Two Republicans on the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee signaled Monday that they were open to reversing their votes against additional funding for a school breakfast program, while Democrats promised legislation to provide the money.

And the former budget director for Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter’s office confirmed Monday that months earlier he had also denied the request for additional funding for the program in an action he now terms a “mistake.”

The comments from Republican Reps. Cheri Gerou of Evergreen and Jon Becker of Fort Morgan come after a firestorm of criticism over a 3-3 party-line vote the JBC took last week to deny additional funding to the Start Smart program for the current budget year, which ends in June.

Without the additional money, thousands of students who now receive free breakfast will be charged 30 cents for the meal beginning this spring.

Sen. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, who also voted against the request, said at the time that his vote came down to personal convictions.

“As a family guy myself with children and grandchildren, I take a very strong responsibility to earn money to feed my own family,” Lambert said.

Lambert was not at the news conference with Gerou and Becker on Monday.

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