DENVER – A proposal to fund full-day kindergarten remains alive in the Colorado Legislature, though it faces hard political and fiscal lessons ahead.
The House Education Committee passed the measure on a 7-3 vote, with Democrats and some Republicans offering support for the nearly $243-million piece of legislation.
But over in the Senate, partisanship got the best of a bill with the same goal. That measure would have asked voters to allow the state to keep taxpayer refunds – about $20 each – to pay for full-day classes.
The Republican-controlled Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs committee killed the bill on a 3-2 party-line vote, even as Democrats worked to compromise.
With Senate Republicans unified against the measure, the remaining House bill stands an uphill battle. Even if it were to somehow survive a daunting appropriations process in the House, it would face challenges in the Senate.
Rep. Jim Wilson, R-Salida, pointed to Durango School District 9-R, which has paid for full-day kindergarten for about 20 years.
The cost to the district is about $1.4 million per year. Wilson explained that because Durango schools must pick up the bill, the district is forced to cut other areas of the budget, including gifted and talented programs, as well as raises for teachers.
“The people in the state of Colorado, the parents, are coming to expect fully funded kindergarten,” Wilson said.
Republicans in the Senate, however, said they could not support the Senate version of the bill because they felt the Legislature’s priority should be on erasing an $855 million funding shortfall known as the “negative factor.”
Democrats attempted to force Republican support by pushing an amendment that would have first directed funding to buy down the negative factor before funding full-day kindergarten. The amendment passed the committee, 4-1.
But Republicans quickly turned around and rejected the overall bill, suggesting that priority should be given to taxpayer refunds.
“People of the state of Colorado, I’m convinced, until the government figures out how to manage its own pocketbook, don’t want to give anymore money out of their pocketbook,” said Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling.
But Sen. Matt Jones, D-Louisville, pointed out that the measure would have followed the intent of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights, by asking voters to forego their refunds.
“This is a great way to go in my opinion if you want to help education and give people a choice,” Jones said. “If they say ‘no,’ then they say ‘no.’ But that’s what TABOR does.”
pmarcus@durangoherald.com