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Tag Archives: Higher Education
Leaders in the state Senate and House have reached a significant bipartisan agreement on the state’s two-year operating budget. Included in the budget is the Senate’s proposal to reduce tuition at state colleges and universities, sponsored by deputy majority leader Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia. Over the next two years the legislation reduces college tuition by 15 percent at research institutions like the University of Washington, 20 percent at regional universities such as Western Washington University, and 5 percent at community and technical colleges. The budget includes significant investments in basic education, with over 47 percent of the state’s spending going to K-12 education.
“This budget is a bipartisan compromise but it is one that speaks to our values,” said Braun, a lead Senate budget negotiator. “The Senate stopped the biggest tax increases in state history. We focused our state’s spending on education at all levels: early learning, K-12 and higher education and led the nation by reducing tuition at our state universities and colleges. Our budget is balanced, sustainable and lives up to the values of our community.”
Going forward, college tuition will be tied to growth in the state’s median wage; that change and the immediate tuition cut are expected to help 200,000 college students.
“The tuition cut is the equivalent of a quarter-billion dollar tax reduction for working families and students in our state,” said Braun. “I have been fighting for this policy, fighting to make sure we have no new taxes, and fighting to ensure that our budget makes the best use of taxpayer resources. I believe that we have done that. We can go back to our communities having made significant statewide investments without raising taxes. That’s a very good thing.”
The budget, Senate Bill 6052, was approved in time to take effect July 1, avoiding a state government shutdown.
College affordability one step closer for Washington Families
Senators Mark Schoesler, John Braun, and Barbara Bailey meet with students, April 8, 2015.
The Senate Majority’s College Affordability Program, Senate Bill 5954 passed with bipartisan support but surprising opposition from half of Senate Democrats. The bill, sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, and chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor would reduce tuition by as much as 30 percent at state-run research institutions and cap tuition to a percentage of the state’s average income.
“I have been making this case since we introduced this bill, college access and affordability should be a priority for our state again,” Braun said. “We’ve had years of underinvestment in higher education and the results are bad for our economy. Our state faces significant challenges, but this is a long-term policy solution that middle-class families in our state deserve.”
Higher Education and the rising cost of tuition have been a focal points since the inception of the Senate Majority Coalition. The Coalition lead the charge on freezing college tuition for two consecutive years, something that had not been done in nearly three decades. Opposition democrats would not support reducing tuition without a dedicated funding source similar to the attempted $170 million tax hike they proposed during the committee process. The Majority Coalition made it clear that higher education should be a budget priority and that this policy can be implemented without new taxes.
“Making higher education affordable for all our state’s students is a win for everyone,” Bailey said. “I’ve been working to ensure that our students have access to an affordable and quality post-secondary education. The tuition freeze was great but we need a real paradigm shift in what college affordability means for students. By passing this bill we are sending a message that students are a top priority by making college affordable in our state.”
After Sen. John Braun introduced legislation to cut tuition at state colleges and universities some questions arose regarding the bill’s effects on Washington State’s Guaranteed Education Tuition program. Opponents of the proposal have erroneously stated the measure would reduce the value of credits already purchased through the state GET program.
“I understand the concerns that have been raised but a close read of the bill puts those concerns to rest,” said Braun, R-Centralia. “The language is very clear that this legislation holds the value of GET for those who have already invested. The concept is similar to a stock split so that the reduction in tuition doesn’t adversely affect current GET holders. Our proposal holds these people harmless and is a long-term policy solution that ends the days of skyrocketing tuition.”
As a result of the tuition freeze instigated by the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus during the 2013-15 school years, the GET program went from an unfunded liability in the hundreds of millions of dollars to maintaining a significant surplus of over $160 million. Under the most recent Senate proposal to cut tuition by an average of 25 percent, the GET program will go from currently 106 percent funded to over 130 percent funded – a significant turnaround from a few short years ago, when there was talk in Olympia of doing away with the program.
“The bottom line is that this proposal is good for families that have purchased GET credits and the program as a whole,” said Braun. “Students and families will get more value under our proposal and it will mean more affordability for all students trying to pay for college.”
GET is a state-run 529 prepaid college-tuition plan which ‘is guaranteed to keep pace with tuition and state-mandated fees at Washington’s highest priced public university,’ according to the program’s website.
Washington Education Association opposes tuition cuts for students
Senate Bill 5954, known as the Senate majority’s College Affordability Program, moved quickly through the Senate Higher Education Committee this week. The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, received a public hearing Tuesday and was passed by the committee today. It would reduce tuition by as much as 30 percent at state-run research institutions and cap tuition to a percentage of the state’s average income. This would reverse decades of regular, sometimes double-digit tuition increases and ensure a statutory policy that ties any future growth in tuition to wage growth.
Braun noted the Washington Education Association listed itself as being in opposition to the bill but did not follow through with testimony before the committee Tuesday.
“I don’t see one good reason to oppose this piece of legislation,” Braun said. “I think it is concerning that the association representing educators would oppose a bill that would make college affordable for students. I would have loved an opportunity to hear their concerns but the committee did not get that chance.”
Braun, vice chair of the Senate budget committee, was instrumental in advocating for a tuition freeze in the 2013-15 budget. That gave students relief from regular tuition increases for the first time in more than 30 years.
“Skyrocketing tuition has acted like a tax on the middle class. It’s time we prioritize our state’s investment in education,” Braun said. “We face challenges in this budget cycle, but in the context of a $37 billion budget this investment is doable and will have benefits to our state’s economy. I would hope that everyone concerned about education would support a way to make college more affordable and accessible.”
Today Sen. Barbara Bailey, chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee and Sen. John Braun, deputy Senate majority leader, announced a sensible new approach for making college affordable. Senate Bill 5954, the College Affordability Program, would reduce tuition by approximately 30 percent at the University of Washington and Washington State University, the state’s public-research institutions.
By linking resident-undergraduate tuition to a percentage of the state’s average wage, depending on the type of institution, SB 5954 would continue the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus’ effort to keep college within reach of middle-class students and families. Tuition at the state’s public two- and four-year colleges was frozen for 2013-14 and 2014-15 thanks to the MCC’s budget priorities.
“College has become increasingly unaffordable for our students,” said Bailey, R-Oak Harbor. “I have been working to find a way to address the issue of skyrocketing tuition that has acted like a tax on our middle-class families and students. The College Affordability Program is a step in the right direction to begin addressing this issue.”
The College Affordability Program takes a comprehensive approach to the complexity of higher-education funding by making up for lost tuition revenue, making resident students a priority and keeping institutions’ funding levels consistent.
“Higher education is vital to our state’s economic health,” said Braun, R-Centralia. “Without affordable college options we are seeing increased student debt that will have ripple effects throughout the economy. Students are delaying major life events like starting a family or buying a home. This bill makes sense for all students and invests in higher education after years of neglect.”
OLYMPIA… Students will join chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, Sen. Barbara Bailey and Deputy Majority Leader, Sen. John Braun to unveil a new plan for higher education affordability in a news conference Thursday, Feb. 12.
Date: Thursday, Feb. 12 at 12:45 p.m.
Locations: Senate Hearing Room 2, John A. Cherberg Bldg.