DENVER-
Dressed in suits and armed with talking points, students from 12 public colleges and universities from across Colorado lobbied lawmakers Monday for more money for higher education next year.
Under a proposal before state lawmakers, state colleges and universities would be able to raise their tuition by $58.5 million and members of the newly formed Associated Students of Colorado think the Legislature should match that by putting up $58.5 million in state funding.
“The state ought to be paying just as much as students and families,” said Ryan Biehle, a University of Colorado student.
Since voters passed Referendum C in 2005, allowing the state to keep up to an estimated $5 billion in tax surplus refunds over five years, the state’s contribution to higher education has increased by about $50 million in each of the last two years. That has prevented further cuts to higher education but students now are being asked to shoulder about 40 percent of the higher education budget through tuition and fees.
Gov. Bill Ritter has asked for a $55.7 million increase, an 8.4 percent hike, $2.8 million shy of what the students want. The Joint Budget Committee, which should be discussing the figures in the next week, has the final say.
The students got a boost in attention after the governor’s son, August Ritter, signed on as ACS’s spokesman. The governor agreed to speak at a press conference with the students on the West Steps of the Capitol.
“Colorado kids deserve our attention and our priority being placed on higher education and higher education funding,” the governor said, after recalling how he was able to attend Colorado State University with the help of financial aid.
While his father was flanked by dozens of students, August Ritter stood off on the sidelines during the press conference. Afterward, he found himself surrounded by reporters.
August Ritter, who is studying global tourism at CSU, said he called his father’s staff to ask the governor to come rather than ask him directly.
“I knew this is something he would want to be involved with no matter what,” he said.
He tried to downplay his involvement, pointing to the 13 Trinidad State College students who drove up to Denver Sunday and spent the night sleeping on couches in order to be able to lobby lawmakers.
Budget committee member Sen. Steve Johnson, R-Fort Collins, said it’s not very likely that the state can afford much more of an increase this year. However he welcomed the students’ advocacy, which he said could help pave the way for any future ballot proposal to increase funding for state colleges and universities. He pointed to a recent national study which found that Colorado schools would need an extra $832 million to catch up with peer institutions.
“We need to make the case to voters that an investment in higher education is a good investment in their tax dollars,” Johnson said.
Under the current proposal, tuition at research universities could increase by up to 7 percent, up to 5 percent at state colleges and 3.5 percent at community colleges, Biehle said. Students are graduating with an average debt of $17,760, he said.
Biehle said there’s no guarantee that students would see lower tuition increases if the state increased its contribution but he said the additional state money would at least help students indirectly by improving their schools.
