Governor John Hickenlooper may be throwing his political weight behind the billion dollar tax hike campaign at a press conference tomorrow, but it appears he still has some of his liberal base to shore up on the issue.

The Aspen Daily News reports that the Aspen School Board is “struggling over” whether to support the tax increase because it would actually mean a loss of funding for Aspen schools, requiring the School Board to ask for another tax increase after the billion dollar statewide one passes.

Aspen School Board members are struggling over whether to support a proposed statewide income tax increase for education, because part of the new law would put a dent in state funds the local district receives to compensate for the area’s high cost of living…

The measure also would eliminate the existing school finance formula, which figures in cost of living in state distributions to local school districts. Aspen’s cost of living increase is one of the highest in Colorado, so the school district stands to lose millions over the long run if that metric is eliminated.

While exact dollar amounts are still being hammered out, Parker said the school board would likely come back to voters in two years to raise additional property taxes to make up for the loss funds if cost of living is eliminated from the state formula…

[Commissioner Rachel] Richards suggested to school board members that “maybe you could be neutral” on the tax increase.

Considering Aspen’s county — Pitkin — was one of only three out of 64 counties to support Prop 103 in 2011, this is not a good sign for tax hike proponents.

Someone tell Curtis Hubbard he’s got some calls to make.