The School Finance Act (aka Senate Bill 256) marks an improvement from the status quo – at least the version (PDF) that is passing the state senate today.
Like most things in life, it could have been better and it could have been worse. I’m not sure whether to be grateful or disappointed. Perhaps relieved is a better way to put it. Of course, all this hinges on what happens in the state house, where odds are it will get worse. The best we can hope for realistically is no further material changes to the proposal.
Now keep in mind the subtext underlying this year’s unusual school finance discussion is the heavy lure of incentive-laden federal greenbacks as Colorado seeks to “race to the top”. Here’s hoping the reactionary education establishment wing of the House doesn’t significantly flatten the gentle upward grade of SB 256.
So what are some things the House might do to water down, weaken, or downright poison a pretty good School Finance Act?
- Make the standard lower for schools to be classified as Centers of Excellence and receive additional funding, undoing the purpose of the idea.
- Deny public charter schools a fair chance at badly needed facilities funding.
- Restore a provision to punish “sore loser” (so-called by House sponsor Jack Pommer) Re-Brucing districts by denying them equitable state aid.
And what could the Senate have done to give us an even better bill? In my opinion, at least three things:
- Left the stipulation that school districts seeking to increase the mill levy override above the existing 20 percent must use the money “to improve student achievement and close the achievement gap”
- Set in motion a basic change that would ensure school district at-risk money follows the student in need directly to the school where (s)he is served.
- Allowed a vote on amendments to require school districts with websites to create online searchable spending databases, like the bill Rep. Mike Merrifield discreetly made sure was put to death
After this week, the wild ride with SB 256 is only half over. Stay tuned to the lower house to see what happens to the somewhat ambitious, sort of promising, mildly improved version of the School Finance Act that has passed out of the state senate.
If ever there was a week for the Ed News Colorado reporters to earn their keep, next week might just be it.
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