South Sound residents have a special interest in the governor’s plan for higher education spending because it will have a direct impact on our two local institutions – South Puget Sound Community College and The Evergreen State College.
Both colleges have taken huge hits to their budgets over the last three years and college presidents warn that additional reductions will reduce the number of students able to attend classes. And because SPSCC and Evergreen are two of South Sound’s largest employers, additional budget reductions will have a negative impact on the local economy. The Thurston County economy annually receives about $30 million in income due to SPSCC operations.
President Gerald Pumphrey said South Puget Sound Community College had a $17.5 million in state funds in 2007. That has been slashed to $13.5 million. Total state reductions when health care and other items are factored in, total $6 million, Pumphrey said. Student tuition has increased 40 percent.
At Evergreen, President Les Purce said the college’s 2008 budget included $36 million in state funds. Today the state provides $18 million – half. Student tuition is up 70 percent, but the increase in tuition does not fill the gap in lost state revenue. Evergreen has eliminated 60 positions, and cut entire programs, including a combined master’s degree in public administration and environment. “It’s been three years since we’ve hired a permanent faculty member,” Purce said.
Both Purce and Pumphrey say that enrollment levels simply cannot be sustained with additional cuts. More students will be denied admission and – depending on cuts to student financial aid, work study and federal Pell grants – fewer students will be able to afford a college education. Purce notes that 81 percent of Evergreen’s students are receiving some form of financial aid and 41 percent are at the poverty level.
Pumphrey said a college counselor told him that students are asking where they can park safely at night because they are living out of their automobiles.
That’s how desperate some students are to gain an education to better their lives and the lives of their families.
Pumphrey said, “The rate of tuition is going up faster than any other sector of the economy including medical care. Students, faced with debt are asking themselves, ‘Is it worth it?’ ”
That’s a serious problem. As Pumphrey said, “We cannot compete in today’s global economy with an uneducated and unskilled workforce. We’re laying the groundwork for huge problems for our future if we don’t educate students.”
A report issued by the Washington State Budget & Policy Center, a Seattle-based, progressive think tank, confirms that the higher education impacts noted here are applicable around the state.
The report said:
• The average cost to attend college in Washington state has risen 94 percent since 2007 at four-year institutions and has risen 54 percent at community and technical colleges. Current proposals would cut an additional 15 percent of state support from higher education.
• More than 20,000 eligible students were unable to receive financial aid in 2010 due to insufficient state resources. Financial aid for 70,000 students is on the line in the next round of budget decisions.
The study demonstrates the dramatic shift in higher education funding policies in this state over a relatively short period of time.
Purce said when he came to Evergreen 22 years ago, the state was paying 75 percent of the costs to operate the college. Today the state’s share has dwindled to 35 percent.
And the governor is likely to suggest further reductions today.
Purce has this message for Gov. Gregoire and the lawmakers who will ultimately adopt a supplemental budget: “An all-cuts budget will alter who we are as an institution and community. It will have a quick and immediate impact on students and who we are able to serve.”
Pumphrey’s message is more dramatic: “An all-cuts budget is going to inflict catastrophic damage not just upon the students, but the entire South Sound community.”
Clearly, in the area of higher education, this community has a lot riding on the outcome of budget negotiations.
