June 25, 2008 06:29 PM UTC

Petitions for SAFE: Savings Account For Education

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• by: what tha duce

Petitions for Romanoff’s SAFE initiative to make the November ballot are beginning to circulate. More information (straight from Romanoff’s email) on how to get involved below the fold.

The petitions are coming!  The petitions are coming!  (OK, so it’s not exactly the midnight ride of Paul Revere, but he was misquoted anyway.)

A new initiative will give us a chance to fix the fiscal mess in Colorado’s constitution.  The proposal is called SAFE: Savings Account For Education.

Sen. Steve Johnson and I introduced this plan in April, backed by a bipartisan coalition of business, education and civic leaders.  

To qualify for the November ballot, we need to collect 76,000 valid signatures – meaning 120,000, to be safe – by the beginning of August.  And we need to raise enough money to wage a successful campaign.

Let me describe the problem we’re trying to solve, the solution we’re offering, and the ways in which you can help.

PROBLEM

Colorado’s constitution contains conflicting commandments: one provision reduces revenue, while another increases spending.  The net effect: chronic shortfalls in health care, higher education and other constitutionally optional programs.

Referendum C brought us some relief: a five-year time-out from the revenue limit and a permanent fix to its ratchet effect.  Hundreds of thousands of Coloradans are better off as a result, including 700 individuals with autism, Down syndrome, and other developmental disabilities, who will no longer be stuck on decade-long waiting lists for services; 25,000 at-risk children, who will be able to attend high-quality preschool and full-day kindergarten; and 50,000 uninsured children, who will receive medical coverage.

Unfortunately, Referendum C’s time-out expires in 2010 – jeopardizing much of our progress.

SOLUTION

SAFE asks voters to invest future “surpluses” – revenues that exceed the constitutional limit during good economic times – in the State Education Fund.  A share of these revenues would form a long-term savings account for public education.

Over time, this plan would enable the state to protect public schools from cuts without squeezing out other services.  SAFE would also sunset the constitutional requirement to increase P-12 spending, as of 2011.

SAFE does NOT raise tax rates or touch the constitutional right to vote on taxes.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Here are three things you can do to support this important effort:

(1)  Donate.  Good ideas don’t get far without adequate resources.  

(2)  Volunteer.  We’ll need people to knock on doors, make phone calls and help with mailings.  

(3)  Circulate petitions.  

Sen. Ken Gordon and I will discuss the initiative and train petitioners at two upcoming meetings: Saturday, June 28, 9 a.m., at the Washington Park United Church of Christ, 400 S. Williams St., Denver; and Monday, June 30, 6 p.m., at the Red Room, 320 E. Colfax Ave., Denver.  (Stay tuned for future events or email info@coloradosafe.org to schedule one of your own.)

Some advisers have cautioned us to wait – wait for the time-out to expire, wait for a crisis to arise, wait for a less-crowded ballot.  But leadership is not about waiting: it’s about recognizing a problem and crafting a solution.  It’s about forging consensus, not just wishing for it.

I hope you’ll join our team.

Sincerely, Andrew

Andrew Romanoff

Web: www.andrewromanoff.com

Email: romanoff.andrew@gmail.com

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More info and how to sign up to volunteer or donate at http://www.coloradosafe.org/