At least one University of Colorado employee hopes that the public will not find out about their upcoming “bonus” payments because it might hurt public sentiment about Proposition 103. Read on…

There is a public sector union in Colorado called Colorado WINS.  (http://coloradowins.org)

They have an user group for their members so they can pass messages to each other.

I have come into possession of this one, as well as knowing who sent it. He is an employee of the University of Colorado.

Here’s the note he sent out on Tuesday, October 25, at about 3 PM.

CU-Boulder classified staff- I figured I wouldn’t annoy other state employees with our discussion of the upcoming bonuses. I have it on good authority (my dept’s new departmental manager [who is prof.-exempt, of course]) that these bonuses will in fact be calculated on our /annual/ salary. Shocking. Now my only fear is the timing of them. I’m afraid the press is going to get wind of it, print a disparaging article, and throw a wrench into our hopes that prop. 103 passes.

Someone else on the list responded thus:

(Name) you have really hit on an interesting theory. Call it a conspiracy if you like but the fact that our bonus now comes at the exact same time as 103, likely the last chance to keep our higher ed a public institution, is a rather disturbing coincidence. Lets hope that’s all it is ………

If the state is planning on giving “bonuses” to University of Colorado ("CU") employees, it is well worth knowing before the deadline to vote on Proposition 103, a $3 billion tax increase with additional money raised intended (but not guaranteed) to go to public education. That public education includes state universities, which receive about 15% of the state’s spending on public education, with about 85% going to K-12.

Many CU employees support the tax hike as a way to increase funding for the university and for public higher education more broadly. I don’t blame those in the higher ed system for being worried about budget cuts. The CU system has taken it on the chin, financially speaking, especially in comparison to K-12 spending. K-12 spending is protected by Amendment 23 to the state constitution which forces the state to increase that spending regardless of any need or benefit to the students from having more money thrown into the rat hole that is the Colorado Education Association (Colorado’s largest teachers union.)

Nevertheless, if the system is so strapped financially, and given that the state is suffering with an 8.3 percent unemployment rate, it seems an inappropriate time to be giving bonuses to public sector workers, whether at CU or any other place funded with money extracted from taxpayers.

As of this writing, I have not been able to reach anyone at CU who knows about upcoming bonuses. I’m still digging, though, and will post updates on these pages as I learn them.

For now, I take this CU employee and Colorado WINS union member at his word: the fact that bonuses are coming should further sway voters not to pass a tax increase for “public education” until and unless the education system (and its unions) are substantially reformed. Proposition 103 is nothing more than throwing good money after bad – by which I do not mean that public education is bad but rather that spending increases in recent years have done precisely nothing for student achievement but have made teachers unions smug and wealthy.