On the heels of Gov. Bill Ritter's announcement of a bipartisan proposal to fix Colorado's public school system, two Republican lawmakers stood on behalf of a charter-school advocacy group Tuesday to call on the governor to remember the schools in the plan.

Sen. Mike Kopp, R-Littleton, and Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, joined representatives of the Colorado League of Charter Schools at a Capitol news conference to present a report by the League outlining how charter schools are shortchanged year after year in Colorado.  As charter enrollment soars, too many students are being turned away from the innovative, independently run schools every year due to lack of available space, the report says.

"Clearly, there is a huge demand for charter schools, and it's only growing," Kopp said, adding that there is a waiting list of tens of thousands of Colorado students. "In light of that demand, we have to reassess our spending priorities for our state's school funding."

Just under $700,000 to give more prison inmates their GEDs? How about another $20,000 for the state's wine promotions board so it can promote--what else--wine? Or, $676,000 for salary hikes to the state agency that runs Medicaid health coverage for the poor?

And then there's $150,000 in legal fees to defend the governor against a lawsuit charging him with pushing through last year's property-tax hike in violation of the state constitution. 

Those and other line items in the Democrat-authored 2008-09 budget, now pending before the Senate, were put to the public today when coloradosenatenews.com took to the 16th Street Mall for citizen input. Their feedback, captured on video, ranged from the indignant to incredulous at some budget items they saw as frivolous.

"There's only so much you can do to promote wine," said Jamie Johnston of the proposed wine-board appropriation.

Madison Stewart Wilkins, who runs a nonproift that aims to keep kids off of drugs, agreed.

"We don't need to spend any money on liquor," she said. "You know what happens when kids start drinking."