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First-term Republican Rep. Randy Baumgardner didn't ask to be on the House Education Committee.

The rancher and retired highway department worker from Hot Sulphur Springs actually wanted on the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee instead. A large freshman class of lawmakers combined with smaller committees kept him from getting his first choice.

Baumgardner still spends much of his time with rural lawmakers, including his assigned mentor, Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling. In fact, he hitched a ride with his ag buddies Wednesday for a field trip to Walsenburg to learn more about problems with water from the production of coal-bed methane gas.

And yet as a member of the education panel, Baumgardner is honing his position on such weighty issues as school finance, increasing high school graduation rates and budget transparency.

The most difficult decisions may lie ahead as lawmakers grapple with how to fund education in the midst of a budget crisis.

"It's a lot worse than we thought it was going to be and more cuts are coming," Baumgardner said Thursday. "We've been brainstorming this week and really don't know where the money is going to come from."

No rock is being left unturned in the search for ways to plug a hole of at least another $100 million in this year's budget, which ends June 30.

The General Assembly already has reduced this year's deficit by more than $600 million through program cuts, cash fund transfers to general funds, and spending down the reserve account.

"A lot of money has been taken out of education, and I don't know how much more we can find," Baumgardner said.

One idea the Northwest Colorado lawmaker has is to reduce funding for studies.

"Studies and pilot programs are a good thing in an economy where we can afford them," he said. "Maybe we should take a look at not doing so many of them and try to redirect that money somewhere else."

Baumgardner also is something of a maverick when it comes to higher education and pushing youths into college.

"I'm in favor of higher education, but not everyone is going to be destined for college," he said. "We should be giving kids who aren't college bound different options."

That is one reason Baumgardner signed on as a co-sponsor of Gov. Bill Ritter's primary plan for higher ed this year. House Bill 1319 gives students an opportunity to begin earning a college degree at a vocational or technical school while finishing high school.

"The bill will make it easier for high schools to partner with vocational schools or community colleges to offer courses to students while they are still in high school," he said.

Lt. Gov. Barbara O'Brien had been scheduled to be the leadoff witness Thursday in a House Education Committee hearing on HB 1319. However, the hearing was canceled because of the biggest snowstorm to hit Denver this winter.

O'Brien said in a pre-hearing interview that offering concurrent enrollment in high school and college level courses is aimed at reducing Colorado's high dropout rate.

"The Colorado paradox is that we are below the national average for graduation rates but higher in an adult population with college degrees," she said. "Kids get bored in high school and start treading water. Taking more grown-up classes and leaning toward a career is one way to get them to stay on the path to graduation."

The lieutenant governor agreed with Baumgardner that not everyone will be going to a four-year college, but she also agrees with President Barack Obama that a high school diploma is not enough.

"A high school degree isn't going to get you any kind of job to support a family," she said. "You need at least one year of vocational education to get at least a certification for any kind of job, whether a diesel mechanic or in a beauty shop."

O'Brien said although some high schools and colleges already offer concurrent programs, HB 1319 will make the program statewide.

Baumgardner said he was disappointed majority Democrats on the education committee killed a bill (Senate Bill 57) that would have required school districts to post financial information online where it could be accessible.

"Transparency is all you ever hear now; everyone wants us to be more open and let people know what we are doing," Baumgardner said. "Then, something like this comes along and says we're going to make all our records accessible and give people the opportunity to see where dollars are going and they kill it."

All the major education groups, including those representing school boards and superintendents, testified against Senate Bill 57 at a 4-hour hearing earlier this month. They argued the larger districts already make financial information available, but the bill would be an unfunded mandate on smaller districts that are struggling to make ends meet.

The school transparency bill passed the Senate last month on a 26-8 vote, but was killed in the House committee on a straight party line, 8-5, vote.

"I don't understand why they fought so hard against it," Baumgardner said. "I'm for local control of schools, but this didn't over-impose anything. It's something most are doing and others should be because the taxpayers should be able to know where their money is going."