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On Friday, March 11, Staff Council Representatives from the Boulder, Denver, Anschutz and Colorado Springs campuses convened at the State Capitol in Denver to deliberate with state legislators on issues impacting not only the university system, but staff they represent.

Members of the four Councils attended dueling presentations from听听(R) District-56 and听(D) District-18 on issues affecting the University of Colorado.

TABOR and higher education funding was the first topic on the agenda for Rep. Priola who serves on the House Education Committee. Rep. Priola spoke on the importance TABOR has in limiting the size of government by allowing taxpayers control over how their tax dollars are spent. He strongly emphasized the importance a tax refund would provide to struggling families in need, while stressing a desire to find middle ground in finding cost-saving alternatives within the university鈥檚 budgeting process. 听

During the Q & A portion of Rep. Priola鈥檚 talk, 抖阴旅行射-Boulder Staff Council Representative John D. Kelly noted 鈥渢hat the refund would only amount to an average of $16 dollars per person while potentially resulting in large cuts for higher education that will require a substantial tuition increase.鈥�

Representative Kelly鈥檚 point that the refund is very little and the ramifications very high has been a well-used argument that Colorado House and Senate Democrats have been vocalizing and provided a perfect segue into Senator Heath鈥檚 presentation.

When Senator Heath took the floor, he spoke candidly about issues voters should expect to see on the upcoming ballot. To illustrate, he asked the room to participate in a straw poll concerning what ballot item they would be most inclined to support in providing fiscal relief to higher education:

1. Eliminating aspects of TABOR via referendum 鈥� similar to听听with no timeline
2. Phasing aspects of TABOR out over the next 10 years, or
3. Supporting TABOR as it currently stands.

The straw poll results - though inconclusive - leaned toward supporting option (2). Senator Heath noted that the Democratic leadership is still formulating what option to present to voters in the upcoming November election, but to expect something similar to the offerings of the straw poll done that day. In closing, he stressed the of refunding tax dollars in the face of a budget deficit and went on to say, 鈥淲e can have record revenues, but because of TABOR we are still faced with having to make record cuts. "Colorado has experienced a relatively strong economy over the past several years with a record low , substantial GDP growth and a growing tech industry. Senator Heath referenced these economic indicators to demonstrate his feeling that we should be expanding instead of contracting funding to Higher Education at this time.听

After meeting with Legislators, Council members were provided an overview of the Budget process by , Chief Economist to the Legislative Council. A lively discussion ensued surrounding topics ranging from pay raises and insurance increases, to the future of Higher education as it presently stands.

As the event wound down, the four Councils were given a tour of the Capitol, including observing a vote in the State House and an opportunity to glean a historical perspective on the d茅cor, backstories and philosophical underpinnings of the our beautiful State Capitol.

Council membership from all campuses remain unified in their efforts to inform staff of the many issues that affect them. This trip demonstrates in actionable terms what can be accomplished if we all work together toward a common goal.听

The University of Colorado Staff Councils would like to thank both Rep. Priola and Senator Heath for meeting with us, as well as thanking staff from the Government Relations Office who assisted in the planning and implementation of the day鈥檚 events.

A may be viewed online.

Story courtesy of Boulder Campus Staff Council.