Hickenlooper Believes Education System Can Take Cuts In Stride
DENVER (CBS4) - Gov. John Hickenlooper's budget plan for next year includes more cuts to education, but they are not as deep as previous years.
Hickenlooper's plan would cut funding for K-12 education by $89 million; about $60 million would be cut from public colleges. The plan also includes delaying a voter-approved property tax break for seniors that's due to be reinstated next year.
The governor stopped by CBS4 studios Wednesday morning to talk about the budget cuts. And with the snowstorm that moved through the Front Range, naturally the first question he was asked was about funding for the Colorado Department of Transportation.
"We do have the resources for plows. We'll make sure that the Eisenhower Tunnel and everything is accessible and open," Hickenlooper said.
Watch the entire interview in the video clip below:
The governor had to cut education funding because voters soundly rejected a tax to fund schools.
"Obviously in the midst of an economic downturn I think the voters were reluctant to increase their taxes. It doesn't mean they don't care about education. It doesn't mean they're not going to be in the classrooms with their kids trying to figure out ways to help kids read faster and do math better," he said. "They just weren't willing to support a tax increase."
He said when small businesses lost revenue they had to be more creative and that's what he thinks voters want for education.
"I think voters want us to try to figure out different ways of doing things and improve our success with less money. Trust me, it's no fun to cut education, to cut higher education, to delay the senior homestead … look at it, we cut just about everything. It's tough."
Hickenlooper believes the education system will be able to take the cuts in stride.
"Most people look at Colorado as on the cutting edge of school reform. How do we really take good teachers and make them great teachers? How do we make sure that we have the right support for those teachers so they improve the success of our kids? That's not necessarily more money."
He did say, however, that Colorado is at the point where money is becoming a major issue.
"I'm not going to deny that, but this is the reality we face and we've just got to go out there, every one of us, and support our teachers and those kids."
