CU Student Government voted to endorse Colorado Amendment 66 and encouraged students to vote in support of it on the Nov. 5 ballot at Thursday evening’s legislative council meeting.
The resolution states that CU students should support Amendment 66 because the quality of Colorado’s K-12 schools reflects in-state students’ undergraduate performance.
Co-Director of Legislative Affairs Richa Poudyal assisted in authoring the resolution and believes that passing Amendment 66 will allow CU Boulder to call on state legislators to increase funding for higher education.
“We have the potential to lower tuition at CU, but that’s not the only reason we are supporting 66,” Poudyal said. “Changing how we fund public school may influence decisions for funding public universities.”
If approved, Amendment 66 will increase Colorado state income tax for funding K-12 public schools in Colorado. The current Colorado personal income tax rate is 4.63 percent. Amendment 66 proposes that those making under $75,000 would pay a 5 percent personal income tax rate and those who make more than that would pay 5.9 percent, ultimately resulting in a $950 million increase in funding for public schools. A typical Colorado household’s income tax would increase $133 a year.
Contact CU Independent News Editor Ali Tadayon at Ali.tadayon@colorado.edu and Staff Writer Ari Browne at Ari.browne@colorado.edu.