The House Education Committee is sending a bill providing money for Technical and Career Education to the Joint Appropriations Committee. House Bill 11-72 provides one-time money for school districts to buy equipment or supplies, or otherwise bolster job skills courses. Diana Miller is a lobbyist for the state’s largest school districts. She says she opposes the bill because it should be a product of the General Education Fund.
Miller explains, "The reason years ago CTE was melded into the regular formula for the per-student funding was for local school districts to decide if that was a priority in their local school district. And that’s where I think the decision belongs.
"What you’re doing now is moving away from decision-making at the local level, and you’re moving toward what we called many years ago, categorical aid, and deciding what’s important for every school district—whether it’s a grant program or on-going funding."
The bill was amended for referral to the Appropriations Committee, and passed on a 9-6 vote.