Education 'stakeholders' ask: more money please!

Members of the Interim Committee on Public School Finance heard testimony today regarding the future of school finance in Colorado. Not surprisingly, much of the day was spent discussing ways to spend more on K-12 education.

But while many of the usual suspects, like school board members and reps from the Colorado Education Association, were present with their hand out, there were some refreshing ideas presented as well. Even some that don't involve throwing more cash at Colorado's failing public schools.

Committee member Sen. Keith King, R-Colorado Springs, said he hopes to see the committee consider some of the ideas presented, including weighted student funding formulas, a policy that would make schools within the same district compete for funding. Individual schools would work to attract kids and then enrollment would determine the funding of that school.

The committee also heard testimony calling for an end to "phantom funding," where districts continue to receive money for kids that have left the district. Some estimates put the cost to the state at $25 million a year. “We need to come up with incentives for districts to keep kids instead of funding them for students they don’t have,” King said.

As for those education stakeholders clamoring for more funding, there isn’t any. It's time to think outside the box - or the till, as the case may be.