Education

There is a consensus that the desperate plight of Higher Education finances in Colorado calls not for tinkering around the edges but a radical re-examination of basic premises. The traditional solution of “Give Them More Money” is simply not an option given the perilous condition of the state and national economy.

Amendment 23 has become synonymous with K-12 education spending in Colorado, which now tops out at $5.7 billion a year and represents 43 percent of the State’s general fund budget. As the State continues to struggle with significant budget decisions and revenue shortfalls, legislative leaders are finally forced to deal with Amendment 23’s spending mandates.

College students sometimes do dumb things. I never did, but I’m told that others may have. However, sometimes the administrators at a college exhibit more idiocy than the students. Such is the case at Yale University.

The America’s Promise Alliance released a report last week, Cities in Crisis, an Analytic Report on High School Graduation. Studies cited in this report indicate that on average only 7 out of 10 students in the USA are successfully finishing high school. In Colorado, the statistics for 2007 graduates, those who started 9th grade and finished with a diploma in 12th grade, was 75% or 7.5 out of 10, which is slightly higher than the national average. One must wonder if the $6,660.00 spent per pupil annually (almost $90,000.00 over the course of a K-12 education!) is a wise investment.

The Colorado Democratic Party clearly has a master plan for education reform but they will go to any lengths necessary to make sure our citizens never figure out what it really is. This stealth strategy amounts to loudly proclaiming grandiose ambitions for sweeping school reform while behind the scenes doing everything possible to completely dismantle the important gains of the last fifteen years.

Reprinted with author's permission as printed in the Rocky Mountain News, February 1, 2008

The refusal of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association to support the contract waivers sought by Bruce Randolph School has resulted in one of the worst public relations disasters ever suffered by a Colorado labor union. In rejecting the very reasonable reform requests sought by the great majority of the school's teachers, supported by parents and approved by the Denver Public Schools board, the DCTA has gotten a very public black eye that no amount of union doubletalk or sophistry can conceal.

Colorado enjoys one of the most educated workforces in the nation, and our economy has been the beneficiary of increased diversity, low unemployment, and relatively good wages for the vast majority of our citizens. The great paradox is that for all the skill of our existing workforce, there are warning signs about the job we're doing preparing the next generation. Often cited is the observation that Colorado's well-educated workforce is more a result of importing new residents than of "growing our own."

The colleges and universities that educate our state's citizens also serve as a magnet for business and innovation, provide tens of thousands of jobs, attract more than $1 billion in federal research funds annually and enhance Colorado's quality of life.

As Colorado has grappled with the correct balance for tax and expenditure policies, the resourcing of higher education has hung in the balance, one of the few discretionary areas within our state budget. But is a well-prepared workforce discretionary? We must ensure that we invest our resources in an efficient, relevant system of education that provides the greatest gains for our future. And we will have to make some decisive choices on the best return on our investments.