> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.readfoxtalk.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Holston says Colorado higher ed, workforce programs spend almost $2 billion a year - URL: https://www.readfoxtalk.com/holston-says-colorado-higher-ed-workforce-programs-spend-almost-2-billion-a-year/ - Published: 2026-08-10T14:39:06.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-10T14:39:06.000Z - Description: The state had already identified more than 110 programs across seven entities. Holston said ordinary cross-agency coordination often produces discussion without enough action as Colorado plans a more unified system. - Author: Andy Green - Tags: News JB Holston estimated in a July 24 interview with me that roughly 120 higher education and workforce programs across Colorado collectively spend almost $2 billion a year. Holston, executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, said the size and fragmentation of that system are reasons Colorado should bring more responsibility for education, training and employment programs under a unified management structure. He said coordination across separate state agencies often gets crowded out by each agency's existing workload, leaving substantial discussion about working together without enough follow-through. That diagnosis is not new. A [December 2025 report prepared for Gov. Jared Polis](https://wp-cpr.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2025/12/FINAL%5FEO-2025-006-Report%5FDIGITAL.pdf?ref=readfoxtalk.com) said more than 20 divisions, offices and units across seven state entities deliver more than 110 programs and initiatives. The report argued that the fragmented structure makes opportunities harder for Coloradans to find and limits the impact of state investments. But Holston's almost-$2-billion estimate puts an annual spending figure on the broader system he is preparing to help reorganize. CDHE spokesperson Edward Quinones wrote in an Aug. 7 response that Holston's program count and dollar figure were rounded and directed me to the December report. The report states that the system contains more than 110 programs and initiatives, but it does not state an almost-$2-billion systemwide total in text I could locate. The estimate should not be read as a future $2 billion CDHE budget. State law already directs some functions toward the department, leaves other changes optional and says lawmakers will need to consider additional statutory changes after the transition committee makes its recommendations. ## What the law says will be considered Gov. Jared Polis signed [House Bill 26-1317](https://www.leg.colorado.gov/bill%5Ffiles/116795/download?ref=readfoxtalk.com) in May. The law created the Postsecondary Talent Development System Transition Advisory Committee to design the next stage of the restructuring. The committee's transition plan must recommend how several specified functions transition to CDHE. They include programs administered by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's Division of Employment and Training, state responsibilities under Titles I, II and III of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, adult education and literacy programs, specified regional talent-development initiatives, the Colorado Office of New Americans and the Colorado Disability Opportunity Office. The law separately requires recommendations for how CDHE will coordinate with the Colorado Department of Education on postsecondary workforce-readiness and student-support work, including youth apprenticeships, work-based learning and career-connected programs. Other possible changes are not predetermined. The committee may consider, for example, relocating or discontinuing the Office of Future of Work, relocating the Office of Labor Market Information and making recommendations about the governance of area technical colleges. The committee also must recommend a governance model, technology and staffing needs, data systems and a timeline for the transition. Beginning July 1, 2028, the law changes CDHE's mission to overseeing a postsecondary talent-development system integrating education, training and employment resources. The General Assembly also wrote into the law that it intends to review the committee's recommendations and make any additional statutory changes needed to carry out that expansion. ## 'Responsibility' rather than authority When I asked Holston what new authority CDHE should have, he said he viewed the change more as an expansion of responsibility. He said institutions would continue making decisions about the academic programs they offer, their curricula and the pathways those programs provide. The state's role, in his description, is to better connect the broader system and make information about program outcomes easier for people to use when choosing education and training paths. Students are also specifically included in the transition process. HB26-1317 requires the committee to actively seek input from students enrolled at public area technical colleges, community colleges and universities, along with faculty, staff, employers, workforce-program participants and other affected groups. At the time of my July 24 interview, Holston said the committee had held two meetings and had not yet made decisions. He said its early work had focused on organizing the group and discussing the mission and vision for the new system. The signed law requires the committee to submit its transition plan to the Joint Budget Committee and four legislative policy committees by Nov. 30. What that plan recommends will determine more precisely how Colorado turns a system spread across more than 100 programs and multiple agencies into the more unified structure Holston described.