Denver Councilman Chris Herndon is seeking council approval to put a sales-tax hike on November’s ballot that would pay for college scholarships for the city’s students.

Herndon, who represents northeast Denver, will introduce the so-called Denver Scholarship Promise bill at a council committee meeting Wednesday. The committee would have to advance the bill to the full council that would have to approve the measure by the end of August for the November ballot.

But some question Herndon’s timing, given that the bill that would seek to raise Denver’s sales-tax rate by a tenth of a cent, sunsetting in 10 years, would be on the same ballot as a statewide $950 million tax increase for K-12 education; also, the city is mulling asking voters to approve a retail marijuana sales tax.

Herndon’s scholarship tax increase would basically replace the stadium tax that was retired in December 2011. It would collect approximately $11 milliona year for the Denver Scholarship Foundation, a fund that would be augmented by private fundraising.

“We have an opportunity to do something tremendous,” Herndon said. “This is about growing human capital and saying to Denver kids, ‘If you are a successful student, you can go to college.’ “

Denver oilman Timothy Marquez and his wife, Bernadette, created the foundation in 2006 along with then-Mayor John Hickenlooper and a $50 million endowment — fashioned after the Kalamazoo, Mich.-based scholarship program that was funded by wealthy anonymous donors.

The Denver Scholarship Foundation has paid for “future centers” in 16 Denver high schools that guide students through college applications and financial-aid processes. It provides scholarships to low- and middle-income Denver Public Schools graduates for 39 participating technical schools, community colleges, four-year colleges and universities in Colorado. And it helps students with their studies when they are in college.

Since the fall of 2007, the foundation has awarded $17 million in scholarships for more than 3,300 DPS graduates. But the fund is depleting. Tax documents show the foundation had $34.5 million in total net assets in June 2012 and generated $6.4 million in revenue that same year.

The fund would be able to survive in perpetuity with the 10 years of tax help and annual private fundraising, said Rick Reiter, who is leading the campaign. Reiter said early polling and focus groups show strong support for the concept.

“In fact, initial polling is stronger in intensity for this idea than for Denver Measure 2A, which passed in 2012,” Reiter wrote in a memo to supporters.

Marquez said the vote would make Denver the first city in the country to have a dedicated tax for college scholarships.

“This is a game changer,” he said. “We would be the first city in the country or world to do something this bold. We have a nice business coalition put together, normally people who would be anti-tax are giving support.”

Gail Klapper, director of the Colorado Forum that is leading the state education tax initiative process, said her group is aware of the city’s possible tax proposal and has yet to decide whether to support it.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said he is a big supporter of the Denver Scholarship Foundation but is not sure a city tax is a good idea with several key tax proposals coming in future elections, including reauthorization of the Denver Preschool Program tax and the city’s Science and Cultural Facilities District tax as well as transportation issues.

“I’m real concerned about the impact on those future efforts that are going to have to occur within the next few years,” he said. “And there is the question whether this is the appropriate vehicle to finance those scholarships. We are taking a serious look at the legislation now and will make a determination real soon.”

Jeremy P. Meyer: 303-954-1367, jpmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jpmeyerdpost