DENVER – A proposed income tax increase for schools qualified for the November ballot Wednesday.
The initiative, to be known as Amendment 66, asks voters to raise their income taxes in order to give public schools nearly $1 billion a year in added funding for longer school days, better pay for rural teachers and full-day kindergarten, among other items.
The secretary of state’s office announced that backers had obtained 89,820 valid petition signatures, barely above the 86,105 required to earn a spot on the ballot.
The office rejected 75,890 signatures as invalid.
Most statewide campaigns have about a third of their signatures rejected.
Gov. John Hickenlooper and other backers have already launched the pro-66 campaign, assuming the amendment would qualify for the ballot.
If Amendment 66 passes, Colorado’s 4.63 income tax rate would rise to 5 percent on income of $75,000 or less and 5.9 percent on earnings above $75,000.
joeh@cortezjournal.com