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When Lt. Gov. Barbara O’Brien and I first took office in January 2007, we made education our top priority. We vowed to reduce the dropout rate, close achievement gaps and increase the number of in-state students who earn a college degree.

During the past three years, we’ve made great progress.

Working together with our partners in the legislature and in the P-12 and higher-education communities, we’ve made Colorado a national leader in student-centered reforms.

We’re getting more kids into preschool. We expanded full-day kindergarten, and we’re helping more students than ever plan for college.

Making progress in education is never easy, even in good times. Families and businesses across Colorado are tightening their belts. Working with the legislature, I’ve closed shortfalls of $2 billion to keep the state budget balanced. We’re all making tough choices.

On Tuesday, I presented my proposed fiscal year 2010-11 budget to the legislature. We had to close a $1 billion shortfall to balance this budget, continuing the cost-cutting and streamlining that have been under way for more than a year.

This new budget includes two things we haven’t had to do before — reducing some school funding and suspending some special tax exemptions.

Until now, we’ve been able to fully protect school funding, which, after nearly a decade of steady growth, now makes up almost half of the state’s General Fund budget.

But this is a new economic reality, and our list of budget-cutting options is growing shorter. This proposal requires a 4.6 percent reduction to total program funding for K-12 and adjustments, many temporary, to 13 of 100 tax credits and exemptions.

As a father of four and husband of a former teacher, I know the importance of a quality education for our kids. Investing in the education of our children is the key not just to their own future, but to Colorado’s long-term economic strength. That is a guiding principle of my administration.

With this new budget, I’m asking everyone to sacrifice. From schools to businesses to state workers — everyone must help. This proposal allows us to protect the safety net for those who are living on the margins, at a time when the demand for services continues to skyrocket.

Like families and businesses in every corner of the state, we have to live within our budget.

But our commitment, our goals and our strategies for helping families, for creating the best schools in the country and for keeping our small businesses competitive remain as ambitious as ever.