Post: Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late
Colorado’s budget continues to push legislators toward temporary solutions that would be unthinkable under normal circumstances. The latest:
State lawmakers are considering giving public universities the freedom to set tuition rates to make up for a looming drop in funding. . . .“We are trying to figure out how do we give the higher education system flexibility that will allow them to survive the budget cuts that are inevitably coming in the next two or three years,” Morse said. . . .
Morse said he’s concerned about making a college education inaccessible for most residents.
The Denver Post editorial board weighed in on this difficult balance, noting that time is of the essence in finding a solution for higher ed funding:
Increasing tuition now, when the economy is in its weakest stages of recovery, will be a difficult burden for many families to bear. Higher tuition may allow schools to backfill scholarships for low-income students, but colleges need to be careful about pricing middle class students out of the market. . . .The better answer rests in finding a dedicated state source of funding for higher education that doesn’t get annihilated during the cyclical economic downturns.
That is, no doubt, a tall order in this state.
Gov. Bill Ritter has appointed dozens of people with impressive resumes to serve on panels that will study study the funding crisis as well as other large-bore higher ed issues. . . .
The down side, and it’s a big one, is that these committees won’t be done with their work until after higher education falls off the financial cliff. (Emphasis added).
The urgency of finding a solution to Colorado’s education funding crisis couldn’t be greater. We know the cliff is coming, and that irreversible, economy-harming cuts will continue for the foreseeable future unless statewide action is taken at the ballot.
It’s as if Colorado is heading into a car crash in slow motion. But it’s not too late to take control of the wheel.
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