Was It Something We Said?
Ah, to have known then what we know now. Ten years ago, if the presidents of Washington’s four-year universities had each taken a million dollars out of their budgets and gone to Vegas, they could have made some serious coin. They could have gone to a casino with this bet: In the next ten years, the state budget in Washington will grow by about 8 billion dollars. We’re willing to wager that none of that money will go to four-year public higher education. In fact, we’re willing to bet that in a decade when the overall budget for higher education will grow by 17%, public baccalaureate funding will shrink by more than 7%. Any bookie in town would have recognized these people as greenhorns and given them at least hundred-to-one odds. And today we could have gone back to collect on a big payday.
It is, of course, good that investments in Washington’s Community and Technical Colleges and student financial aid have grown over the last decade. But the failure to make a corresponding investment in our 4-year public universities has put a very low ceiling on educational attainment in Washington. It is the reason why tuition has gone up and the reason why Washington ranks 48th in four-year college participation.
It is also the reason why the citizens of Washington are at a distinct disadvantage in the competition for Washington’s best jobs.
This situation will not change until our elected leaders hear from their constituents that support for four-year higher education must improve. Join us in this effort now:
