For the third year in a row, Colorado’s public college and university leaders have written a letter to the state legislature’s powerful Joint Budget Committee asking for more money than what’s proposed in Gov. Jared Polis’ budget.

Polis wants to increase Colorado’s higher education budget next fiscal year by $42.7 million. In the letter, 15 college and university leaders asked for quadruple the increase: $130.8 million more for their operations next year, plus another $30.6 million for state financial aid. The December letter says the money will help schools increase employee pay and battle inflation without needing to make cuts. Otherwise, they’ll need to raise tuition beyond 2% for in-state and 6% for out-of-state students.

The call for more money comes after Polis said he would work with colleges and universities to keep tuition low and create “greater efficiency,” specifically in administrative costs and ensuring state money goes toward instruction. The Joint Budget Committee has the final say on whether to increase the funding beyond the governor’s request. They have provided schools with more money beyond Polis’ proposal in the last two years.

Colorado’s college and university leaders said they agree with the governor that they need to be good stewards of state money, and they’ve made many cuts since the Great Recession as state investment in higher education dwindled — Colorado funds higher education near the bottom for full-time students. According to a state study, Colorado institutions are more than $900 million below the average funding of their national peers.

Read the full story from our partners at Chalkbeat Colorado

Chalkbeat Colorado is a nonprofit news organization covering education issues. For more, visit co.chalkbeat.org.

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