Boulder – The University of Colorado Board of Regents on Wednesday searched for solutions to the system’s funding crunch by examining how other states help pay for higher education.
“Since we can’t get the funding we need in a budget limited by TABOR,” said Regent Michael Carrigan, referring to the constitutional amendment that restricts state revenue, “we need to start looking for solutions.”
Regents discussed states that supplement higher education funding through gaming revenue, oil and mineral taxes and local taxes.
Most of the states that have directed lottery money to higher education have set up merit or need-based scholarships, Robert Moore, vice president for budget and finance, told the panel.
For instance, 99 percent of the in-state freshmen enrolled at the University of Georgia last fall received a merit-based scholarship that paid for tuition and fees and put $150 toward the cost of books. “So, essentially, Georgia has shifted the cost of tuition to gambling revenues,” Moore said.
Other states, Moore said, use taxes paid by oil and gas producers to fund their colleges and universities. In November, Wyoming created a $500 million endowment for academic scholarships and faculty chairs using the state’s mineral taxes.
Regents also discussed bringing back special taxing districts. In Colorado, 11 junior and community colleges used to receive funding from local property tax districts. Now, only Colorado Mountain College and Aims Community College do.
Officials could ask voters in the Broncos stadium district to extend the tax when it expires, which could bring in $38 million yearly for scholarships to district residents, Carrigan said.
The panel discussed the need to ensure that state lawmakers could not reduce state spending if a new source of revenue is approved.
“I think this conversation is extremely important because before we know it, Referendum C money will run out,” said Regent Steve Ludwig, referring to the voter-approved measure that allows the state to keep an estimated $5.7 billion over five years that would otherwise have been refunded to taxpayers under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
In other news, two state lawmakers Wednesday asked the state auditor to investigate CU-Boulder’s diversity spending. The move follows the recent release of a critical Independence Institute report.
“As far as I know, CU has provided more information in more depth than any institution in the state,” said CU president Hank Brown.
Staff writer Chris Frates can be reached at 303-954-1633 or cfrates@denverpost.com.
