JOINT RELEASE: Democratic Budget Committee Members Pledge to Fight for K-12 Education Funding

As the budget process continues, House and Senate Democrats commit to prioritizing K-12 education funding

DENVER, CO – Today, members of the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) will take action on recommendations from non-partisan staff regarding mid-year adjustments to the state share of K-12 school finance funding. Democratic members of the JBC pledge to protect K-12 education funding for both the current and upcoming budget years.

“Despite the financial pressures the pandemic has placed on the state, we looked in every corner of the state budget for ways that we could preserve education funding,” said Sen. Dominick Moreno (D-Commerce City), Chair of the Joint Budget Committee. “As we assess our priorities for this legislative session, we know how much our students and teachers are hurting, so we are pledging to do everything we can to make sure their funding is prioritized in our budget.”

“Together, we’ll get through this pandemic and build back stronger by putting our students and teachers first and helping set them up for success,” said Rep. Julie McCluskie (D-Dillon), Vice-Chair of the Joint Budget Committee. “This has been a challenging budget year, and we are continuing to take a responsible approach that prioritizes our schools and the critical services Coloradans need to get through the pandemic and recover as quickly as possible.”

“Many of us are parents ourselves, and we have seen firsthand the difficulties that students and educators have faced,” said Sen. Chris Hansen (D-Denver). “But they have risen to the challenge and taken on one of the most difficult periods in our history. We cannot allow their funding to fall through the cracks, and I am proud that my colleagues on the Joint Budget Committee recognize that.”

“Colorado students have seen their school years and lives upended by this pandemic,” said Rep. Leslie Herod (D-Denver). “They have had to quickly adapt to a life of remote learning without their peers, classroom interactions, and with limited resources. We know this is having an impact, and we can’t let our students fall further behind. Protecting critical funding for our school districts is, and will continue to be, a top priority for the JBC.”

In response to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 virus on the state economy, the General Assembly was forced to reduce state funding to districts and charter schools for the 2020-21 budget year, with the recognition that schools across the state would receive several hundred million dollars from the federal CARES Act.

Now, due to the ongoing pandemic, many school districts and charter schools anticipate lower student counts than previously estimated in preparing the state budget for the 2020-21 year. Districts are understandably concerned that reduced pupil counts could result in a reduction in the state share of total program funding for this budget year based on the School Finance Formula.

However, in recognition of the challenges public schools continue to face, the Joint Budget Committee will act to protect schools across the state from particularly challenging mid-year cuts.

The Joint Budget Committee hearing begins at 10AM MST this morning, press and members of the public can tune in here.