Washington state Sen. Michael Baumgartner introduced legislation that would increase higher education funding by $890 million. The bill will give part of the state sales tax to colleges and universities, according to a press release on Jan. 27.
The state currently pays for 36 percent of tuition, said Michael Cathcart, Baumgartner’s legislative aide.
“Higher education used to be highly subsidized in the state,” Cathcart said. “Now it’s almost at the point where the state isn’t going to be paying anything with the cuts that are currently being proposed for higher education.”
The Senate Joint Resolution would amend the Washington state Constitution, which currently states that higher education is the state’s “paramount duty,” to read that it is the second-highest duty of the state.
It would also dedicate “1.75 cents of every retail sale dollar on which tax is collected” to higher education, according to the press release.
In 2011-13, the budget designates $2.75 billion to higher education, according to the press release. That state funding would need to add an additional $715 million to have a 50-50 split between state support and tuition costs for students at four-year universities.
Over the last 20 years, the state has increasingly placed the costs on students instead of on the state, said Baumgartner, according to the press release. If the amendment were passed, the state would provide $3.63 billion (or an additional $890 million) for higher education, according to the press release.
In order to be passed, the amendment must win by a two-thirds majority vote in the legislature and then the approved proposal would be put on the ballot in the next general election, where it would need to win the majority of the vote to be made law.
The House Higher Education Committee approved two bills sponsored by Rep. Larry Seaquist that are geared toward advancing higher education on Jan. 30, according to a House of Representatives press release.
One of the House Bills encourages new innovations to make sure more students receive their baccalaureate degrees each year.
The other House Bill creates a new council to oversee higher education. The Student Achievement Council would be the replacement for the recently-eliminated Higher Education Coordinating Board, according to the House of Representatives press release. The Student Achievement Council’s mission would be to increase the number of degrees completed at Washington state colleges and universities, according to the release.
Related articles:
- Looming budget cuts cause for concern at higher ed. meeting
- Faculty and students bear brunt of higher ed costs
- Students mourn ‘death’ of higher ed
