FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 3, 2009

HECB says proposed budget cuts would be a step backward for higher ed

     OLYMPIA – In a letter to key members of the Washington Legislature, the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) described the proposed cuts to higher education in the House and Senate budgets as both deep and disturbing.

     Ann Daley, HECB executive director, said the cuts not only pose immediate and severe problems for the state’s colleges and universities, but would set higher education back a decade or more at a time when the state needs to be educating many more of its citizens to higher levels.

     “As we emerge from the recession, demand for educated workers will be greater than ever and we’ll be hard-pressed to meet the already significant (and growing) gap in key employment fields like engineering, science, technology, science education and the health professions,” the letter states.

     It is not too late for the state to mitigate the damage that will be caused by the cuts, Daley said. The HECB is recommending tuition surcharges be adopted as temporary, two-year measures to ensure institutions can continue to meet record demand for enrollment. The board urges the Legislature to follow its past policy of providing financial aid proportionate to the budget increases.  The board also stresses the importance of continuing the Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program, which helps middle class families to save for their children’s education.

     Click here to see the letter, signed by Daley and board chairman Jesus Hernandez of Wenatchee.

For more information: Gary Larson

(360) 753-7817 or garyl@hecb.wa.gov