Proposition HH is on the ballot this November and supporters will try to tell you that it will fund education. Here’s the truth. The state has a $40 billion budget and approximately $9 billion goes toward education.
Thornton Republican state Sen. Kirkmeyer, while debating bill SB 23-303 on the Senate floor on May 4, said there is approximately $4.6 billion in unrestricted reserves and fund balances to fund education. The Colorado Legislature had the resources to fully fund education, as required by the state Constitution, but for the last 14 years has short-changed education and balanced the budget on the backs of students.
Then chose instead to bring voters Proposition HH under the guise they need our Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights refund to fund education. Our children and their learning is vitally important and it is the legislators who determine where the state budget gets allocated. If they wanted to fund education, they could and should.
TABOR limits the growth of government and the amount of our taxes the state can hold onto. It is a matter of where the Colorado General Assembly chooses to allocate and prioritize the money we pay in taxes. The question we should be asking is, “Why doesn’t the Legislature care enough about our kids to fund our children’s education?”
Don’t be fooled by the misleading wording on the ballot – vote “no“ on Prop. HH this November.
Shelli Shaw
Durango
