Great Education Colorado ACTION

Prop 103 Sign Waving Locations

casey — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:24:52 +0000

Join us between 7:30-9:00 AM and 4:00-6:30 PM on Monday, October 31 and Tuesday, November 1 (Election Day!) to wave Prop 103 yard signs at busy intersections to remind people to Vote YES on 103! See a suggested list of sign-waving locations below, and let us know where you’ll be on the Great Ed Facebook Page. Bring your friends!

You can pick-up yardsigns at the Great Ed Office located in the garden level of 1000 E. 16th Ave Denver, CO 80218. Call us before you come in at (303)722-5901.

If you know of an event or location before Election Day where you’d like to handout Prop 103 literature, e-mil us at info@greateducation.org and we can likely arrange to get you materials.

PROPOSITION 103 SIGN-WAVING LOCATIONS

Adams County

- Thornton – 84th and Washington

Arapahoe County

- Centennial – Quebec and Arapahoe

Boulder

- Broadway and Baseline
- Broadway and Table Mesa
- Highway 287 and South Boulder Road (in Lafayette)
- Corner of the Pearl Street Mall and 11th Street (Mon 2-5 p.m.)

Denver

- Speer and Lincoln / Broadway
- 17th and Colorado
- 1st Avenue and University
- Colorado and 8th Ave.
- Colorado and 6th Ave.
- 23rd and Colorado Blvd.
- Colfax and Colorado Blvd.
- 20th/Montview and Colorado (near Museum of Nature and Science)
- Monaco and Hampden

Douglas County

- Highlands Ranch – Broadway and Highlands Ranch Parkway
- Parker – Lincoln and Jordan

El Paso County

- Nevada and Cimmaron
- Colorado Ave. and Union

Jeffco

- Arvada – Wadsworth and West 52nd
- Lakewood – Wadsworth and Alameda Ave.
- Union and W. Alameda Pkwy

St. Vrain

- Hover and Hwy 119

Other Resources:

- Help Get Out the Vote for Prop 103 by reminding Prop 103 supporters to vote using our easy online Volunteer Call Tool: http://www.greatedaction.org/prop103action/

- Voting Information: http://voteyeson103.com/voting-information

What does Proposition 103 do?

casey — Tue, 10 May 2011 22:17:21 +0000

Learn more about why Colorado should
support Proposition 103:

View more presentations from Great Education.

Click here for a Proposition 103 printable one-page summary. Click here for the Spanish version.

Click here to find the answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Proposition 103.

Click here to read stories from all across the state about the impact of cuts on Colorado’s students.

Proposition 103 gives voters across the state the opportunity to stop a fourth year of short-sighted and irresponsible cuts to our schools, colleges, and universities.

SUMMARY: Proposition 103

Proposition 103 would restore state income, corporate and sales taxes to their 1999 levels for the benefit of education:

Corporate income tax and personal income tax rates would increase from 4.63% to 5%.
The state sales tax rate would increase from 2.9% to 3%.
The initiative would raise an anticipated $532 million per year.
The new funds must go toward preventing further cuts to education — preschool through higher education – and, depending on the economy and recovery, could begin restoring funding for some of the devastating cuts of the past three years.
The new rates would be in effect temporarily for five years, beginning in January 2012.

Context:

Without ballot action, it is anticipated that P-12 will face a fourth year of deep cuts in the 2012-13 school year and higher education will continue to experience significantly diminished state funding, resulting in higher tuition, reduced financial aid, and possibly even closures of colleges and departments.
While this initiative will not reverse the cuts schools and colleges have endured over the past four years, it will help to prevent or minimize future cuts.
This initiative provides the ONLY opportunity available to stop deep cuts in the 2012-13 school year.
The proposal simply restores tax rates to 1999 levels.
The proposal’s five-year limit is intended to ensure that the initiative cannot be viewed as a permanent solution to public education funding. This initiative is like a tourniquet that will prevent more irreparable cuts while providing a few years to build consensus on long-term fiscal reform.

Vote YES on Proposition 103! Volunteer to help pass Prop 103 before election day on November 1: www.greatedaction.org/prop103action

Contribute: Help Great Ed Action improve investment in public education!

casey — Tue, 10 May 2011 15:09:58 +0000

For over five years, Great Education Colorado Action has taken on these important fights:

– educating and advocating for better funding of schools, colleges and universities;

– proposing legislation to provide a sane alternative to constant education cuts;

– opposing dangerous schemes like the “Bad Three,” and

– supporting positive proposals — like Senator Heath’s proposal for the November 2011 ballot to restore 1999 tax rates to prevent further irreversible cuts to schools.

Our continuing mission is to ensure that all Colorado’s student get the educational opportunities and support they need to succeed and thrive. We can’t do it without you.

Your donation of just $15 (or more!) will help us advocate effectively for improved investment in Colorado’s schools, colleges and universities. Together, we are making a difference for more Colorado students!

Click here to donate online, call 303-722-5901, or send a check to Great Education Colorado Action 1600 Downing Street, Suite 100 Denver, CO 80218

Proposition 103 FAQs

casey — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:06:25 +0000

Q: What does Proposition 103 do?
A: Prop 103 would restore state income, corporate and sales taxes to their 1999 levels for the benefit of education:
• Corporate income tax and personal income tax rates would increase from 4.63% to 5%.
• The state sales tax rate would increase from 2.9% to 3%.
• The initiative would raise an anticipated $532 million per year.
• The new funds would go toward preventing further cuts to education — preschool through higher education – and, depending on the economy and recovery, could begin restoring funding for some of the devastating cuts of the past three years.
• The new rates would be in effect temporarily for five years, beginning in January 2012.

Q: Why is the Heath initiative necessary?
A: Over the past two decades years, funding for Colorado’s schools, colleges and universities has been slipping ever-farther behind the national average and behind our peer states. By 2008-09, Colorado was $1,809 behind the national average and ranked 48th in funding of higher education. By then, Colorado already lagged the nation in student teacher ratios, technology in the classroom, and competitiveness in teacher salaries.

Colorado’s investment in education was already at this compromised level when the “Great Recession” began in 2008. When revenues plummeted, the legislature faced a fundamental budget challenge: Under Colorado’s constitution, the legislature is required balance the budget every year, and under TABOR, taxes can be increased only by a vote of the people. As a result, the legislature had to balance the budget almost exclusively by cutting programs.

Because education makes up almost half the budget, K-12 and higher education sustained drastic cuts. Over three years, the legislature has made cuts averaging several hundred dollars per pupil, from Colorado’s already low funding levels. The result has been larger class sizes, teacher layoffs, shorter academic years, narrowed curriculum (loss of foreign languages, advanced science and math classes, art, music and physical education), and a loss of support professionals like counselors, special education teachers, literacy coaches, and school nurses. You can read representative stories from around the state here.

At the same time, higher ed has sustained deep cuts even as demand for higher education has been exploding. Tuition and fees have increased substantially — by 142% and 76%, respectively, between 2006 and 2010.

Looking ahead to the 2012-13 year, it is expected that state revenues will not be large enough to fund the current 2011-12 level of state services. As a result, experts are predicting cuts of about $200-300 million for K-12 and $50-100 million for higher education.

Proposition 103 provides the only opportunity to give Colorado voters the chance to prevent a fourth year of deep and disastrous cuts to schools, colleges and universities.

Q: How do we know that the revenues raised by this tax will be used for education?
A: The clear intent and language of the Heath initiative is that all the dollars raised by the increased tax rates will be used for preschool, K-12 and higher ed. The title states:

ALL REVENUES RAISED BY THE INCREASE IN TAXES IMPOSED PURSUANT TO THIS MEASURE SHALL BE APPROPRIATED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ONLY FOR THE COSTS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION FROM PRESCHOOL THROUGH TWELFTH GRADE AND PUBLIC POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND SHALL BE IN ADDITION TO AND NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR MONEYS OTHERWISE APPROPRIATED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR THE COSTS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION FROM PRESCHOOL THROUGH TWELFTH GRADE AND PUBLIC POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION THE AMOUNT OF WHICH APPROPRIATION SHALL BE NOT LESS THAN THE AMOUNT APPROPRIATED FOR SUCH PURPOSES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2011-12.

The guarantee that the new funds will be used for education is as ironclad as a statute can be. Even more, on October 24, 2011, Governor Hickenlooper closed the door on any possibility that the dollars could be directed anywhere other than education when he told reporters:

“If [Proposition 103] passes, I would certainly veto an effort to take that money away from education. If the voters of Colorado say they want something, my job is to make sure they get what they voted for.”

Moreover, Great Ed Action will stand ready to defend that intent and language from amendment or misinterpretation.

Important: Even though this initiative will result in $500 million in new revenues for education, we shouldn’t expect that funding for preschool, K-12 and higher ed will increase by $500 million. That’s because these new funds will be used in great part to prevent future cuts. For instance, experts expect that local funding for schools will decrease in the next couple of years because the value of property has declined so much during the recession. New revenues from the Heath Initiative would “fill in” for that lost property tax revenue that pays the local share of school funding.

How much of the new revenues will be used to prevent cuts and how much might be used to start reversing past cuts? That depends on the speed and nature of Colorado’s economic recovery, changes in the value of property, and other variables.

Here’s what we DO know:
• If Prop 103 is not passed, Colorado’s schools and students stand to lose the most; education is the largest part of the budget, and will therefore suffer the largest hit from budget cuts.
• Colorado students will benefit significantly from this initiative, because it will prevent a fourth year of deep cuts.
• Proposition 103 is the ONLY opportunity to prevent short-sighted and irresponsible cuts to our schools in the 2012-13 school year.

Q: Why are current tax rates lower than they were in 1999?
A: First, a little background. In 1992, Colorado passed the TABOR amendment, which created the strictest spending and revenue limits in the nation. Back in 1999, the economy was performing so well that the state was going to exceed its “TABOR revenue limit” – that is, state revenues were growing at a greater rate than TABOR’s limit of “inflation + population growth.”

Even though Colorado’s overall state tax rates were already among the lowest in the nation in 1999, state leaders decided at that time to reduce tax rates in order to collect less revenue, to stay under the TABOR limit. Ultimately, the personal and corporate income taxes were reduced from 5% to 4.63%, and the state sales tax was reduced from 3% to 2.9%. Colorado has since experienced two recessions, and the loss of revenue from these tax rate reductions have resulted in substantial cuts to services over the ten years.

Colorado currently ranks 49th in state taxation. No state tax of general application has been raised in Colorado since 1992. (Voters did approve an increase in tobacco taxes in 2004). If Proposition 103 passes, state tax rates will be set where they were in 1992.

Notably, most taxes in Colorado have declined as a percent of income over the past decade. The exception is the tobacco tax; a 2004 ballot initiative increased those taxes in order to improve children’s health services.

Colorado Tax FY 1998-99 FY 2008-09 Change
Individual Income $23.69 $20.74 -12.50%
Sales/Use $14.73 $10.89 -24.20%
Corporate Income $2.54 $1.55 -39.00%
Gas $4.35 $2.90 -33.30%
Liquor $0.22 $0.17 -22.70%
Tobacco $0.57 $1.02 78.90%

Q: Why is Prop 103 limited to five years?
A: Over the past three years, the legislature has cut over $3 billion from state services. This addition of $500 million per year does not come close to allowing the state general fund to meet the state’s education, health care and public health and safety needs.

In addition, as documented by recent studies from the University of Colorado, Denver School of Public Affairs and the University of Denver Center on Colorado’s Economic Future, Colorado is in need of fundamental, long-term fiscal reform because of rigid and conflicting formulas in Colorado’s constitution.

The proposal’s five-year limit is intended to ensure that the initiative cannot be viewed as a permanent solution either to Colorado’s public education funding crisis or to our need for meaningful fiscal reform. This initiative is like a tourniquet that will prevent more irreparable cuts while providing a few years (and a deadline) to build broad consensus on a long-term, sustainable fiscal fix.

Deep Education Cuts – Is it OK? Campaign

casey — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 21:07:08 +0000

Year after year of deep education cuts continue to impact students all across the state. From aging textbooks to less time in school to narrowing curriculum, we collected stories about the impact of those cuts. Click here to view a selection of those stories.

So, what’s the good news? Help is on the way! Great Ed Action is working with a number of other groups to speed the day when Coloradans will have a chance to weigh in, and vote to stop the cuts. Stay Tuned!

