Holding the line

This from C-J:

The heady days of the Kentucky General Assembly passing House Bill 1 seem so far behind us now. It was a little more than a decade ago, in 1997, when lawmakers, Gov. Paul Patton and business people from all over the commonwealth came together to think really big about reforming the higher education system in this state. Their vision was no less than to change the culture -- and economic hopes -- for Kentucky.

Apparently, times and priorities have changed. This spring, many of the public colleges and universities have been hit by what Tony Newberry, president of Jefferson Community and Technical College in Louisville, calls "a double bind": First, their budgets were cut by the General Assembly and the Governor by 6 percent. Then last week, the Council on Postsecondary Education scaled back their requests for tuition increases.

The community colleges took the biggest hit. They had requested a 13 percent tuition increase to make ends meet. Last Friday, the CPE announced it was holding them to 5.2 percent instead.

But the CPE was right to do so. The community college system exists to serve the most vulnerable students -- those who are most likely to drop out if staying in school gets any harder for them than it already is. Many community college and technical school students are single parents, adults who are supporting themselves or their families while they go to school, or minorities who are the first generation in their families to go to college. For almost all community college students, the price matters.

And as the cost of four-year institutions continues to rise, it becomes even more critical that community colleges stay affordable. Kentucky's already cost more than similar schools in other states.

Earlier this month, when the CPE held hearings on the tuition increases, University of Kentucky president Lee Todd asked an essential question: "Are we serious about trying to move this state forward or not?" A poor state like Kentucky, which remains near the bottom of the educational heap, is foolish to be cutting back on education. Everyone knows education is the key to making us more competitive in a global
world.

Unfortunately, the legislature and Governor felt otherwise. Now the college and university presidents and their boards of trustees will have to pick among the bad choices.