FUNDING

learning disruptions, unmet mental health needs in schools, and safety fears. Meanwhile, federal pandemic funding will expire in 2024.

“ ere is no reason for our state to have a rainy day fund if we don’t recognize that we’re in a rainy day,” she said. e additional money means the withholding for 2023-24 —known as the budget stabilization factor —would be just $141 million or 1.5% out of a more than $9 billion K-12 budget. A decade ago, lawmakers withheld 18% of the money that should have gone to schools.

sion of the legislation involved a lack of a ordability restrictions on new construction and no requirements that buyers and residents of new housing be part of the local workforce. ey also worried about the absence of permanence for a ordability and other regulations involving the newly mandated housing.

Last month Mamula said resort communities would be working with lawmakers and the governor to “make sure we are getting the point across that we need some protections for our smaller ski town communities.” e original version of the bill would have required rural resort centers to allow ADUs. Under the amended version, only municipali-

“I feel like we are being heard,” he said.

State Sen. Rhonda Fields, an Aurora Democrat, recalled that early in her legislative service, funding was so limited schools were talking about charging students to ride the bus. e prospect of eliminating the budget stabilization factor feels like entering a nal frontier.

“I’m looking at Star Trek,” she said. “We can go to places we’ve never gone before. We can meet new people. We can fund our schools.”

At the same time, she said state government has a lot of responsibilities beyond education.

Joint Budget Committee Chair Rachel Zenzinger, an Arvada Democrat and bill sponsor, cautioned lawmakers that education funding commitments will continue to rise and that covering ties in the rest of the state would be prevented from restricting them. Right now, ADUs may be built in many towns and cities only in certain zoning areas and the size of the units is governed by lot size. e bill would prohibit cities from requiring that new parking accompany any ADUs that are built.

One amendment adopted at the behest of Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, a Boulder County Democrat, adds unincorporated parts of counties to the list of places where ADUs can’t be prohibited.

Another change to the bill would allow municipalities to notify the state of their need for an extension or exemption from the requirements based on shortfalls in their water supply or infrastructure.

Unchanged in the bill are a pre- costs next year could require drawing as much as $415 million from the state education fund.

Analysts warn of a looming structural de cit, when growth in state spending, including on mandatory programs, will run up against caps imposed by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights or against a recession.

Colorado is also in the process of developing a new way to measure student poverty and may change how it distributes money among schools, changes that may require more funding to avoid hurting some districts.

Meanwhile, funding Charter School Institute schools similarly to other schools is expected to cost more than $42 million. Lundeen said it’s an issue of fundamental fairness. State- emption on occupancy restrictions based on whether people living in a home are family members, as well as e orts to streamline manufactured housing. is story is from e Colorado Sun, a journalist-owned news outlet based in Denver and covering the state. For more, and to support e Colorado Sun, visit coloradosun.com. e Colorado Sun is a partner in the Colorado News Conservancy, owner of Colorado Community Media. authorized charter school students include new immigrants, pregnant and parenting teens, and other students who need signi cant support, yet these schools have had less money per-pupil. e school nance act still needs to pass the full Senate and the House and could see yet more changes. It’s the only bill other than the budget that lawmakers must pass before they adjourn May 8.

Still pending in the legislature is a measure that would ban municipalities from imposing growth caps while also repealing caps that have already been adopted in cities like Golden and Boulder.

Colorado Sun sta writer Jason Blevins contributed to this report.

But unlike the local revenue that districts share with their charters, there’s no dedicated funding source for state-authorized charters.

Chalkbeat is a nonpro t news site covering educational change in public schools.