college

At the most recent meeting of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the Bell Policy Center voiced strong concerns about Gov. John Hickenlooper's proposed $30 million in cuts to the state's need-based and work-study financial aid programs in his FY 2012-13 budget request. Such cuts could reduce post-secondary educational opportunity for many low- and middle-income Coloradans.

The Bell Policy Center board of directors has endorsed the Bright Colorado initiative to temporarily return state tax rates to the level they were in 1999 while the state searches for a more permanent solution to its long-term structural deficit.

Testimony to the House Education Committee

My name is Frank Waterous, and I am a senior policy analyst with the Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding opportunity for the people of Colorado.

Wade Buchanan appears on KRMA's Colorado State of Mind, along with Cindy Stevinson of Jefferson County public schools, newspaper columnist Chuck Green and Frosty Wooldridge, a columnist and commentator on immigration issues.They discussed tuition equity (SB 170) and cutbacks in K-12 education budgets.

Education is the key to many good things. It creates a better and more diverse work force. It improves the economy and our quality of life. It creates a more content populace, one that can support itself and its families. So, why would we want to deny education to anyone? Exactly. ... Editorial quotes Matt Sundeen

Negative Opportunity Note: This bill represents a net opportunity loss for Colorado. Basic skills courses provide the foundation needed by many students to achieve post-secondary success. Making basic skills courses ineligible for College Opportunity Fund stipend support could have a chilling effect on post-secondary enrollments, particularly among adult learners.

???These recommended reforms are a needed step forward. For example, the P-20 Council wants to fully fund the Colorado Preschool and Kindergarten Program. Right now, it serves only about two-thirds of the kids we know are eligible,??? said Frank Waterous, senior policy analyst for the Bell Policy Center.