Jason Gonzales and Erica Meltzer
Chalkbeat Colorado
This story, "Colorado’s 2022 budget boosts K-12 spending, restores higher ed cuts," was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering public education.
Colorado’s $34.1 billion proposed state budget restores deep cuts made last year to K-12 and higher education, provides more money to help students who have traditionally struggled to complete college, and creates a substantial reserve for K-12 schools that could lay the groundwork for future reforms — if it’s not needed to weather a prolonged recovery.
The proposed fiscal year 2021-22 state budget, introduced in the Colorado General Assembly on Monday, stands in stark contrast to the severe austerity of last year’s budget document. A year ago, Colorado was under stay-at-home orders as it battled the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, and lawmakers had to fill a $3 billion budget hole.