Denver Post - Higher-ed bill scaled back

A scaled-back version of a measure to upend Colorado's higher education funding that intended to allow legislators to tie performance to support passed out of the House Monday with more control back in the hands of educators.

The plan's author, House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, said he's pleased with the final product.

"I wanted to put the furthest thing that could possibly get passed out there," Ferrandino, D-Denver, said. "We ended up in a place where we can significantly change how some things have been done."

In the end, rather than blowing up the entire funding system, which the initial version of House Bill 1319 threatened to do, Ferrandino reached a series of compromises with the state's colleges and universities.