I'm with the "neutral party" on this one -- The Macon Telegraph -- on the tuition issue -- Tuition hike plan demands consideration on both sides.
The 10-5-04 Macon Telegraph has an editorial today entitled "Tuition hike plan demands consideration on both sides."
I know you are probably getting tired of my writing about this hot political potato. I have written about it in the following posts: a 10-4-04 post; a 10-3-04 post; another 10-3-04; and a 9-22-04 post.
With time running out (the Regents meet October 15 I believe), and these are my words and not those of the Macon Telegraph, Georgia and its citizens -- which includes students and parents of students -- might be better served if this fantastic opportunity for making political hay were passed for the moment by the Democrats.
In lieu of making hay, the Democratic leaders might want to consider follow the suggestion of the Macon Telegraph and urge compromise on both sides, that is, Governor Perdue and the Regents.
By just using the tactic of saying if you Board of Regents approve a tuition increase, we want you and the public to know it was the GOP Governor who did it, the Regents are given the green light as far as the Democratic leadership is concerned, and in effect are being told, hey, go for it.
The editorial:
Tuition hike plan demands consideration on both sides
The standoff and finger pointing between the governor and the Board of Regents over a possible mid-year tuition hike at Georgia's public colleges is a dangerous game for two reasons. The obvious one is that some students, teetering on the edge of financial solvency, may be unable to afford to finish out the academic year.
The second danger is less obvious. If the regents back off the tuition increase, as the governor has requested, and resort to more cost cutting, faculty positions will have to make up the brunt of the additional $68 million in budget reductions. Dropping faculty in mid-year, after year-long teaching contracts were signed in August, could damage long-term the ability of Georgia's educational institutions to attract top-notch educators and researchers.
The Board of Regents has faced and made the same rounds of cuts that other state departments have for the past two years. But this latest cut demanded from Gov. Sonny Perdue's office was precipitated by Perdue's reversal of his ill-fated decision earlier in the year to switch the last state payroll from one fiscal year to the next to balance the budget. It was a questionable accounting practice that never should have been considered.
Also at risk with a 10 percent tuition hike - added to another, anticipated one this spring for the following academic year - would be the viability of the HOPE Scholarship fund. The anticipated growth in lottery revenues and the measures taken by the 2004 Legislative to tighten eligibility and payouts would be negated by the millions of extra dollars that would be required to fund the higher tuitions.
A group of college students who met with Gov. Perdue Saturday to protest the hikes didn't buy his finger pointing to the regents. They are smart enough to know that the playing field this budget battle is being fought on is a result of his accrual reversal, made with full knowledge of the legal commitment made in signed faculty contracts.
The governing board of the state's higher education institutions was set up as a constitutionally independent body in an effort to keep politics out of managing the system. That independence and the power it gives the board has long been a sticking point with governors since Eugene Talmadge meddled with hiring decisions at the University of Georgia in 1941. Whether a power play is at work here or not remains to be seen.
Regardless, too much is at stake for posturing by either side. Some consideration needs to be made by the governor because of the snafu in timing of the cuts with faculty contracts; the regents, in turn, must be thoughtful in reaching the highest levels of efficiency with its reduced budget while keeping quality education at the forefront.
_______________
And all God's children said Amen.
I know you are probably getting tired of my writing about this hot political potato. I have written about it in the following posts: a 10-4-04 post; a 10-3-04 post; another 10-3-04; and a 9-22-04 post.
With time running out (the Regents meet October 15 I believe), and these are my words and not those of the Macon Telegraph, Georgia and its citizens -- which includes students and parents of students -- might be better served if this fantastic opportunity for making political hay were passed for the moment by the Democrats.
In lieu of making hay, the Democratic leaders might want to consider follow the suggestion of the Macon Telegraph and urge compromise on both sides, that is, Governor Perdue and the Regents.
By just using the tactic of saying if you Board of Regents approve a tuition increase, we want you and the public to know it was the GOP Governor who did it, the Regents are given the green light as far as the Democratic leadership is concerned, and in effect are being told, hey, go for it.
The editorial:
Tuition hike plan demands consideration on both sides
The standoff and finger pointing between the governor and the Board of Regents over a possible mid-year tuition hike at Georgia's public colleges is a dangerous game for two reasons. The obvious one is that some students, teetering on the edge of financial solvency, may be unable to afford to finish out the academic year.
The second danger is less obvious. If the regents back off the tuition increase, as the governor has requested, and resort to more cost cutting, faculty positions will have to make up the brunt of the additional $68 million in budget reductions. Dropping faculty in mid-year, after year-long teaching contracts were signed in August, could damage long-term the ability of Georgia's educational institutions to attract top-notch educators and researchers.
The Board of Regents has faced and made the same rounds of cuts that other state departments have for the past two years. But this latest cut demanded from Gov. Sonny Perdue's office was precipitated by Perdue's reversal of his ill-fated decision earlier in the year to switch the last state payroll from one fiscal year to the next to balance the budget. It was a questionable accounting practice that never should have been considered.
Also at risk with a 10 percent tuition hike - added to another, anticipated one this spring for the following academic year - would be the viability of the HOPE Scholarship fund. The anticipated growth in lottery revenues and the measures taken by the 2004 Legislative to tighten eligibility and payouts would be negated by the millions of extra dollars that would be required to fund the higher tuitions.
A group of college students who met with Gov. Perdue Saturday to protest the hikes didn't buy his finger pointing to the regents. They are smart enough to know that the playing field this budget battle is being fought on is a result of his accrual reversal, made with full knowledge of the legal commitment made in signed faculty contracts.
The governing board of the state's higher education institutions was set up as a constitutionally independent body in an effort to keep politics out of managing the system. That independence and the power it gives the board has long been a sticking point with governors since Eugene Talmadge meddled with hiring decisions at the University of Georgia in 1941. Whether a power play is at work here or not remains to be seen.
Regardless, too much is at stake for posturing by either side. Some consideration needs to be made by the governor because of the snafu in timing of the cuts with faculty contracts; the regents, in turn, must be thoughtful in reaching the highest levels of efficiency with its reduced budget while keeping quality education at the forefront.
_______________
And all God's children said Amen.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 5:59 AM
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