Real Education Solutions

The Truth About TABOR

One of the most prominent gimmicks this year is TABOR ("Taxpayer Bill of Rights"). TABOR is the brainchild of conservative activist Grover Norquist.

In the name of restraining government spending, TABOR strips elected governors and state legislators of the ability to decide how much taxpayers' money should be spent — and on what priorities. TABOR's simplistic plan to “starve government” also threatens to starve our schools of the precious financial resources they need to educate our children.

This gimmick has already failed in two states: Colorado and Ohio.

In Ohio, when Secretary of State Ken Blackwell tried to push a TABOR-like initiative onto the ballot this year, a fierce public outcry from city councils and civic groups forced him to withdraw it amidst a wave of newspaper editorial criticism from across the ideological spectrum. Read more about Blackwell's failed attempt to implement a TABOR-like plan in Ohio.

Also, Colorado tried TABOR 14 years ago, found it had disastrous results, and decided late last fall to suspend TABOR for five years.

Read more about TABOR's failure in Colorado — and the new attempts to revive it.

In Colorado, TABOR has left a trail of poorer school systems and less money invested in children's education. While TABOR was the law in Colorado from 1992-2005, the state fell from 35th to 49th in the country in education spending as a percentage of income, according a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The same study found that under TABOR, Colorado dropped from 30th to dead last in teacher pay compared to other professions, which is a vital part of the state's ability to attract quality teachers.

TABOR doesn't just gut funding for K-12 schools — real dollar funding for higher education actually dropped over the first 10 years of TABOR in Colorado, according to a study by the Bell Policy Center.

After years of paying the price for TABOR, Colorado residents voted in 2005 to suspend TABOR for five years. But now in 2006, Grover Norquist and his disciples are trying once again to force TABOR on Colorado's families. There's an effort afoot in Colorado to roll back the voter-supported referendum that suspended TABOR last year.

For more information and news on TABOR and other ballot initiatives, visit the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center.