is needed, despite losing some of their TABOR refunds.
Jeffco Public Schools parent Jen Wilson said she wants voters to know that her PTA has raised thousands a year to support her kids’ schools with classroom supplies and other materials. But next year, the schools still are scaling back mental health resources for kids, she said.
“We had a shooting at our Evergreen High School last year,” she said. “I feel like if we had more mental health support and more adults in the schools, we wouldn’t be missing these things.”
And Morgan County School Board President Nancy Hooper said she and others are committed to getting out the word about why this is needed for every school in the state.
“We desperately need money and resources to take care of our students,” she said. “They deserve it.”
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org.
