Colorado's community colleges win one, lose one

Tuesday's election was a mixed bag for higher education in Colorado.

Voters approved a statewide gaming amendment that will funnel more money to the state's community colleges. But state university officials were lamenting the defeat of a constitutional amendment that would have created a scholarship program for low- and middle-income students from Colorado.

Pikes Peak Community College will benefit substantially from the passage of Amendment 50, President Tony Kinkel said Wednesday. The measure lets Colorado's three gaming towns expand their offerings and divert most of the additional taxes on increased revenues to 13 community colleges in the state, including PPCC. It passed with 58 percent of the vote.

"We're absolutely ecstatic. This will probably be the most profound investment in community colleges in Colorado history," Kinkel said.

The measure does not raise taxes on Colorado residents, which might have contributed to its success. But Kinkel said it passed because voters understand the role community colleges have in education and wanted to lend their support.

"Colorado ranks dead last, 50th in the country, in funding community colleges. This additional money will put us in the top 10. That's how dramatic of an amendment this is," Kinkel said.

The state estimates the gaming revisions will add up to $300 million to community college revenues over the next five years. The money will be allocated to colleges based on student count. PPCC's enrollment, 11,707 students this semester, makes it the second-largest community college in the state. That means PPCC stands to receive about $2 million on top of its $17 million annual budget appropriation from the state, Kinkel said.

But community colleges likely won't see the additional funding for a few years, Kinkel said. The towns of Cripple Creek, Black Hawk and Central City must vote to approve raising betting limits, providing more games and extending operating hours. Steps to enact the changes also will take time.

PPCC will use the money to increase salaries for faculty, which Kinkel said are below national averages. He also said PPCC also will expand educational studies, including health care and law enforcement, which are popular because of their job potential.

The measure that didn't pass - Amendment 58 - would have increased the severance tax on oil and gas interests in Colorado and eliminated a property tax credit against the severance. Sixty percent of the new revenue would have gone to a college scholarship fund for low- and middle-income Colorado students.

Amendment 58 had the support of Gov. Bill Ritter, but it faced some $12 million worth of industry attack ads that portrayed the measures as "a tax on us" - overwhelming counterclaims that it would be hard for the industry to simply pass on the tax when oil and natural gas are sold in global markets base.

A majority of voters appeared to buy the energy industry's argument: With almost all the votes counted, 55 percent were against the measure.

Still, more than 800,000 Coloradans voted for it, which suggests it succeeded in raising awareness about the need to provide scholarships to residents, said Pam Shockley-Zalabak, chancellor of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

"I'm hoping the awareness can be translated into something the state Legislature and Governor Ritter can work with, to provide more assistance to our students," she said.

"We have some state financial aid available, but because of years of budget cuts, that aid is not adequate for the needs of our students."

The Rocky Mountain News contributed to this report.

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Contact the writer: 636-0235 or debbie.kelley@gazette.com