Instead of two candidates, two sets of stats related to Colorado’s education performance are battling for votes this November related to a proposed tax hike.

Brad Jones of The Daily Caller offers the details:

Colorado’s schools are either funded near the bottom of the national rankings, or K-12 schools get an average bite at the apple. So, which is it? The answer depends on who you ask — and where they stand on a tax increase referendum.

The state ranks no better than 40th in eight different categories highlighted by Great Education Colorado, a group concerned with “chronic under-funding of public education.” Or is it 26th, as measured by the libertarian Independence Institute? And how do those numbers square with the fact Colorado spends 40 percent of its state budget on education?

For those who see the education spending glass half-empty, statistics that factor spending versus per-capita income or simply per capita yield dismal results. Great Education Colorado has the state at 49th on both counts, though to complicate the picture, some measures include higher-ed subsidies, too. By tallying spending against population and income — both of which are on the rise — the assumption is that education spending must increase at a similar pace.

The group is pushing for an income tax increase and minimum spending mandate for K-12 education on this November’s state ballot as Amendment 66.

Not so fast, says the Independence Institute, a think tank which has opposed tax hikes for education. They cite numbers that place Colorado in the middle of the pack for per-pupil spending, which is not calculated relative to the adult population or their income.

For the 2011-12 school year, that has Colorado just below the national average, spending just over $10,000 per student.

Demonstrating the power of selectivity, those numbers are straight from a study by the National Education Association, a prominent proponent of greater school spending. The NEA’s state affiliate is a major backer of Amendment 66.

A summary of arguments for Amendment 66 in the state voter guide, or “blue book,” includes the assertion that “The additional money provided in this measure allows local boards of education to target areas where research suggests that investments are likely to produce improved student outcomes.”