DENVER — Colorado voters could decide this November whether to redirect a portion of their TABOR refunds to public schools after lawmakers voted Tuesday to send the issue to the ballot.
Senate Bill 135 would raise the TABOR cap by the amount the state spends annually on public education, currently around $4.6 billion, allowing the state to keep more revenue to fund schools. The proposal would increase public education spending by 2% for 10 years and be used to increase teacher pay, address teacher retention, reduce classroom sizes, and grow career opportunities for students.
▶️ Watch: Denver7's Maggie Bryan breaks down Senate Bill 135
The Democrat-backed bill has support from more than a dozen education and community organizations, including the Colorado Education Association. CEA President Kevin Vick said the state's revenue cap is outdated and has prevented the state from fully funding public education.
"We're currently the least competitive salaries in the nation. So we're hoping to be able to to boost educator salaries," said Vick. "People are really tired of seeing their favorite teachers not being able to stay in education."
Data from the National Education Association shows Colorado ranks 35th in the nation for average starting teacher salary at $45,489, while the state's minimum living wage is $74,205.
The measure has drawn backlash from several groups, including the Independence Institute and the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, who say the proposal slashes TABOR refunds under the guise of helping kids.
"They use kids as a way to get to the heartstrings and take our TABOR refunds," said Jon Caldara, President of the Independence Institute. "No matter how often the voters of Colorado say, 'No, we don't want you to take more money,' they still find backdoor ways of doing that."
The measure requires at least half of the annual surplus to go to K-12 schools, while the rest of the retained revenue can go toward programs that support children, including child care, preschool, and "other programs that prepare children to be successful in school."
Caldara said the bill's language is deceptive and would lead to increased government spending while Coloradans see less money on their TABOR refunds.
"We believe money should follow the kid. That if you take a look at administration and how much we're spending per child, you'll see that we're never spent more money per child, and it's being eaten up by administration. It's not finding its way to the classroom," said Caldara.
Kim Monson, the president of the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, sent Denver7 the following statement in opposition to the measure:
SB26-135 requires the secretary of state to place a question on the November 2026 ballot asking voters to approve the state retaining and spending more revenue for K-12 public education, specifically an amount equal to what exceeds the state's spending limit, and to increase K-12 funding by up to 2% annually for ten years. So, this continues to fund the dismal performance of our schools. Based on 2024 data, the Common Sense Institute noted that over half of Colorado's third graders are unable to read, write, or perform basic math at grade level. If the increased money available is not spent on education, the Legislature can spend it any way it wishes. This legislation proposes this voter referendum for the purpose of bypassing TABOR (Colorado's Taxpayers Bill of Rights) limits and allowing the state to keep our TABOR refunds from money that the state over collected in taxes from us, the hard-working people of Colorado.
Rob Eberle, a high school English teacher in Loveland, pushed back on the argument that schools can find more savings through administrative cuts.
"Those particular arguments about cutting more and cutting more — I think districts have done that, and I think we're at a point where we just can't do it anymore," Eberle said.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.