Heading into this campaign we've all assumed the cuts to higher education would be around 20% or $600 million. In her newly released Budget "Highlights" Christine Gregiore proposes a 13% reduction in cuts to four-year universities and 6% to community colleges or cuts totaling $300 million across the board. Upon hearing this many of you will take in a huge breath of relief and feel the sudden urge to relax. Unfortunately the battle has not yet been won and we must continue to fight until Washington State legislators refuse to pass any cuts to the budgets of higher education. If not we face a potential emaciation of our education system. In Christine Gregiore's own words, "Washington’s public colleges and universities are the economic engine that drives the state’s economy and will drive our recovery". Indeed Christine and as such we must fully protect and fund our economic engine, less we risk it stalling from a shortage of fuel.
Cuts to higher education are not the only areas in which students, teachers and workers are being attacked: Christine has proposed allowing higher education institutions to raise tuition rates yet again! The national consumer price index has risen just about 100% since 1982 in contrast tuition to colleges and universities has grown to well over 400%. With authorization to raises tuitions even higher colleges and universities will be asking more from ordinary citizens in a time of economic crisis.
This cannot stand. The state of Washington has a responsibility to fully fund its higher education system. Protecting K-12 while forgetting higher education will in no way improve our state's current position, it will only set a precedent for further attacks on our colleges and univerisities. We must fight together, as a united front, to preserve our education system.
Stop The Cuts!
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It is important to remember that 16 percent cuts in higher education is still a staggering number. As the blog points out, this still means higher tuition rates, layoffs, cuts in student services, and attacks on benefits/working conditions.
Yes, 16 percent cuts is better than 30, but it is crucial that students, teachers, and college workers unite to unconditionally oppose any and all cuts in higher education regardless of the perceived threat as public higher education should be fully funded to meet the needs of the community and not have to endure a budget crisis every few years.
In addition, we need to look at this budget crisis in terms of its' effects on our state as a whole. State legislators will still be carrying through devastating cuts to social services such as workers benefits(unemployment, etc), public infrastructure (such as public parks) and state subsidized basic care health coverage. It goes without saying that while attacks on public higher education have been scaled back (for now that is) we can assume that attacks on other services and benefits will be intensified in the meantime.
With this all in mind, It is imperative that the struggle to protect higher education be linked to the struggle of working people of Washington State as a whole to protect social services and to fight back against attacks on living conditions. As they say in the labor movement: as one finger we can be broken, but together we can make a mighty fist.
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