On the October 25 edition of Denver’s 9 News, Education Policy Center director Pam Benigno explained why Colorado’s billion-dollar income tax hike to fund K-12 education doesn’t guarantee better results:

Benigno and the Independence Institute are against the passage of Amendment 66. She says history shows improving schools is more closely related to a change in school culture.

“High expectations, highly educated teachers, a research-based curriculum, those are all important factors,” Benigno said. “You could do those things with the same amount of money.”

Benigno further made the point that the additional tax burden would be “harder on families, especially young families that are struggling.” As the Independence Institute’s Linda Gorman recently has explained, Amendment 66 also would put a drag on Colorado’s economy because of its direct hit on 95 percent of the state’s small business owners.

The 9 News story comes one week after senior policy analyst Ben DeGrow and his paper “Amendment 66: Unfair and Overpriced” were featured on a Grand Junction TV newscast analyzing the proposal’s impact on rural schools. In last week’s Jefferson County newspapers, he commented concerning how the ballot initiative would redistribute suburban taxpayer funds to other districts.

DeGrow raised similar points in a debate with lead Amendment 66 proponent state senator Michael Johnston, which aired last Thursday on Colorado Public Radio.