If you want to understand the stunning implications of Judge Sheila Rappaport's ruling on Colorado school finance, first wrap your mind around a simple comparison.
One month ago, state voters rejected by nearly two to one a tax package that would have raised $3 billion for education over five years. Yet in her ruling last week declaring school funding in this state "unconscionable" and "unconstitutional," Rappaport spoke approvingly of a possible infusion of an additional $1.94 billion to $4.15 billionayear.
To be sure, the judge did not order the state to come up with any such sum, but she cited the figures as legitimate estimates of what might be required to create a "thorough and uniform system" of public schools, a