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Amendment 39, more commonly known as the "65 percent solution," is no solution at all. What it is, is a snappy sound bite with a feel-good title designed to draw uneducated voters into imposing a random amount of spending on "classroom expenditures."

I put classroom expenditures in quotes because most people read the amendment's title and the tag line "money spent in the classroom" and think that by voting on this measure, teachers salaries and benefits will increase, more instructional aides and supplies will be provided and student achievement will increase. But that won't happen.

What will happen is that districts - which will be hamstrung into spending 65 percent of their budgets on teachers salaries and benefits, instructional aides salaries and benefits, libraries, instructional supplies, music, art, field trips, tuition paid to private institutions for special education students, and athletics (yes, athletics will now be defined as a "classroom" expenditure) - will be forced to cut their budgets and lay off people and programs that are not specifically mentioned above.

This means that in Steamboat, South Routt and Hayden, "out of the classroom" people and programs that will suffer and that may disappear will include: teacher training and curriculum, school nurses, guidance counselors, media technicians, school psychologists, school clerks, administration, food service, transportation and district operations and maintenance (heating, cooling and safety). Free and reduced lunches will be lost, as will any breakfast programs currently provided by many of Colorado's schools. Bus drivers and bus routes will be reduced or eliminated, especially in rural communities, where the high costs of transportation make up an increasing portion of a district's budget. If your child gets sick at school, expect to come pick him up and take him to a doctor because nurses are not seen as necessary to student success. And by all means, do not count on any additional dollars being diverted to safety provisions - that money has already been cut federally, and if Amendment 39 passes, a local board of education will be so constricted by spending according to the "65 percent solution" that it will not have enough leeway to divert funds to protecting our community's most precious resource: our children.

The "65 percent solution" is no solution at all. That is why teachers, administrators, education leaders and the business community have all aligned to oppose Amendment 39. In fact, Standard and Poor's, an independent financial research firm, studied the issue and concluded that there is no link between a particular percentage of classroom spending and student achievement. Echoing this sentiment, representatives of the Colorado Education Association have said, "(Amendment 39) does nothing to improve student achievement, and any education reform should be aimed primarily at improving student achievement."

Every school district, particularly those in rural areas, has distinct needs based upon its geography and enrollment. One-size-fits-all solutions have not worked in the past, and it is both foolish and shortsighted to believe that this time things will be any different. Keep our education in the hands of our local communities. Vote no on Amendment 39.

Paula Stephenson, Steamboat Springs resident and Executive Director of the Colorado Rural Schools Caucus