The Rocky Mountain News editorial staff is urging voters to reject the initiative for a 65 percent solution for classroom expenditures if it makes it on to the fall ballot.
They write, "An initiative likely to make the ballot in November would require school districts to spend at least 65 percent of their operating expenditures on classroom instruction.
"We're not certain whether a law like that would be good public policy. That's a discussion we'd be willing to have. But making it a constitutional mandate? That's a recipe for disaster...
"This plan is part of a national push for 'the 65 cent proposal' urged by a group called First Class Education, whose definition of classroom instruction is based on one used by the National Center for Educational Statistics.
"The writers of the initiative have tweaked the language a bit - they allow spending on libraries and librarians to count toward the 65 cents, while the center's definition explicitly excludes libraries. But suppose more tweaking becomes necessary after the measure is passed? Too late. It's in the constitution. Another statewide vote would be required."
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Denver November 2006 Election
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