By John Ingold - Denver Post
A bipartisan group of state lawmakers unveiled a slate of dramatic education proposals Monday with the goal of bolstering Colorado's school-reform credentials enough to win a $1 billion prize.
Only about 10 states will be selected to win what Sen. Chris Romer called "the golden ticket," an approximately $500 million grant from the federal government's new Race to the Top program that will go to the states making the biggest strides in education reform. Romer and other lawmakers said private foundations are expected to match the federal prize, leading to a one-time windfall that has the potential to remake the Colorado education landscape.
"There's too much money at stake to stand still," said Romer, D-Denver.
The proposed golden-ticket bid comes in two waves. The first hit Monday, when lawmakers introduced the annual school finance act.
Contained within the bill are proposals to tie funding for at-risk students to classroom performance, study creating a charter boarding school for disadvantaged students and requiring freshmen fill out a College in Colorado form, to give them an academic and financial road map for reaching college.
Another proposal in the bill would lift the cap on school district mill levy rates the legislature imposed. (Districts would still need voter approval, though, to raise their mill levies.)
The second wave is expected to hit in the coming weeks, when Romer and Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, introduce a bill creating a Colorado version of Race to the Top. That bill would build a pile of money — contingent upon winning the federal Race to the Top — to give to school districts that hit reform and performance targets.
Details of the bill are still being worked out, but one idea involves a college-readiness exam for students. Those who pass would be eligible for free or subsidized in-state college tuition.
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