Our Director of Legislative Affairs submitted this statement today to the Colorado Congressional Delegation (CODEL) on behalf of GPSG.
Statement to CODEL
On August 28th, leaders of the Graduate Student Government at CU ÐßÐßÊÓƵ met with university administrators to discuss fiscal planning for the next budget cycle, and we were informed that the university was pursuing a 5% budget reduction across the university system. This budget cut could be disastrous for higher education in the state of Colorado, and we have little doubt that other university systems across the country will be placed in a similar financial position due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The University of Colorado system is initiating a series of employee furloughs and pay reductions for low-level faculty in order to begin preparing for this budget shortfall, placing the financial security of graduate students, faculty, and staff at risk. We are engaged in active efforts to lobby the Colorado State Legislature to nullify the TABOR Amendment and return Colorado to a progressive tax system, so the university has funding sources beyond catering to high-income out-of-state students for tuition and can better invest in communities in Colorado.
However, we are also asking Congress to consider implementing another round of funding under the CARES Act, in order for the university system to stave off the worst impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and its exacerbation of a broken economic system. It is our position that, without federal support, the university’s cost-cutting measures will disproportionately affect the most vulnerable populations within higher education. Students, faculty, and staff at CU ÐßÐßÊÓƵ already struggle with the extreme imbalance between a lack of guaranteed funding and low salaries with a constantly increasing cost of living in the ÐßÐßÊÓƵ and Denver areas. This manufactured financial crisis is only being worsened by the pandemic, and support at the federal level is desperately needed.
edited on September 4Â to correct the spelling of TABOR amendment