Daily Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, IA
02-03-07
Sunday's Our View
Picking favorites
As part of his budget proposal presented to Iowa lawmakers last week, Gov.
Chet Culver plans to pump millions of dollars into the state's colleges and
universities next year. Leaders in the Legislature are already concerned that
Culver's proposed financial infusion won't lead to tuition cuts in the near term.
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We would hope that those same legislative leaders would recognize early on that
the plan the governor has proposed amounts to more of the same - that is, the
short end of the stick - for the state's community college system.
Culver has proposed an additional $40 million next year for salaries at Iowa's
three regent universities and another $25 million in extra money for the operating
budget.
The proposal also calls for $12.4 million for the state's 15 community colleges,
vital institutions that "boast" some of the highest tuitions in the country.
Gary Steinke, executive director of the Iowa Board of Regents, defended Culver's
proposal, though he noted the additional funding would not mean an immediate
reduction in tuition rates for students. The longer-term goal is for institutions to
gradually be less reliant on tuition, he said.
"We've had $80 million of cuts in the last six years," he said. "So there's got to be
a point that we stop that and then build back capacity into the universities."
Rep. Jeff Kaufman, R-Wilton, said the funding would be helpful to schools such
as Muscatine Community College, where he teaches. At the same time, Kaufman
noted that failure to drop tuition rates right away is "unacceptable logic."
House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said if the budget
proposal moves to the House floor as is, Republican lawmakers will offer
amendments to apply funding increases toward lowering tuition rates. Rants said
the amendments would be aimed at holding Democrats, who currently have
control of both houses of the Legislature, to their campaign promises of lowering
tuition rates for students.
While the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of
Northern Iowa will clearly play a critical roll in shaping the state's future and
training young people to fill all manner of roles in an evolving state, Iowa's
community colleges play an equally critical role.
For many young people, whether for financial or other reasons, our community
colleges provide a "bridge" between high school and four-year colleges and
universities. For those who think of themselves as "lifelong learners," our
community colleges are a treasure.
Perhaps most important to the state as a whole, our community colleges are the
training grounds for workers who must hone new skills as technology changes
how we go about earning a living. Community colleges are, in our view, fully as
critical to economic development as are the four-year institutions to which Culver
would appropriate far more funding.
As lawmakers debate the merits of Culver's funding proposals, we hope they will
better address the needs of our community colleges.