Colorados Commitment: Building a World-Class Education System

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Whats Been Happening 2011-2012: The School Finance Partnership, led by 16 statewide organizations, developed consensus recommendations on a 21st Century school finance formula Oct-Dec 2012: The Childrens Campaign and Sen. Johnston led five, 200-person conventions for all stakeholders to provide technical feedback Nov-Dec 2012: Sen. Johnston met with more than 2,000 superintendents, teachers, and parents from 125 school districts across the state to gather feedback The Proposal Reform must be paired with new revenue we will rewrite the School Finance Act, but it will never go into effect until a statewide ballot initiative brings in new revenue The new formula would simultaneously work toward Adequacy and Equity Adequacy Increase funding for every child, ensuring that districts have the funds they need to implement 21st Century programs Invest in early childhood education (Full-Day Kindergarten and ECE for 4-year-olds) to dramatically increase school readiness Fully fund every high school student (regardless of their schedule), trusting schools to take advantage of opportunities like online learning, blended learning, or concurrent enrollment Provide a state mill levy match for districts who want to raise funds but have low property value Support student populations that need additional, targeted services Special Education, Gifted & Talented, At-Risk, and English Language Learners Target funding to struggling schools to provide longer school days and years Equity Distribute state aid to districts based on their ability to pay Give school leaders autonomy over some At-Risk and ELL funding Simultaneously move to multiple count dates and reduce district reporting and audit burdens

Base Funding

Weights

State & Local Share

Categoricals

Additional Supports

Step 1: Provide base per-pupil funding for Half-Day ECE for 4-year-olds Full-Day Kindergarten Grades 1-12 Online/ASCENT Students

Step 2: Add additional funding for Small Districts At-Risk Students English Language Learners

Step 3: Determine how much local districts are able to raise, and the state backfills the difference

Step 4: The state increases funding for Special Education Gifted and Talented Education and keeps the other categoricals

Step 5: The state offers additional supports for Mill Levy Match Innovation State Education Investment