University students were hoping the Legislature could make a tuition freeze a priority. Oh, silly kids:
A joint legislative committee killed a bill Thursday that would’ve frozen tuition at four-year and technical schools in the state. An original version of the bill had estimated the cost of freezing tuition at nearly $3.2 million, but the latest version didn’t include funding.
…Republican Sen. Larry Tidemann said there was broad support for a tuition freeze but that it’s unclear whether there will be funding available in the final budget.
“This is a great idea to reduce tuition but right now we do not … know if we have any money left available,” said Tidemann, who added that simply reducing tuition increases wouldn’t have the same effect as an outright tuition freeze [“Lawmakers: Tuition Freeze for Colleges Unlikely This Year,” AP via Watertown Public Opinion, 2015.03.12].
The Legislature did find the cash and will to increase the Opportunity Scholarship for future recipients. The rest of you kids headed for college will have to put in more hours… for which the Legislature wants to cut your pay by 12%. (Have you called the Governor about that veto yet?)
Wonder if the college and university newspapers will pick this up and let young voters know what their vote means?
Pretty sure you can count on that, Jana.