Cuts to Washington higher ed would be huge mistake

The State of Washington faces a shortfall of an estimated $2.6 billion in in its biennial budget that runs through next June. Governor Chris Gregoire will let us know tomorrow what she intends to do about it. There’s rampant speculation that higher education will again be a target for cuts, as a major pot of “discretionary” spending that isn’t constitutionally protected.

Three of the state’s higher education leaders have joined hands—or pens at least—to say that further cuts to higher education would be a big mistake. Ron Thomas, president of University of Puget Sound and chair of the board for Independent Colleges of Washington; Rodolfo Arévalo, president of Eastern Washington University and chair of the Council of Presidents; and Charlie Earl, executive director of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, share authorship of an op-ed column published in today’s Seattle Times urging support for college students and higher education.

Given the demonstrable benefits of higher education both to individuals and society, it’s almost inconceivable that the state’s students and colleges often end up taking the brunt of budget cuts rather than being a top priority for state support.

ICW is particularly concerned about cuts to or even possible elimination of the State Need Grant program, which helps more than 70,000 students of modest means attend the college, public or private, that best meets their academic goals and needs. It’s critical in creating educational opportunities to those students. Protecting financial aid for students is our top legislative priority.

Sign up as an ICW Advocate today at our Legislative Action Center to get important alerts and learn how to help us protect state aid for students who need help paying for college.

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