Landmark Legislation to Rebuild & Repair Colorado’s Crumbling Schools Passes House with High Grades

B.E.S.T. plan provides up to $1 billion for school construction with no new taxes

(Denver)  Almost every member of the Colorado House of Representatives showed their support for Speaker Andrew Romanoff’s ambitious and landmark legislation, Building Excellent Schools Today, or the B.E.S.T. plan.   

The B.E.S.T. plan – House Bill 1335 – will address health and safety issues by providing funds to rebuild, repair or replace our most dangerous and most needy K-12 facilities. The BEST plan calls for a statewide needs assessment, an expert-guided process for the selection of schools and projects, and leveraging up to $1 billion in funds without raising taxes or fees.

Colorado's public school buildings across the state are aging. Hazards include failing roofs, structural problems, inadequate fire safety, faulty and dangerous boilers, asbestos and carbon monoxide contamination.

“Every child deserves a safe, healthy place to go to school,” said House Speaker and bill sponsor Andrew Romanoff.  He said that the inequalities he saw while touring Colorado schools were striking. “In Crowley County, there is a school with new gutters – but they are inside the gym; in Holly, there is a school that is lashed, literally wrapped around the outside, with giant cables.  Now those may be creative solutions, but they are not durable solutions; we need durable solutions.  I want to get shovels in the ground as soon as possible.”

With no new taxes, the BEST plan will leverage $30-40 million of revenue annually from the School Trust Lands to generate up to $500 million in capital.  Local matching could raise another $400-500 million, bringing the total to nearly one billion dollars, enough to repair hundreds of existing schools or to build scores of new ones.

“I taught in schools with roofs that leaked, with sewage that backed-up into offices, with bats in the ceiling,” said Representative Michael Merrifield (D-Colorado Springs).  “This is the most significant education bill in the last 100 years, and I am proud to support what is sure to be a major component of the Speaker’s legacy.”

The bill will face a final recorded vote tomorrow and then moves on to the Senate.

-- Posted by staff