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College students lobby for funding

Governor asking an 8.6% boost for higher education

By Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published March 4, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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Associated Students of Colorado members, LynAnn Weaver, 22, center, and Jaime Thorpe, 19, talk with David Skaggs, executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education.

Photo by Matt McClain / The Rocky

Associated Students of Colorado members, LynAnn Weaver, 22, center, and Jaime Thorpe, 19, talk with David Skaggs, executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education.

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College students from throughout the state lobbied at the Capitol on Monday for increases in higher education funding.

The push by more than 50 students comes as the Joint Budget Committee prepares to vote Thursday on higher education funding for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The JBC drafts the annual state spending bill.

Gov. Bill Ritter has asked the panel for an 8.6 percent increase in higher education funding, or about $65 million. Ritter has made higher education a priority.

Sen. Moe Keller, D-Wheat Ridge, the JBC vice chairwoman, said the panel would "absolutely" honor the governor's request.

Blake Gibson, 20, a Colorado State University sophomore, said lawmakers expressed "overwhelming" support for more college funds. Gibson, a leader of Associated Students of Colorado, said the group planned to meet every member of the House and Senate.

Even with the increased state funding, students could see hefty tuition increases, according to David Skaggs, director of the state higher education department.

The department is asking the JBC to cap in-state tuition hikes at 5 percent for community colleges, 7 percent for four-year colleges and 9 percent for research institutions, such as the University of Colorado and CSU, Skaggs said.

However, tuition hikes would be capped at 5 percent for students eligible for need-based financial aid, he said.

Tuition for out-of-state students would not be capped.

Colorado's public funding for higher education is among the lowest of the 50 states.

Gibson told a noontime rally that Colorado students are proud of the state's higher education system.

"But that pride will crumble with our buildings if we don't fund it," Gibson said.

morsonb@RockyMountainNews.com or 303 954-5209