Vote smart, Colorado: Your TABOR refund and your schools depend on it

By Colleen Enos | Commentary, Christian Home Educators of Colorado (CHEC)

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. … That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

The Declaration of Independence proudly declares these words that form the foundational principles of the United States of America. Our country is unique in that the government receives its powers “from the consent of the governed.”  That’s us.  We are the governed and our consent and direction is required at the ballot box on November 4th.

In Colorado, our ballots will be mailed to us between October 10th and 17th. School board candidates and two propositions are on the ballot, Proposition LL and Proposition MM. The propositions were referred to the ballot by the 2025 legislature.

This is an essential and important election for the future direction of education in Colorado and how Colorado will spend your Tabor refund! Go to Transform Colorado to find information on school board candidates for your district and where they stand on the following issues: Transgenderism, boys in girls’ sports, sex education, parental rights, and social studies/history.

The reason for the ballot measures is straightforward; they want to keep your refund and not have to ask you for it in the future. Because of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) that is included in Colorado’s Constitution, they can’t keep more of your tax dollars than you give them permission to keep. They collected $12.4 million over the amount we gave them permission to keep, and they don’t want to give it back to you as TABOR demands.

Instead, they want to take any money above the allotted amount for the “Healthy School Meals for All” program and funnel it to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) also known as Food Stamps, which in Sanctuary State Colorado, includes illegal immigrants. Then they want to make the revenue they raise through increasing taxes in Proposition MM EXEMPT from TABOR’s spending limits so they never have to ask you again. (Read the 2025 State Ballot Information Booklet, also known as the Blue Book, that was mailed out to all Colorado households for more information from our state.)

An analysis of the “Healthy School Meals for All” program was done by the Common Sense Institute on October 1st. The program ran a deficit of $56 million in 2024, which was covered by the state. Projections indicate that it will continue to increase in deficits over time. However, neither of the ballot measures address program costs, only increasing revenues by raising taxes and keeping Colorado TABOR refund money.

During the 2025 legislative session, HB25-1059, Food Waste Reduction in Public Schools, was passed to try to encourage schools to reduce food waste that has ballooned due to the “Healthy School Meals for All” program. Since the program does not account for students who can afford their own meals, aren’t hungry at their assigned lunch time, or just don’t want what the school is serving for lunch that day, there is an incredible amount of waste. At the committee hearing for this bill, students testified about how common it was for entire meals to be thrown in the trash.

Your voice is needed to direct the state of Colorado on how to handle your tax dollars through Proposition LL and Proposition MM. Due to the lack of responsible spending and the waste in this area, we would encourage a NO vote on both Propositions. Why allow them to keep more money when they have not been faithful with what they have? It is also essential to instruct your school district on what voices should be prioritized in the public schools, including charter schools and BOCES schools.

Don’t be silent! Vote on November 4th.

READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT CHEC.ORG

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.