Colorado public school districts seeking revenue increases will first have to convince taxpayers, whose incomes have taken a hit in recent years, that pay increases are necessary.
Ben DeGrow of the Denver-based Independence Institute says four of the five districts with bond issues on the upcoming ballot are doing significantly better financially than families in the counties they cover.
"What we see is that even in this very difficult period of recession and slowdown to revenue growth, even in that time, most of these districts are actually bringing in a little bit more money per student than they were before," DeGrow reports. "So it's not a sustainable pattern, and it's time to look at how the money's being spent."
If the vote on a tax hike last year is any indication, he predicts this year's initiatives may well be defeated.
"Proposition 103, the education statewide tax that lost with only 36 percent of voters supporting it, and at the same time, about two-thirds of local school tax increases being defeated -- people are saying it's time for school agencies to be more productive with the tax dollars they have, because they are hurting," the policy analyst notes.
Per-pupil tax revenues for the five districts range from about $8,500 to $11,000.