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Budget panel splits over how to fund Healthy School Meals for All as election approaches
Summary
After hours of testimony and options analysis, the panel endorsed a hybrid, contingent approach: fully fund HSMA for the first half of 2025–26, then pivot to a targeted model (CEP and high‑poverty schools) if proposed ballot revenue measures fail; staff to draft implementing language.
The Joint Budget Committee wrestled with funding for Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA), the voter‑driven program that makes breakfasts and lunches broadly available in Colorado schools. Staff presented three options: full year funding (projected to cost about $150 million); a targeted approach that guarantees all meals only for community eligibility provision (CEP) and high‑poverty schools (estimated about $80 million); and a hybrid that funds the program fully for the first half of…
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