Sen. Rollie Heath today announced the launch of a grassroots campaign to increase the investment in Colorado's public schools and colleges.

Support Our Schools for a Bright Colorado is leading the effort to get Initiative 25 on the ballot so Colorado's families can choose between investing in their children's future and another year of cuts in schools.

"By cutting education funding, we're short-changing our children and young adults. We're also being shortsighted when it comes to planning for our future," Heath said. "Doing nothing in the face of these cuts is not an option."

Colorado already spends less on kids than our surrounding states do. The General Assembly recently cut $228 million from K-12 schools. It marked the third year of cuts to schools and unless there's a revenue solution a fourth year of cuts will likely occur next year. Voters should be given the choice of more cuts or better investment in our children, Heath said.

Initiative 25 would create a five-year timeout in education cuts by returning the sales tax and income tax to their 1999 rates and investing the money in our schools and colleges. For the sales tax that means going from 2.9 percent to 3 percent, and for the income tax it means a shift from the current 4.63 percent to 5 percent of taxable income. A family with an income of $55,700 would pay, on average, an extra $163 a year, or $0.45 a day, in taxes.

Senator Heath has joined with Great Education Colorado, The Arc of Colorado, New Era Colorado and the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute to form Support Our Schools for a Bright Colorado campaign.

For more information, contact Terry Scanlon, 303-573-5669, ext. 311 or 303-957-8137.