Your “One-Stop Shop” to Defeat Amendments 60, 61, & Proposition 101

casey — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:17:23 +0000

Click here to learn more about Amendments 60, 61, and Proposition 101.

Great futures start with a great education, but great education will be impossible in Colorado, if Amendments 60, 61, or Proposition 101 pass this November.

At our One-Stop Shop, you can:

Pledge to Vote NO
Sign-up to Volunteer
Host a Postcard Writing Party to Help Defeat 60, 61, and 101 (Click here to learn more about what it means to host a party — we make it really easy and fun!)

Click here to see a list of public Postcard Parties and to RSVP! Want to host your own? Sign-up here!

Legislature puts an end to DECIDE

casey — Fri, 14 May 2010 01:39:58 +0000

Click here to get more information about DECIDE

In a 35-30 vote, the Colorado House of Representatives failed to reach the two-thirds majority vote and the Senate never brought it to the vote necessary to put DECIDE (HCR 1002) on the ballot in November 2010. Great Education Colorado — a member of the Great Futures Colorado coalition, which proposed the referendum — issued the following statement:

We are deeply disappointed that the voters will not have any opportunity on the November 2010 ballot to prevent and reverse deep and disastrous cuts to schools, colleges and universities. It is unfortunate that the legislature did not trust the voters enough to let us DECIDE whether to invest more in our children, economy and future.

We knew from the start that it would be an uphill battle to put DECIDE on the ballot. If there were an easy way to fix Colorado’s education crisis it would have been done by now.

Even though DECIDE will not be on the ballot, this effort was tremendously successful. The Great Futures coalition moved the budget reform conversation forward, by focusing attention on the urgency of the education funding crisis (preschool through higher education), offering a solution, and reminding Colorado that a fix to the funding crisis is within our grasp.

Thousands of public education supporters stepped into the political process — many for the first time — to testify, call and write their legislators. Together they took DECIDE far beyond what anyone expected, and put the legislature on notice that we will not sit idly by, as budget cuts dim the prospects of our children and our state.

We are tremendously grateful for the courage and leadership demonstrated by DECIDE’s prime sponsors — Representative Debbie Benefield, and Senators Suzanne Williams and Chris Romer — and by all the other legislators who cosponsored and voted for DECIDE.

The defeat of DECIDE is a disappointment and a blow to the educational opportunities of over one million students in Colorado. It does not mark an ending, however. To the contrary, we are just getting started. We will not rest until Colorado provides the resources necessary to ensure the legacy of a quality education for every child.

Thank you to the legislators supporting DECIDE!

casey — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:30:41 +0000

The voting record on DECIDE / HCR 1002.

Prime Sponsors:

Rep. Debbie Benefield
Sen. Suzanne Williams
Sen. Chris Romer

Co-sponsors:

Rep. Jerry Frangas
Rep. Wes McKinley
Rep. Mike Merrifield
Rep. Karen Middleton
Rep. Cherylin Peniston
Rep. Joe Rice
Rep. Christine Scanlan
Rep. Sue Schafer
Rep. Judy Solano
Rep. Nancy Todd
Rep. Dickey Lee Hullinghorst
Rep. Edward Casso
Rep. Randy Fischer
Rep. Sara Gagliardi
Rep. Daniel Kagan
Rep. Jeanne Labuda
Rep. Claire Levy
Rep. Beth McCann
Rep. Joe Miklosi
Rep. Sal Pace
Rep. Jack Pommer
Rep. Dianne Primavera
Rep. Su Ryden
Rep. John Soper
Rep. Max Tyler
Rep. Ed Vigil
Rep. Paul Weissman
Sen. Bob Bacon
Sen. Brandon Shaffer

Otherwise supporting (voting on the floor or in committee, or otherwise informing constituents of support):

Rep. Mark Ferrandino
Rep. Joel Judd
Rep. Lois Court
Rep. Terrance Carroll
Rep. Andy Kerr
Rep. Buffie McFadyen
Rep. Jim Reisberg
Sen. Rollie Heath
Sen. Mary Hodge
Sen. Evie Hudak
Sen. Mike Johnston
Sen. Paula Sandoval
Sen. Pat Steadman

DECIDE Referendum Information (HCR 1002 and SCR 002)

casey — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 22:00:41 +0000

After thousands of emails, phone calls, and eloquent testimony from public education supporters, DECIDE was passed by the House Education, Senate Education, and the Senate Finance Committees. Unfortunately, in a 35-30 vote, the Colorado House of Representatives failed to reach the two-thirds majority vote and the Senate never brought it to the vote necessary to put DECIDE (HCR 1002 / SCR 002) on the ballot in November 2010.

