04/17/2023
2023-2024 BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
(Excerpt taken from Joint Budget Committee Vice Chair, House District 29 Representative, Shannon Bird's Newsletter dated April 14, 2023)
Preparing Students for Success
Increasing Funding for K-12: Preparing our students for success and investing in Colorado’s public schools is a top priority this legislative session. In this budget, the total funding for public schools will increase by $485 million, including a record increase in per-pupil funding by $900 per student. Final action on the budget stabilization factor, per pupil funding, and total program funding will come later in the session through the annual School Finance Act.
Boosting Investments in School Buildings and Facilities: This record investment in our public schools includes $50 million of funding toward Building Excellent Schools Today (BEST) grants, to create new schools and update and renovate existing school facility systems and structures, plus a $8.8 million increase for public school health services.
Supporting Universal Preschool: To set our state’s youngest learners up for educational success, the budget includes $322 million to jumpstart Colorado’s free Universal Pre-K program. Universal preschool will save families thousands of dollars each year and make it easier for new parents to get back to work, boosting employers, families and the state’s economy.
Investing in Higher Education: The FY 23-24 budget also focuses on the needs of higher education by investing $145 million, a 10-percent increase year-over-year in funding toward state institutions, with a 5 percent cap for in-state tuition increase and additional funding for College Opportunity Fund (COF) stipends from $104 per credit hour to $116 per credit hour for full time students.
Funding Schools and Services for Students with Special Needs: This budget provides $18 million for facility schools and expansions of services for students with specialized needs beyond what can be provided for in a traditional classroom, and $1 million for the School Transformation Grant Program, which trains and supports school leaders working to boost academic achievement in the state’s lowest performing schools.
Focusing on School Safety: To support our students and educators, the FY 23-24 budget creates a new Office of School Safety within the Department of Public Safety and invests $6 million toward the School Security Disbursement Program, which enables school districts and some community based organizations to enhance school security measures and better respond to a crisis.
