Other states are investing in higher education

In his state of the Commonwealth address on January 14th, after lamenting the budget mess given him by the legislature, we heard Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear tell the state:

Ironically, the revenue situation I inherited becomes a golden opportunity to change the way we do business in Kentucky. It is an opportunity to make every state agency leaner, more efficient and more responsive. It is an opportunity to begin preparing Kentucky to compete in the new economy. It is a way to focus on economic development that will create a stronger economy with jobs of the future rather than those of the past.

I smiled thinking to myself, "He's really going to do it. He's going to realign the state tax structure."

Shifting emphasis away from less productive sectors of the economy and more toward the most productive sectors - which as far as I can tell, would benefit the greatest number of tax-paying citizens, if not the truly elite - sounds like the right idea to me. It is the way to take care of the broadest cross section of Kentuckians while investing in the future. I want to save some America for my grandkids.

But anytime one butts heads with the big dogs, one should expect to be bitten.

Now, I have no insight here. I don't know if the governor shied away, or chose to reduced his effort to rhetoric, or is waiting for something else to happen first. Perhaps he has to prove he has fiscally conservative bona fides before gaining the confidence required to move so many political boulders. (Although, I don't know why. The spend-thrift conservative majority at the federal and state levels have gotten us here; and they had some help.)

The governor was right. This is an opportunity. One that requires competence and lots of leadership. I hope to hear more about this soon.

Meanwhile, we get this from Stateline.org, reprinted in C-J:

Faced with increasing global competition in the marketplace in a down-spiraling economy, many governors are asking their legislatures to make a significant investment in higher education.

That's the lead to a story that outlines efforts in several states where the value of investing in education is being kept in the governors' focus, despite a slumping national economy; the same economic conditions facing Kentucky.

Raymond Scheppach, executive director of the National Governors Association said, "A lot more governors now realize that their systems of higher education are really their major economic strategy for the future … that (companies) go to where you have highly skilled workers.

"It's been easy in the past to cut colleges' and universities' budgets. I think that more and more there's a greater awareness that doing so would put states at their own peril," said Dan Hurley, state director of the Association of State Colleges and Universities.

• Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland wants to pay for students to spend their final year of high school on a college campus for free.
• Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano proposed a compact with the state's eighth-graders: Stay out of trouble and get Bs in high school, and we'll give you a college education.
• Several governors also are proposing to put big money into research and development at their colleges -- particularly in science, math and technology -- to capitalize on the business benefits states could accrue.
• Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell proposed sending 70 counselors to middle and high schools to help students get into college.
• Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle is calling for a tax deduction of up to $20,000 for parents saving money for their children to go to college.
• Delaware's Ruth Ann Minner said she wants to extend the state's two-year scholarship program to cover those seeking four-year degrees.
• Idaho's C.L. "Butch" Otter proposed in his address Jan. 7 spending $50 million for scholarships for low-income students.
• Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius wants $3 million for grants to students.
• Missouri's Matt Blunt asked for $100 million for Access Missouri scholarships, a sum that would quadruple the state's investment in need-based grants.
• South Dakota's Mike Rounds and Tennessee's Phil Bredesen want to expand the number of students eligible for grants by lowering eligibility requirements.
• Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm wants to expand a pilot program that gives students an associate college degree after a five-year high school program and reward colleges that manage to graduate students, as opposed to just enrolling them.
• New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is proposing a first-in-the-nation plan to lease the New York State Lottery to private investors as a way to fund a higher education endowment.
• Virginia's Tim Kaine proposed a $1.6 billion bond package to develop new technologies and turn them into commercial successes.
• West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin III wants $50 million for the "Bucks for Brains" initiative to recruit faculty and build infrastructure with the goal of finding success in fields that could result in profits.

In a tough budget year, though, several governors have proposed cuts to higher education...

Such is the case in Kentucky, where yesterday, Governor Steve Beshear addressed a rally of college students from across the state. Mark Hebert tells the story.

Beshear also stood by the podium in an uncomfortable position for a few minutes as UK student leader Ryan Quarles rattled off information about the skyrocketing cost of tuition and how budget cuts to higher education will hurt Kentucky in the long run. And before turning the microphone over to the governor, Quarles told the governor the only thing students want is for him to promise that if there's new revenue in the picture, higher education will be the top priority for the new money.

Beshear wouldn't make that promise but did say higher education "will be among the highest priorities" if lawmakers find more cash for the state budget. He encouraged students to force their legislators to say where they plan to come up with more money. Beshear says his plan is legalizing casinos and he encouraged the kids to push their lawmakers in that direction. But he also said that any new revenue would be fine and students should simply push their legislators to take a stand.