( - promoted by Great Ed)
The Denver Post reports today on a looming "brawl" at the Capitol:
School districts that lower local property taxes - and thereby reduce the shares that they pay of their own education budgets - might not have the state funding to make up the difference.
Lawmakers are trying to block end runs around a mill levy freeze recently upheld by the state Supreme Court in what today promises to ignite a political conflagration over school financing.
Here's what's going on: the Mesa County Commissioners who were on the losing end of the mill levy case now want their school district to cut property taxes. But they aren't willing to accept the consequences of that action. They want the state to backfill the loss of property taxes to the district.
Here's the sad thing: our Attorney General, John Suthers, wants to enable this behavior, saying:
"It would be a shame to see the legislature penalize children when informed voters exercise their right to choose lower property taxes[.]"
No, it would be a shame if voters didn't understand that when they "exercise their right to choose lower property taxes" the services available for their children will be reduced. That's the connection between taxes and children's well-being that is too often forgotten in post-TABOR Colorado.
Suthers' statement reflects exactly the kind of "something-for-nothing" thinking that has put our state and our country in the mess we are in right now. It is a mindset that expects all the benefits of public citizenship and none of the responsibility.
When you look at Colorado's track record at funding schools, you get a pretty clear picture of who is paying the price for our state's attempt at getting a "free lunch." |
