All Colorado high school students can take college classes paid for by the state – either before they graduate or for a year afterward – under a rule passed Wednesday by the State Board of Education.
As proponents of the so-called fifth- year programs cheered, the chairman of the state’s Joint Budget Committee said the programs could drain money from the state’s K-12 system.
“The Board of Education should actually be concerned about whether they’re going to end up with less money in the end of the day,” said state Sen. Abel Tapia, D-Pueblo.
The fifth-year programs have a beleaguered past at the state Department of Education.
Schools in Denver and in the Sheridan School District, among other places, have changed how a high school diploma is defined.
At Sheridan High and Abraham Lincoln High, students can opt for a diploma that allows them to go to community colleges on state funds for an associate degree.
This can be done during high school or the year after traditional high school classes are completed.
Two years ago, the board decided that these programs were breaking existing state rules.
On Wednesday, the board, composed of a few new members, reversed the decision in a 7-0 vote.
Citing Gov. Bill Ritter’s priority of reducing the state’s 30 percent dropout rate, both Democratic and Republican board members said the time was right to endorse the idea.
Ritter has composed a council charged with building links between high school and college.
“Let’s send a message that we’re here for all kids, people,” said Pamela Jo Suckla, Republican chairwoman of the state board.
Who pays for the college classes is still in question.
Do state officials use K-12 per-pupil money, which devotes roughly $6,000 per student every year to school districts? Or are they funded by the Colorado Opportunity Fund, which commits about $2,500 a year for students taking classes in Colorado colleges.
Michael Poore, a former superintendent of the Sheridan School District, applauded Wednesday’s decision. Sheridan has had a fifth-year program since 1998. About 300 students have moved through classes at Arapahoe Community College.
When the program was deemed illegal two years ago, Poore shut it down for a year. Then he filed a lawsuit against the state over the decision.
That’s on hold now because of Wednesday’s ruling, he said.
“It’s a pretty great day,” said Poore, now a deputy superintendent in Colorado Springs. “It’s been two years of a fight and a battle.”
Blanca Trejo, a youth organizer for Metro Organizations for People and a 2005 graduate of Denver’s West High School, said the decision will cut down on the number of students who need to take remedial courses in college.
“I think it’s really important to realize that just a diploma is not the end goal anymore,” said Trejo, who is going into her third year at the University of Denver. “It needs to be bachelors, masters, associates and doctorates that we should be aiming for.”
Staff writer Allison Sherry can be reached at 303-954-1377 or asherry@denverpost.com.
