Local school districts are standing up against state powers in a dispute over control of school funding resulting from Amendment 23, and members of the Montezuma-Cortez Re-1 School Board are making sure their two cents’ worth is heard.

The board recently approved a resolution that "calls upon the Colorado General Assembly to assure that all school districts’ funding increases are proportional to inflation, local student population growth, plus one percent each year, without legislative restrictions."

Re-1 Board President Steve Hinton said, initially, Gov. Bill Owens did not support the amendment, but now that it has passed, the governor wants to regulate how the resulting money is spent rather than leaving the decision up to local school districts.

"A lot of times, when it comes to certain initiatives, local control seems to get ignored," Hinton said. "That’s our major concern."

The resolution notes that Amendment 23 was promoted by a grassroots efforts of the people in local school districts and not by the legislature or the governor.

Hinton said that if the government were to control the money, the purposes for which the money was intended might not be served.

"The people who carried that, their intent was not (to provide money for) business as usual, like heating, football fields and that kind of thing," Hinton said. "It was ways to get in our classrooms, and make a supreme effort to change our test scores, and that’s our intent too."

Hinton said local control would ensure the funding supplements existing needs specific to the individual communities.

"We’ve got to start with our first-, second- and third-graders and make a strong move and commit to it and then when they get to be eighth-graders, they won’t be struggling like we are now."

Hinton said he had already received some positive feedback at the state level about the resolution.

"The first people who have received it are some senators and representatives," Hinton said.

"(State Sen. Jim) Dyer acknowledged back that he had received the resolutions on Amendment 23.

"So he acknowledged that he has received it and in fact is carrying it on to the people he deals with. . . and will address our concerns."

Hinton said he doesn’t know how soon action will be taken on behalf of local school districts, but he has plans to continue to talking to members of the legislature and push for the best interest of the school district.