TABOR and HIGHER EDUCATION
The so-called “Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights” (TABOR) would restrict government spending by limiting the annual increase in government revenue to the growth in the rate of inflation and population. Colorado, which has lived with TABOR since 1992, offers harsh lessons on the inevitable effects of limiting spending in this way. The mechanics of TABOR squeeze certain sectors very heard, particular higher education.
OKLAHOMA is not yet a top-performing state when it comes to higher education.
- Oklahoma's population holding a Bachelor's degree or higher is 24% as compared to a national average of 27% (2003)
- This ranks OK 31st out of all 50 states
- State and local spending for higher education was about $4,000 per pupil in FY '03
- OK ranks 25th out of all 50 states
- The average faculty salary at Oklahoma's institutions of higher education is about $49,000 compared to a national average of about $60,000
- OK ranks 42nd out of all 50 states
COLORADO has seen higher education outcomes worsen since TABOR's passage:
- State and local spending for higher education in Colorado is about $2,800 per pupil (FY "03)
- CO ranks 44th out of all 50 states
- State spending on higher education has shrunk from about $9 out of every $1,000 in personal income in 1992 to about $4 per $1,000 in personal income in 2004
- At this rate, estimates predict there will be no state support for higher education by 2010
- Higher education funding has shrunk from 19% of the state budget in 1992 to 10% in 2004. In the past three years, the state has under-funded actual enrollment increases by $107 million
TABOR would hamstring Oklahoma’s ability to pursue one of the state's key economic development goals, which is to increase the number of Oklahomans with college degrees:
- Bringing teachers’ salaries up to the regional average would be almost impossible
- Spending limits could threaten Oklahoma programs such as pre-kindergarten programs for four-year olds and quality child care for all children under age 12
- OK ranks 49th out of all 50 states
- Spending limits will likely conflict with the State Department of Education’s mandate to implement rigorous student testing under the federal No Child Left Behind legislation
- Enrollment at public institutions of higher education has been growing
- Since 1997-98, enrollment has risen 12%, from about 209,000 to about 235,000 in '03-'04
- Oklahoma is fortunate that in 2005 the state was able to approve $475 million in bonds to raise funds to construct new buildings to accommodate a larger student population.
- In Colorado, $121 million in state funds have been cut from projects already underway at the University of Colorado, and building maintenance is backlogged by $400 million
- The American Bar Association threatened to pull the accreditation of the law school at CU-Boulder if they did not construct a new building. Students voted to increase fees by $400 to protect the program when the state could not.
Under TABOR, Oklahoma would lack the resources to provide quality higher education programs that prepare our workforce for the changing economy.