A bill championed by members of the Colorado Springs delegation seeking to allow school districts to use tax dollars for college scholarships this week moved one step closer to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk after clearing a Senate committee.

House Bill 21-1112 comes at the request of two Colorado Springs educational institutions: Harrison School District 2, the lowest income and most diverse school district in El Paso County, and Pikes Peak Community College. The pair have formed a partnership that has created a highly successful program guaranteeing district graduates with over a 2.25 GPA a free education at the community college.

“The family conversations where students are told, ‘You’re not going to college, we don’t have money for that,’ those are over in Harrison School District #2,” said Dr. Lance Bolton, president of Pikes Peak Community College to the Senate Education Committee earlier this week. “In this COVID year when low-income and minority student college-going rates dropped by as much as 20% statewide and nationally, we increased college-going rates for Harrison School District #2 by 50%.”

Bolton said that’s been done through the Dakota Promise Program, a scholarship funded by funded by the Dakota Foundation and the Legacy Institute that fills in any potential gaps and shortages left by federal Pell Grants to cover the costs of attending Pikes Peak Community College.

Polis gets schooled on Colorado Springs high school's innovative education, new scholarship program

But in seeking to expand the program beyond grant funds to mill levy dollars collected by districts, Bolton and Jason Hopfer of Pikes Peak Alliance of Schools and the Colorado Community College System said they ran into ambiguity in state law.

“The foundation that is partnering with Harrison had asked for a legal opinion (on using mill levy dollars) and their legal opinion advised them to get clarity because the statute was silent,” Hopfer said.

That opinion led to outreach to the Colorado Springs delegation to provide legislative clarity. Reps. Mary Bradfield, a Colorado Springs Republican who worked for Harrison #2 for over 20 years, and Marc Snyder, D-Colorado Springs, successfully carried the bill through the House.

Sens. Pete Lee, D-Colorado Springs, and Dennis Hisey, R-Fountain, are serving as the bill’s prime sponsors in the Senate, and on Wednesday shepherded the legislation through the Education Committee in their chamber. Both lawmakers heaped praise on the collaboration between Harrison #2 and Pikes Peak Community College as well as the bill during the hearing.

“It really brought triple-digit numbers of kids who would typically not go to college into the higher education program,” Lee said. “Suffice it to say that this bill accomplishes our goal of increasing the cohort of kids attending college.”

Hisey concurred.

“This is now a proven program, it has done amazing things for the students in Harrison,” he said.

But the bill doesn’t boast universal support from the delegation. Rep. Tim Geitner was the sole vote against the proposal when it was before the House Education Committee. The Falcon Republican indicated he liked the overall direction the bill goes in but worried a provision mandating districts use new mill levy dollars to pay for scholarship programs would serve as “the sprinkles on the sundae” to convince voters to raise taxes. The bill also allows money for scholarships to come from gifts, grants and donations.

Despite describing himself as “conflicted,” Geitner ultimately voted against the bill along with nine other House Republicans. Rep. Terri Carver, a member of the Colorado Springs delegation, was also among the GOP House members to oppose the bill.

Sen. Paul Lundeen, R-Monument, also expressed “real significant discomfort” during the Senate Education Committee hearing but ended up backing the bill.

“So much of what happens in public education, we all think is about the policy, it’s about the dollars, it’s about this or that or the other, but it’s not. It’s always at the end of the day about leadership,” Lundeen said. “The leadership of Pikes Peak Community College, the leadership of Harrison 2 over a couple of different superintendents here now has proven their mettle and their ability to do something meaningful and significant.

“That’s what pulls me over the transom.”

After clearing the Senate Education Committee on a 6-1 vote with Centennial Democratic Rep. Chris Kolker voting in opposition, the bill now goes to the full Senate for consideration.