“When Bruce Rauner was running for
governor in 2014, he vowed he'd boost state spending on higher education while warning
he'd also work with university administrators to reduce spending on overhead.
Since moving to Springfield, Rauner has, euphemistically speaking, worked with
public universities from one end of the state to the other to cut expenditures.
If only he were true to his full promise.
“Higher education in Illinois is
withering. And if the state's schools aren't rescued soon, the damage could be
profound and permanent… Though college isn't for everyone, the best-paying and
most secure jobs are reserved for people with college degrees. If Illinois is
going to thrive in the digital economy, it will need a highly educated
workforce.
“Rauner and the Democratic
do-nothings in the General Assembly, however, seem bound and determined to deny
us that. Their stopgap state budget restored funding for student grants in the
previous academic year but set aside no
money for grants in the fall semester, which is just a few weeks away.
Altogether, the six-month budget gives higher ed $1.6 billion over 18 months.
That's less than the $1.9 billion it received in the 12 months ended June 30.
“It's no wonder that more Illinois
high school graduates are enrolling in out-of-state schools, which can offer
guaranteed aid packages. It's also no wonder that, as Crain's reported Aug. 1, professors
are leaving in droves, even trading tenured positions here for non-tenured
jobs where they won't have to worry about what new cuts will be forced on
public universities on Jan. 1, when the money runs out again. Once we lose our best and
brightest to other states, we may never get them back.”
from Crain’s Budget Mess Sinking Higher Ed in Illinois
Is anyone surprised?
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