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Liza Ramirez is a sophomore at the University at Albany who is working hard to realize her dream of becoming a lawyer. But she’s worried, and it’s not because she’s not making the grade.
Liza doesn’t know if she’ll be able to afford to continue her college education. Or if she and her mother, a single parent working long hours at a low-wage job, will be able to cover the extra loans they will have to take out to cover tuition increases called for by the governor—all in the name of balancing the state budget.
There are thousands of SUNY students just like Liza, concerned about making ends meet long enough to make it through college and earn that all-important four-year degree. Thousands of high school seniors and community college students already face the real possibility of having the doors of SUNY institutions shut in their faces because they won’t be able to afford to go, or because the schools won’t be able to offer enough courses for them to take, let alone have enough instructors to teach them.
And current students are looking at the all-too-real prospect of having to spend more than four years to graduate, forcing financially strapped families to pay thousands of dollars more for a degree.
SUNY has already absorbed a loss of state aid totaling $148 million since the spring, which amounts to a 10.35 percent cut from SUNY’s last budget appropriation. SUNY was hit hard and could be hit even harder in the state’s 2009-10 budget. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Unless these funds are restored, SUNY will be facing very hard times in the years to come.
The University’s mission, as set out in New York State Education Law, Sec. 351, is “to provide the people of New York educational services of the highest quality.” That is, to provide qualified students with quality degree programs. The University will likely fall far short of achieving its mission while saddled with these current budget cuts, as well as the prospect of deeper cuts and soaring demand for admission. Both access and educational quality are threatened by continued attempts to slash SUNY’s budget.
Make no mistake: SUNY’s enrollment is at an all-time high this year. Why? Simple. SUNY schools offer a quality education at an affordable price. Students who have found themselves priced out of private schools are turning to SUNY as a viable alternative, making SUNY schools more competitive than ever.
Trying to balance the state’s budget on the backs of SUNY students—as Gov. Paterson’s proposal would do—would be unfair to the students. It would also be unnecessary.
Simply put, the state should seek additional revenue streams to help make up its financial shortfall. Changing the state’s tax structure to make tax burdens fairer is imperative. People who make more should pay more.
That’s why the so-called “Millionaire’s Tax”—which would raise personal income tax rates for those earning more than
$1 million and again for those making more than $5 million—makes sense. Such a change would bring between $2 billion and $7 billion annually in revenue for New York, putting a significant dent in the budget crisis.
Last month, the Public Employees Federation (PEF) released a study that said the state could save as much as
$750 million yearly by putting a freeze on new consultant contracts and ending contracts for jobs that can be done by state workers at a much lower cost. Enacting the “Bigger Better Bottle Bill,” which would expand recycling to all containers and redirect unclaimed deposits to the state as revenue, could bring in another $200 million per year.
These ideas make good sense and would easily swallow present and future cuts to SUNY.
With the hectic holiday season at an end, we could be tempted to take a breather and ease up a bit on our push to spread the word that that SUNY is the solution to the state’s economic woes.
But we cannot rest until this battle is won.
That’s why we’ve inserted special “SUNY is the $olution” posters in this issue of The Voice, for you to place in your community. One side says “SUNY is the $olution,” while the other reads “This business supports SUNY.”
We need everyone to get involved, to spread the word that SUNY is one of the major engines that drives the state’s economy. Here is your opportunity to reach out to someone you know and engage them in a conversation of why SUNY is so important to the economy of New York state.
Put up the posters at your hair salon, your dry cleaning shop, the local bakery and bowling alley. If you frequent a particular shop or store, ask to place a poster there. Put them in your homes. We must spread the word.
We can’t let students like Liza down.