'65 Percent' Scheme In the News

This collection of news and opinions from around the country is updated regularly, so check back often.

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Supreme Court Strikes Down '65% Solution' School Initiative

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Oklahoma Supreme Court Tuesday invalidated an initiative petition to require 65% of school operational funds be spent in the classroom, ruling that brief written descriptions at the top of each signature page did not adequately describe the ballot measure.

KOTV.com/Associated Press article
June 12, 2007

No simple solutions to education finance

The so-called "65 percent solution" is an arbitrary approach that has been championed by political activists in the West, most notably in Texas, Arizona and Colorado. Even for a single district (as opposed to a supervisory union) such as Rutland City, it creates a false sense of how schools function in the 21st century by requiring that a certain percentage of spending go directly to "classroom instruction." This would not include needed, often mandated, support services such as nurses, school counselors, librarians, professional development, building maintenance, utilities, transportation and food service. Given the needs of our students, especially in a society that has far fewer traditional supports for children and families than in the past, these support services are essentials, not extras.

Rutland Herald commentary by Mary E. Moran
Jan. 18, 2007

Ousted senator, teacher launch school-funding initiative

MONTPELIER — Schools in Vermont would be required to spend 65 cents of every education dollar on classroom-based needs under a proposal outlined Thursday by an outgoing, one-term Republican state senator from Rutland.

Called the "65 Cent Solution" by its supporters, the campaign unveiled by Sen. Wendy Wilton and Rutland County social studies teacher Curtis Hier is identical to efforts already under way in nearly a dozen other states.

Rutland Herald article by Darren M. Allen
Dec. 1, 2006

Colorado voters did right by schools

Colorado voters this year were particularly deft in separating the good from the bad when it came to educating children.

...Amendment 39, known as the "65 percent solution," was soundly rejected by voters who obviously spent some time considering the measure. It would have required districts to spend 65 percent of their operating budgets on classroom expenses, including teacher salaries, books and supplies.

At first blush, it may have looked like a reasonable way to channel more money into classrooms without raising taxes. But when voters took a closer look, 62 percent of them said "no" to the insanity of locking an unproven funding formula into the state constitution. Voters also said "no" to its less-threatening companion measure, Referendum J.

The Denver Post editorial
Nov. 13, 2006

Oregon Republicans get new class of donations

Want to put more money into classrooms in Oregonwithout raising taxes?

Many Republican legislative candidates like the idea, and they've latched onto an 11th-hour political ad campaign that calls for directing at least 65 percent of school funds into the classroom.

Statesman Journal article by Steve Law
Nov. 6, 2006

Bailey Victim's Mother Stands Against Amendment 39

BAILEY, Colo. The mother of a girl who was shot and killed at Platte Canyon High School is taking a stand on Amendment 39, a proposal to require school districts to spend 65 percent of their budgets on teachers, books and classroom instruction.

Ellen Keyes is lobbying against it because she said it could negatively impact a district's security budget.

cbs4denver.com story by Suzanne McCarroll
Nov. 2, 2006

'Dum' stands out in this year's referendums

...Meanwhile, our state [Colorado] ballot is choked with a passel of proposed referendums and constitutional amendments, many of which range in intent and effect from mean-spirited to outright ludicrous.

...Amendment 39 and Referendum J would require that school districts spend 65 percent of their funds “on classroom instruction,” a one-size-fits-all solution to a budgeting question better handled by individual districts. No again.

Canyon Courier opinion by Doug Bell
Nov. 2, 2006

DPS: Amend. 39 could cut funding

If Amendment 39 passes, Denver Public Schools administrators say they would probably have to turn down federal grants that fund instructional support for disabled students and student work-study programs.

Should the measure pass, the district's spending would violate the state constitution.

...Called by proponents "the 65 percent solution," Amendment 39 would require the state's 178 school districts to devote 65 percent of operating costs to classroom instruction.

Denver Post article by Karen Rouse and Allison Sherry
Oct. 31, 2006

New Study Finds Schools Spending Initiative 100 Percent Phony

A study released today by the Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP) calls a school spending initiative that has been promoted by at least five candidates for the Oregon House of Representatives "100 percent phony" because it would not improve student performance...

...The so-called “65 percent solution,” initiative petition 24 for the 2008 general election, requires that each Oregon school district spend at least 65 percent of its operating budget on classroom “instruction” expenditures.

Salem-News article
Oct. 31, 2006

'65 percent solution' solves zero problems

Imagine if the solution to every problem in a business could be wrapped up in a single slogan that would get great results every time. Of course, that’s a fantasy for business or any other area requiring active, hands-on management.

It’s a particularly reckless fantasy for public schools, where a sloganeered solution is working its way into campaign speeches of Iowa candidates for governor and the legislature. That slogan is "the 65 percent solution."

Quad-Cities Times editorial
Oct. 31, 2006

The 65 percent deception: poor math for Oregon schools

The 65 percent solution that is being trumpeted by some candidates across the country as a fix for issues faced by public education is 100 percent wrong. It offers the appealing promise that we can get something for nothing.

The 65 percent solution is actually the brainchild of Arizona political strategist Tim Mooney and is being bankrolled by Patrick Byrne, the CEO of Overstock.com.

Sandy Post guest column by Rick Metsger
Oct. 24, 2006

65 percent 'solution' would limit local control, reduce public education services

Colorado voters are being again asked to support an out-of-state initiated amendment to the Colorado State Constitution and this one really sounds good: "School districts would be required to spend 65 percent of their funds on classroom instruction." The implication is that school districts are misspending 36 percent or more of public funds.

...Thus, it becomes clear the First Class Education Initiative proposed as a constitutional amendment promises enhanced public education, but it rests on arbitrary and absurd definitions of "classroom instruction" and it just is a stalking horse for promoting privatization of education with vouchers and independent charters.

The Coloradoan opinion by M.L. Johnson
Oct. 14, 2006