Gov. Jared Polis wants to fully fund schools for the first time since 2009 by getting rid of a fiscal tool state lawmakers have used to reduce education funding, according to his proposed budget for 2024-25.
Following the Great Recession, the legislature chose to enact the budget stabilization factor, a tool that allows lawmakers to divert K-12 funding to other priority areas, according to Jeremy Burmeister, superintendent of Platte Valley School District.
Amendment 23, passed in 2000, requires education funding to increase annually by the rate of inflation growth. School districts across the state have experienced high levels of inflation and other costs for things like technology, insurance and transportation, according to Tracie Rainey, executive director at the Colorado School Finance Project.
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