Community colleges pin hope on gaming tax

On the face of it, Amendment 50 seemed so simple: Let Colorado's casinos raise their betting limits, introduce new games and stay open later, and deliver the gaming tax windfall to the state's community colleges. In two years, according to a state estimate, the colleges would be sharing as much as $17 million.

The measure passed with 59 percent of the vote. All that was left was for the Legislature to take up an enabling measure this week to carry out voters' wishes.

Just one problem: The Colorado Historical Society, which gets some gaming revenues, believed it should also get some of the windfall from the gambling laws.

Up until Thursday morning, the community colleges and historical society were at "loggerheads," said Pikes Peak Community College President Tony Kinkel.

But a compromise that involved the governor's office and House Education Committee Chairman Mike Merrifield left everyone in a kumbaya mood by day's end, and the measure passed out of committee unanimously.

In a nutshell, the original version would have given 78 percent of new gambling tax revenues to community colleges and 22 percent to the counties with casinos. In the compromise version, the Colorado Historical Society will get about a 3 percent increase over what it's received in the past, plus a bonus if a lot of money comes in, Kinkel said.

He estimated that the compromise will reduce community colleges' take to about $15 million - but he's not complaining.

"I'm cutting $1.2 million out of next year's budget," he said. "We're holding onto the hope that Amendment 50 money will help."