Colorado
state
budget to include
COF appropriations
SGA,
lobbyists push
for Metro funding;
stipend budget affects
state institutions
By Josie
Klemaier
jklemaie@mscd.edu
Colorado
House Bill 1385, which contains the state’s budget,
including appropriations for the College Opportunity Fund,
passed in the House Thursday, March 30.
Metro Student Government Assembly President Jack Wylie spent
many days during Metro’s spring break at the state Capitol with Capstone,
Metro’s lobbying group, making sure legislators knew how much Metro needed
an increase in COF.
The budget allows for $2,580 per student per 30 credit hours
for an estimated 124,302 eligible full-time students attending state institutions.
Metro has asked for a $180 increase per student per credit
hour to increase funding.
COF, a stipend available for qualifying undergraduate students
who attend Colorado public institutions and participating private institutions,
pays a portion of the students’ total in-state tuition.
When voters approved Referendum C in November, they had an
understanding that the money would be allocated in thirds among higher education,
K-12 education and health care, Wylie said.
“ It’s good to see that the JBC (Joint Budget Committee)
is passing it that way,” he said.
House Bill 1385, or the Long Appropriations Bill, will go for approval from
the Colorado Senate on Thursday, April 6.
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news on all campus stories.
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