Below is an archive of information about DECIDE …

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Take action for DECIDE!

1. E-mail the legislators who are not yet publicly supporting DECIDE.

2. Call your own representative and senator to encourage them to support DECIDE.

Learn about DECIDE:

List of Legislators with phone numbers not supporting DECIDE

List of Legislators supporting DECIDE

Frequently Asked Questions

Read the official “DECIDE” referendum language.

DECIDE 2 page “all you need to know” flyer

Media Coverage:

March 24 Press Conference

April 19 DECIDE House Ed Committee Hearing

CO Council of Churches Letter to the Editor about the moral imperative Colorado faces when it comes to education, urging the Legislature to let voters express their values with DECIDE

Great Futures Denver Post Guest Commentary

List of Legislators not yet publicly supporting DECIDE

casey — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 03:00:43 +0000

As of May 5, 2010, the following Colorado State Legislators have not yet taken a public stance on House Concurrent Resolution 1002 or Senate Concurrent Resolution 002, known as DECIDE (for “Decide: Education Cuts or Invest in our Democracy and Economy”).

Make sure your voice is heard loud and clear by calling the names on this list — any time, day or night — and leaving the simple message: “I am calling to ask you a question of critical importance to the children and higher ed students of this state: Will you support DECIDE (HCR 1002 or SCR002) in a floor vote? DECIDE represents Colorado’s last chance to prevent further, deep cuts in the 2011-12 school year. With the legislative session coming to a close, this is your last chance to make a difference for Colorado’s kids.”

Abel Tapia 303-866-2581
Al White 303-866-2586
Amy Stephens 303-866-2924
Andrew Kerr 303-866-2923
B.J. Nikkel 303-866-2907
Betty Boyd 303-866-4857
Bill Cadman 303-866-2737
Bob Gardner 303-866-2191
Brian DelGrosso 303-866-2947
Bruce Whitehead 303-866-4884
Carole Murray 303-866-2948
Cheri Gerou 303-866-2582
Cindy Acree 303-866-2944
Cory Gardner 303-866-2906
Dan Gibbs 303-866-4873
David Balmer 303-866-2935
David Schultheis 303-866-4835
Ellen Roberts 303-866-2914
Frank McNulty 303-866-2936
Gail Schwartz 303-866-4871
Glenn Vaad 303-866-2943
Greg Brophy 303-866-6360
James Kerr 303-866-2939
Jerry Sonnenberg 303-866-3706
Jim Riesberg 303-866-2929
Joel Judd 303-866-2925
John Kefalas 303-866-4569
John Morse 303-866-6364
Josh Penry 303-866-3077
Joyce Foster 303-866-4875
Kathleen Curry 303-866-2945
Keith King 303-866-4880
Ken Kester 303-866-4877
Ken Summers 303-866-2927
Kent Lambert 303-866-2937
Kevin Lundberg 303-866-4853
Kevin Priola 303-866-2907
Larry Liston 303-866-2965
Laura Bradford 303-866-2583
Liane McFayden 303-866-2905
Linda Newell 303-866-4846
Lois Court 303-866-2967
Lois Tochtrop 303-866-4863
Mark Scheffel 303-866-4869
Mark Waller 303-866-5525
Marsha Looper 303-866-2946
Mary Hodge 303-866-4855
Maryanne Keller 303-866-2585
Mike Kopp 303-866-4859
Mike May 303-866-5523
Morgan Carroll 303-866-4879
Nancy Spence 303-866-4883
Randy Baumgardner 303-866-2949
Scott Renfroe 303-866-4451
Scott Tipton 303-866-2955
Shawn Mitchell 303-866-4876
Spencer Swalm 303-866-5510
Steve King 303-866-3068
Ted Harvey 303-866-4881
Terrance Carroll 303-866-2346
Tom Massey 303-866-2747