Governing Board contemplates $5 tuition hike
Joseph Starkloff
The MCCCD governing board further discussed the likely prospect of a tuition hike and a rise in property tax in order to recoup the nearly $38.5 million in state funding expected to be lost during their Feb. 22 meeting.Chancellor Rufus Glasper said the district’s goal was to spread out its financial loss enough that no department would feel its full effect.
“If we try to raise tuition to cover the full $38.5 million it would be $16 to $17 (per credit hour). That’s too much. What we’re trying to do is balance this between a tuition increase, property tax increase, and cuts in our system,” Glasper said.
The board will vote on the hikes during the March 22 meeting, but $17 million in operational cuts have already been made in light of Governor Jan Brewer’s recent budget proposal that would cut 85 percent of the money going to community colleges.
MCCCD board President Randolph Lumm said the district has few other options besides raising tuition and property taxes.
“We’ve held tuition for two years now and I’ve love to hold it some more . but now we have the $38 million pulled out of our budget from the state legislator. It forced us to go to tuition fees and tax increases to maintain what we have,” Lumm said.
The board also discussed raising tuition for undocumented students, which are students who don’t provide documentation of their identity, and can be used as a loophole for illegal students or students who are the children of illegal immigrants, to attend the MCCCD colleges.
“If you’re an undocumented student, you’re going to move from $91 per credit hour to $317 per credit hour. It’s devastating,” Lumm said.
Lumm debated with board member Debra Pearson, who supported raising tuition on undocumented students, if the raise victimized the children of illegal immigrants.
The district would have to raise property taxes in order to collect the same amount of money as in previous years due to the decline in the value of homes.
Lumm critiqued state legislators for contemplating corporate tax cuts instead of supporting schools around the state, and not understanding that an uneducated work force would negatively affect the economy.
“Big tax breaks have crippled this country. I think (the state government) its just unfair to all education. There are a lot of services that don’t pay any taxes at all . if they tax some of them and get $5 billion we could better support education,” Lumm said.
Attorney Dianne Post spoke to the board about several unnamed MCCCD employees she represents being dissatisfied with how colleges are run.
She told the board that these employees have spoken to her about favoritism, being passed up for promotions, under qualified individuals being wrongly promoted, and a top heavy management structure.
“One concern is the top heavy administration. The number of administrators has increased three times the number of students with no explanation,” Post said.
She warned the board that their continued inaction would have negative consequences.
“I made a suggestion last month that you should take these issues seriously. I would ask you that again. It cannot just go on,” Post said.
