11-16-09 CO Governor’s Op-Ed Regarding Colorado’s Tough Choices…

In these tough times, shared solutions - By CO Governor Bill Ritter, Jr.

When Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien and I first took office in January 2007, we made education our top priority. We vowed to reduce the dropout rate, close achievement gaps and increase the number of in-state students who earn a college degree.

Over the past three years, we’ve made great progress.

We’re getting more kids into preschool. We expanded full-day kindergarten, and we’re helping more students than ever plan for college.

Making progress in education is never easy, even in good times. It’s even harder in difficult times like these. Families and businesses all across Colorado are tightening their belts. Working with the legislature, I’ve closed shortfalls of $2 billion to keep the state budget balanced. We’re all making tough choices.

And we have more challenges ahead. On Tuesday, I presented my proposed fiscal year 2010-11 budget to the legislature. We had to close a $1 billion shortfall to balance this budget, continuing the cost-cutting and streamlining that have been underway for over a year.

This new budget includes two things we haven’t had to do before — reducing some school funding and suspending some special tax exemptions.

Until now, we’ve been able to fully protect school funding, which, after nearly a decade of steady growth, now makes up almost half of the state’s General Fund budget.

But this is a new economic reality, and our list of budget-cutting options is growing shorter. This proposal requires a 4.6 percent reduction to total program funding for K-12 and adjustments, many of them temporary, to 13 of 100 tax credits and exemptions.

As a father of four and husband of a former teacher, I know the importance of a quality education for our kids. Investing in the education of our children is the key not just to their own future, but to Colorado’s long-term economic strength. That has been, and always will be, a guiding principle of my Administration.

With this new budget, I’m asking everyone to share in the solutions. From schools to businesses to state workers — everyone must help. This proposal is fair and balanced. It minimizes the pain by spreading the burden. It allows us to protect the safety net for those who are living on the margins, at a time when the demand for services continues to skyrocket.

This year alone Colorado’s Medicaid caseload has increased 17 percent. By next year, Colorado will have nearly 570,000 Medicaid clients — a 45 percent spike since I took office.

None of the choices in this new budget proposal are easy or popular. But they are necessary. They’ll protect our ability to recover quicker and stronger by preserving programs that encourage job-creation and economic growth.

They allow us to create New Colorado Partnerships that will strengthen the bonds, cooperation and collaboration among state government, our schools and our businesses. These new partnerships must put a premium on innovation — because the strongest and quickest path back to economic health lies in what we create and what we make.

I understand how challenging a funding reduction will be for our schools. I know this means asking teachers and principals to do more with less, and I honor that dedication and sacrifice.

Three years ago, we set about changing Colorado — making us a leader in the New Energy Economy, in improving our education system, and in growing a modern, 21st century economy. And our economy remains stronger than in most other states because of our strategy and our successes.

The budget I presented on Tuesday will allow us to continue making those changes and to continue to be stubborn about creating a better future for our children and our grandchildren.

Like families and businesses in every corner of the state, we have to live within our budget.

But our commitment, our goals and our strategies for helping families, for creating the best schools in the country and for keeping our small businesses competitive remain as ambitious as ever.

Bill Ritter is the 41st governor of Colorado.