Our Mantra: Public Education is on the Ballot in 2023. Vote as if your schools and communities depend on it.
TLDR: Great Ed has endorsed Proposition HH, a measure that will provide homeowners with welcome property tax relief without hurting schools. Under certain conditions, Prop HH may result in additional funding for schools, which could lessen the $10 billion deficit to students accrued over the past 13 years (a.k.a., the Budget Stabilization Factor).
And now with a bit more detail, Great Ed says YES on Prop HH because:
1) Homeowners in many parts of Colorado have experienced spikes in their property tax bills due to huge increases in the assessed value of their homes. Prop HH will reduce those property taxes for middle-class homeowners by reducing the statewide assessment rate and exempting the first $50,000 of valuation from taxation.
2) Local property tax revenues are the foundation of school funding, and it would be irresponsible to cut property taxes without protecting schools. Prop HH gives voters the opportunity to compensate for the lost school district revenue by allowing the state to keep a portion of the so-called TABOR “surplus” and deposit it into the State Education Fund. If HH passes, taxpayers will still receive almost $650 in TABOR rebates.
3) The time may come when the amount deposited in the State Education Fund exceeds the loss in property tax revenues from the assessment rate reduction. That’s a fine outcome, provided the massive cuts over the past 13 years that leave the state of Colorado thousands of dollars behind the national average in per-pupil spending.
The loudest voices and biggest funders opposing Proposition HH are those who oppose fair taxes and adequate investment in public services and public education. In fact, the same players are trying to place Initiative 50 on the ballot — a measure that would slash property taxes and decimate schools.
The ballot language outlines this pretty clearly: SHALL THE STATE REDUCE PROPERTY TAXES FOR HOMES AND BUSINESSES, INCLUDING EXPANDING PROPERTY TAX RELIEF FOR SENIORS, AND BACKFILL COUNTIES, WATER DISTRICTS, FIRE DISTRICTS, AMBULANCE AND HOSPITAL DISTRICTS, AND OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND FUND SCHOOL DISTRICTS BY USING A PORTION OF THE STATE SURPLUS UP TO THE PROPOSITION HH CAP AS DEFINED IN THIS MEASURE?
We say “YES!“