What Jared Polis Asked For (And Left Out) In His $33.7B Budget

DENVER, CO – By Alex Burness for The Colorado Independent. Jared Polis campaigned on bringing universal, full-day kindergarten to Colorado. Two days after being sworn in as governor, he said in his State of the State speech that the initiative would be his top priority this year. And in his first budget proposal, released Tuesday, he laid out a plan to make it happen.

But lawmakers who’ll actually set the budget aren’t sold.

“A budget is fundamentally a statement of values,” Polis told reporters, “and we convey through this budget … the goal of making sure that every child receives a great education, starting with full-day kindergarten.”

He’s previously called for the program to be implemented by this fall and said Tuesday, “It’s about time.”

There doesn’t seem to be much pushback among Democrats at the Capitol regarding the benefit of full-day kindergarten. The question of how to pay for it — now and in the long term — is what’s stumping them.

An “ongoing issue”

Currently the state funds half-day kindergarten, but parents and districts must cover the costs for full-day programs. The governor is asking state legislators to set aside $227 million in the 2019-2020 fiscal year so the state can cover the cost of full-day kindergarten for all students, plus another $26 million for districts to implement the program. The state is expecting significantly more property tax revenue in ’19-’20 than previously projected — about $275 million more — and Polis wants the bulk of that to go toward fulfilling his top policy goal.

Sen. Rachel Zenzinger, a Democrat who serves on the Joint Budget Committee, says the problem is that this isn’t the kind of program the state can fund one year without a specific plan for how to keep funding it.

“Once you put it into the formula, you have to continue it,” she said. As to whether the state can fund the program this year and also figure out a plan to do so into the future, she added, “that’s a real question at this point.”

Zenzinger raised one possible compromise: Phasing in the full-day kindergarten program, as opposed to implementing it in full by the fall.

Asked whether she expects the legislature will be able to deliver this session on Polis’s promise, she said, “I just don’t know. I think it’s too early.”

She added, “If we were to phase it in we might be able to make it a priority while also tackling some other priorities.”

READ MORE at The Colorado Independent

Jared Polis, seen here at his inauguration last week, is asking for $227 million to fund universal, full-day kindergarten. (Photo by Evan Semón for The Colorado Independent).