Update: 2:35 p.m.: The committe voted down SCR-3 on by a vote of 3-2.
The Senate’s State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee this afternoon is considering killed a measure that would ask would have asked voters to temporarily divert lottery proceeds from the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund into the state Education Fund.
The measure, SCR-3, would direct millions of dollars currently going to fund the purchase of open space, parks and conservation programs into education from 2013 to 2017. While it’s too son to take a formal position on whether voters should support that idea, we hope that they’re at least given the opportunity to consider it.
After all, it’s not as though schools are flush with cash.
As the Post’s Tim Hoover reported this morning: Per-pupil funding is staying constant for K-12 schools this year, though Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute analyst Carol Hedges “points out that it’s still $603 per pupil less than the 2009-10 level. And Colorado would be spending $1,307 more per pupil in 2012-13 if the state were still funding schools under its original interpretation of Amendment 23.”
Last year, GOCO handed out nearly $57 million in state grants — many of them that could be considered luxuries in a time when government is cutting back on necessities. For example, GOCO grants totaling nearly $1.7 million went to fund projects for skateboarders, cyclists and ski jumpers. Those projects certainly raise your eyebrows, but there are many more in GOCO’s annual report that lead us to wonder if it’s not time to check our state priorities.
Since its inception, GOCO has unquestionably improved the quality of life in Colorado. But in these fiscal times the debate should be centered on our priorities and, whether in times of extreme budgetary cutbacks, voters shouldn’t be asked to weigh the value of education vs. the value of the outdoors.
Keep in mind that this isn’t a measure that would permanently divert GOCO money to schools. It would only do so for five years – from 2013 through 2017.
In that time, we could also have a conversation about the usefulness of the GOCO program and whether it should continue indefinitely, or whether it hasn’t largely succeeded in its mission.
We hope the committee votes in favor of the resolution and that lawmakers then let voters weigh in on their preferences.
