Colorado Department of Higher Education outlines budget requests, seeks clarity on rural funding and transparency bill

DENVER — Department of Higher Education Executive Director Dr. Angie Piccione and senior staff told the Joint Budget Committee on Wednesday that the department submitted a budget that emphasizes targeted program cuts rather than across-the-board reductions and includes requests to sustain rural institutions and restore one-time accounts.

At the start of the hearing, Piccione said the department’s packet would focus the committee’s questions and that staff were “ready to address any questions that you may have over the next 90 minutes.” Crystal Collins, the department’s chief financial officer, led detailed answers to common budget questions.

The department asked the JBC to consider several items in the governor’s November 1 request and January 2 supplemental letter. Most immediately contested among committee members was a supplemental or budget amendment to provide $7,300,000 in general fund operational support for Colorado’s rural-serving public institutions, a funding stream the administration previously added for fiscal year 2024–25 that the governor’s staff proposed to annualize temporarily while a new funding formula is developed.

“Those funds were identified in 24–25 for support for institutions,” Collins said, adding that the governor and the commission expect the funding formula review process to address rural supports in more detail as the commission develops a proposed formula for the legislature. Several committee members pushed back: Representative Matt Taggart and others said their intent in approving the step‑1 funds last year was to build base funding for rural institutions, not to make the money contingent on future formula changes. Senator Kirk Myers said…