CMC budget supports jobs, students and communities

Late last month, the Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees adopted a new budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Though approving a budget is a routine process for any elected board, the action reflected the college’s commitments to affordable, accessible education for students and families, highly skilled workers for local employers and respect for the faculty and staff who deliver on the dream of college every day. In short, CMC’s fiscal year 2025-26 budget maintains the college’s commitments to fiscal integrity, innovation and accountability to local taxpayers.    

Overall, the college’s operating budget stays within projected inflation while continuing investments in new programs, equipment and technology to ensure CMC students are prepared for good jobs in our communities. For example, the budget supports the college’s first cohort of exclusively bachelor-level trained nurses, expands capacity in the college’s law enforcement training program and supports the considerable demand for first-responder programs. It also supports the college’s newest program, the Bachelor of Science in biological science, which will be Colorado’s most affordable rural pathway to healthcare degrees in medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. 

The budget also ensures affordability for students and families by maintaining tuition and student fees that are among the lowest in the nation. By keeping student costs very low, CMC has reduced average student loan debt every year since the pandemic. In fact, according to the Colorado Department of Higher Education, CMC graduates enjoy the lowest average student debt of any bachelor’s granting college in Colorado.  

Controlling costs also ensures that CMC continues to support the largest concurrent enrollment program on the Western Slope. Today, nearly 40% of CMC’s total enrollment comes from students taking concurrent enrollment through their local high school. That’s thousands of students attending college for free.  

Programs in skilled trades are experiencing very significant growth. From automotive training to welding to construction trades, high school students across CMC’s district train for high paying jobs right here in our mountain communities.   

CMC’s 2025-26 budget also includes pay and benefits that are nationally competitive. By keeping cost-of-living increases above local inflation, CMC ensures that the talented faculty and staff that make the college’s programs so successful remain in place and can focus more on delivering outstanding results for CMC students, while worrying less about the high cost of living in mountain towns. As a result, the college’s employee attrition rate now hovers in the single digits, well below industry averages. 

In adopting this year’s budget, the Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees — recently recognized by the Association of Governing Boards as one of the highest-performing in the nation — once again demonstrates its commitments to equity, care, innovation and integrity. At a time when  America’s confidence in higher education is at all-time lows, CMC trustees are investing in activities that matter to the residents of mountain towns — training for good jobs, affordable and accessible education, and degrees and certificates that matter to local employers.   

Looking ahead, the board may ask voters for increased flexibility to invest in facilities, workforce training and student housing. Though CMC was one of the only major tax districts in Colorado to voluntarily refund tax revenues over the past two years — nearly $50 million refunded to taxpayers — recent changes to state law prevent the college from expanding investments in new facilities for skilled trades programs, adding new equipment for law enforcement personnel and firefighters, or adding housing opportunities to ensure that local students can stay local. The board is exploring an option to provide temporary funding flexibility while keeping overall taxes at or below levels already approved by residents.   

Though the national economy remains somewhat volatile and costs at many colleges and universities climb to new levels, CMC’s budget continues to operate below inflation while providing outstanding value to local students and ensuring that graduates are ready to secure good jobs in mountain towns.  

As Colorado Mountain College looks ahead, its priorities remain clear: to provide an affordable, high-quality education that meets the needs of students, employers and communities throughout the mountain region. This year’s budget not only reflects careful planning, but a deep commitment to delivering on that promise.  

With continued support from local taxpayers and forward-thinking leadership from the board of trustees, CMC will remain a model of how a small, rural college can generate outsized impact — creating opportunity, nurturing hope and ensuring that mountain economies are built upon a foundation of local talent. 

Dr. Matt Gianneschi is president of Colorado Mountain College.