Photo by PHILIP B. POSTON/Sentinel Colorado
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat.
DENVER | Charter school students account for more than 15% of Colorado’s public K-12 enrollment, but advocates say that many charters get far less from local voter initiatives meant to fund construction than the share of students they serve.
A new bill filed last week aims to revise state law to give those schools more consideration from districts in getting their construction needs included on local ballot measures.
According to an analysis by the Colorado League of Charter Schools, a membership-based organization backing the bill, about $15.5 billion was raised from 2015 to 2024 through district ballot measures for construction. Charter schools only received about 3.6% of that money despite a growing share of enrollment.
A legislative analysis of the bill shows the changes won’t cost the state or districts money. And whether this bill increases the amount of taxpayer-approved construction funding for charter schools statewide would be at the discretion of school boards.
Charter schools do also get state money and federal grants for construction and can seek private financiers.
But Dan Schaller, the league’s president, said too many charter schools experience differences in how they work with districts on ballot measures. The goal is to create a fairer process for charter school operators, he said.
“We are approaching things from the vantage point of all public school kids deserve to have their education funded equitably,” Schaller said. “So how do we strengthen the process and make it more clear so that there are adequate opportunities for involvement.”
Colorado school districts can ask voters to raise money for district or charter school construction projects primarily through two methods.
Districts can place a ballot question before local voters to request money to take on onetime bond debt for expenses such as construction or maintenance. Districts can also ask voters to approve a property tax raise for construction, maintenance, or technology upgrades.
Senate Bill 145 would update how districts consider charter school operators in those decisions, including requiring districts to solicit and give consideration to charter school construction proposals.
The bill would also require new timelines for districts working with charter schools on ballot initiatives. And superintendents would need to notify operators about the decision to include or exclude a charter school construction project within a measure.
Bill sponsor state Sen. Scott Bright, a Platteville Republican, said he filed the bill to give charter schools more opportunities to take part in the capital needs discussions.
“Many charter schools have very healthy relationships with school districts,” Bright said. “But in other situations, it’s not always that rosy.”
Bright has held discussions with the Colorado Association of School Boards and the Colorado Association of School Executives about concerns and possible changes to the bill. CASB officials didn’t respond to a request for comment, but a CASE official said in an email that the organization is reviewing the legislation.
Bright also asked Sen. Cathy Kipp, a Fort Collins Democrat, to join as a sponsor. Kipp has served as a school board member and opposed many charter school laws.
She said she agreed to work on the bill because she wanted to ensure the proposal could work for students and districts.
“As much as I’m not a fan of the charter school governance model, I think we have to acknowledge that 15% of the students in the state are being served by one particular method,” Kipp said. “We can treat everybody in a fair manner, because we want all of our kids treated fairly, right?”
The Senate Education Committee is scheduled to hold a first hearing Monday on the bill. House bill sponsors include Democratic state Reps. Lindsay Gilchrist and Andy Boesenecker.
Jason Gonzales is a reporter covering higher education and the Colorado legislature. Chalkbeat Colorado partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage. Contact Jason at jgonzales@chalkbeat.org. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.