Three Republican state lawmakers representing Weld County expressed concern on the impact of available funding for education Monday during a legislative wrap-up session at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.
State Sens. Barbara Kirkmeyer and Scott Bright and Rep. Ryan Gonzalez were joined at the seventh annual event by Jaime Henning, president and CEO of the Greeley Area Chamber of Commerce, and lobbyists representing UNC and Greeley-Evans School District 6.
Rep. Shannon Bird, a Democrat from District 29 covering Adams and Jefferson counties, joined the panel later in the session. Bird, who is from Westminster, has joined the crowded Democratic field to represent Colorado’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The district stretches from Thornton to Greeley and is concentrated on the east side of Interstate 25. It’s currently held by Republican Gabe Evans from Fort Lupton. Evans in November defeated Democratic incumbent Yadira Caraveo, who was the first representative for the district after it was created following the 2020 census.
State Rep. Manny Rutinel, Caraveo, State Treasurer Dave Young and former head of the Colorado Education Association Amie Baca-Oehlert have also declared to run against Evans.
Bird and Kirkmeyer are both members of the six-person Joint Budget Committee, which studies the fiscal needs and requests of the state government to present budget recommendations to the General Assembly.
UNC President Andy Feinstein and others praised the Joint Budget Committee’s work for both for higher education institutions and K-12 schools.
The General Assembly started the 2025 legislative session needing $1.2 billion in cuts to balance the budget. Kirkmeyer said they actually cut about $100 million. The other moves to balance the budget came through “shifting cash funds here and there,” Bright said.
Bright added he thinks the budget will again be a big issue in the next legislative session starting in January. The legislature will start work on the 2026-27 budget with a $700 million deficit, Kirkmeyer said.
She said the state is in a “structural deficit,” meaning there has been consistent overspending and deficits even with revenue increases.
“We overspent,” Kirkmeyer said. “We need to cut, and we don’t cut.”
Any budget shortfall for the next fiscal year starting July 1, 2026, leads Kirkmeyer to concerns about the effect on higher education.
“Am I worried about higher education funding?” she asked. “Yes, I am. It is a fight (for higher education funding). The governor consistently comes in underfunding higher education.”
The governor’s office this year proposed a $12.2 million increase for higher education and a $2.3 million increase for financial aid. State higher education leaders, including university presidents such as Feinstein, asked for $65.1 million in state operating funding and $15.1 million in financial aid — with an authority for a 2.7% tuition increase for resident undergraduate students.
In 2023, Colorado ranked 49th of 50 states and Washington, D.C. in public higher education appropriations per full-time student, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. The association does financial analysis for higher education.
Schools of higher education saw a combined 2.5% increase in funding this year, which was much better than anticipated. Officials at UNC worried because the Joint Budget Committee considered a 5% reduction for higher education overall to compensate for other budget issues.
UNC will receive about $1.7 million in funding from the state for the fiscal year starting July 1. This is a 2.3% increase from the current year.
Feinstein said Kirkmeyer and the Joint Budget Committee helped preserve funding for higher education in the upcoming fiscal year, adding “this was no small feat.”
Bird said the committee’s bipartisan work, as well as that of others in the legislature, was critical to taking on issues such as lowering health care costs, funding public education and making it easier for the construction of homes for the middle class.
“I think people focus on challenges, and that’s important,” Bird said later in the week. “It’s important to know our priorities were lifted up and protected.”
Henning contributed the business perspective on the state legislative session that ended last month. The two-hour panel discussion at UNC focused on education and health care.
In early January, UNC hosted a preview of the legislative session. Bright and Gonzalez also participated in January along with Anne Barkis, a Greeley-Evans School District 6 lobbyist in Denver, who attended Monday’s session.
Henning said business victories came with reforms on the construction defect process and the stability of the energy sector. On the latter, methods in place will not require the state to impose new emission requirements for vehicles.
Barkis on Monday focused on the passed and signed School Finance Act, which is a change in the formula determining how K-12 schools are funded. The new formula will be phased in over seven years.
A school system such as Greeley-Evans District 6 should benefit from the change because the system will see more funding for at-risk students. These students are defined in part as those who live in poverty, don’t speak English as a first language and special education students.
“That makes a difference for us,” District 6 chief communications officer Theresa Myers said.
The District 6 budget passed earlier this month projects the district’s per pupil revenue to be $11,733 for 2025-26. This is slightly below the state average ($11,864) and $327 higher than the district’s per pupil revenue in 2024-25.
The preview and wrap-up generally look at different issues impacting Colorado residents with education being a focus and foundational part of the discussions.
Kirkmeyer said her concerns with a deficit now are based on the state possibly having to pay out more for Medicaid with cuts at the federal level.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Colorado’s public education could be in for tough days ahead with more state budget challenges )
Also on site :