Fellow Coloradans:
As college and university faculty members, we
have become increasingly concerned about the future of public higher
education in Colorado. Due to the combined effects of economic
recession, budgetary shortfalls, and restrictive constitutional
amendments (e.g., TABOR, Gallagher, Amendment 23), it is now estimated
that state funding for higher education in Colorado will dwindle away
in only a few years. This means that higher education opportunities for
Colorado’s next generation of scholars will soon be cut back severely.
At a time when college has become more important than ever to ensure
the success of America’s youth, Colorado is faced with the prospect of
terminating higher education funding in order to resolve state
budgetary dilemmas. We feel that the TABOR Amendment, in particular,
imposes onerous and, one might even say, unfair constraints on higher
education: not only has TABOR reduced state higher education funding,
but it has also impeded efforts to recover the shortfall. TABOR is
literally strangling higher education by reducing state funds, while
simultaneously closing off other avenues of revenue enhancement. Thus,
if Colorado’s public higher education institutions are going to
survive, we must ease TABOR’s stranglehold on higher education
revenues. Thus, we call upon the people of Colorado to encourage our
elected officials to resolve the higher education funding crisis. Let’s
work together to ensure a brighter future for public higher education
in Colorado.
Sincerely,
The Colorado Higher Education
Coalition
The undersigned hereby signify
their support of this resolution from the Colorado Faculty Coalition.
(Institutions are listed in
alphabetical order.)
Colorado School of Mines
Faculty Senate of the Colorado School of
Mines
Colorado State University – Pueblo
Faculty Senate of Colorado State
University – Pueblo
Fort Lewis College
Faculty Senate of Fort Lewis College
Mesa State College
Faculty Senate of Mesa State College
University of Northern Colorado
Faculty Senate of the University of
Northern Colorado
Western State College
Faculty Senate of Western State College