Colorado Speaker of the House Julie McCluskie delivered remarks at the Elevating Rural Colorado Partnership celebration in Keystone on Monday. The Dillon Democrat discussed the program’s recent efforts to boost career pathways in rural Colorado and support rural public schools.

The event, organized by Colorado Succeeds, the Colorado Education Initiative, Empower Schools, and Lyra Colorado, marked the program’s five-year anniversary.

“From new, low-cost pathways to higher education and good paying jobs to significant new funding for rural public schools, there are so many incredible success stories to celebrate for the high country,” McCluskie said. “Students in our communities will soon see more resources in their classrooms, and many are already taking advantage of new opportunities we’ve created to complete skills training and degree programs that will set them up for success.”

More than 90% of jobs that pay a family living wage in Colorado require some sort of postsecondary training, according to a March 2024 Colorado Succeeds report. While Colorado is a highly educated state, the report said, “There are large gaps in which Coloradans hold a degree, with the greatest gaps for students of color and those from rural communities.”

McCluskie has pushed for legislation to create new, affordable pathways to complete higher education degrees and programs in rural areas and was a sponsor of HB22-1350 which created the Opportunity Now Grant, which funds collaborative efforts among businesses, higher education, trade associations and unions to create new programs to address specific workforce shortages.  

This year, McCluskie pushed through a rewrite of Colorado’s decades-old School Finance Formula, which changed how schools are funded and raised red flags for the state’s largest teachers union and some of its school districts.

HB24-1448 starts with the base per-pupil funding, excluding high school students and online enrollment. Then, it adds in at-risk funding, money for English language learners, and special education. The cost-of-living factor would be applied after that, along with a locale factor, a district size factor, and then “extended” high school and online funding. The cost is estimated at around $500 million more, spread out over six years. 

The goal is to ensure every kid “has a fair shot” and help rural communities get the resources they need, such as additional teachers, and funding to provide or maintain after-school and summer programs.

An interactive website called the Colorado School Finance Simulator shows what the first year (2025-26) under the new formula would look like and how much funding each district would receive.

The Colorado Education Association raised concerns over the potential for school privatization based on fears of tax-payer-funded school vouchers. 

But with amendments, HB24-1448 passed in May.

Marianne Goodland contributed to this story.