The staff editorial is the majority opinion of The Murray State News Editorial Board.
Frankfort, budget and governor are buzzwords that we tend to ignore as college students because they highlight issues that we feel are beyond our control and span of involvement.
However, this is the time we should be focusing on where the axe will fall. Gov. Steve Beshear gave the biennial budget address Tuesday, which highlighted the future of education funding, or lack thereof. If his proposal passes through state legislature, Murray State will face a $2.5 million budget cut.
This translates to our tuition rising, yet again, to fill the $1.2 million dollar gap imposed by the new budget.
Beshear, who puts most of his focus on education for grades K-12, has been known to put postsecondary education on the backburner, and we are starting to feel the effects.
This shrinks the pool of financial aid money available, turning away students who can only afford to attend college on Pell Grants and student loans.
One hundred million will be allocated to fulfill state worker pensions, but that still leaves the question of where Murray State and other universities stand in importance to the state.
It is our first reaction to point fingers at the institution itself, blaming the rise in tuition on our president and school government because they are right in front of us.
However, as a state institution, it is fair to say that these decisions were made without a choice. As a public school, Murray State’s financial livelihood relies heavily on state funding, which has shown a sharp decrease.
State support for Murray State is lower today than in 1997 by 30 percent, showcasing a lack of interest in supporting postsecondary education.
Beshear’s proposal could not come at a worse time – think of all the renovations on campus. Hester and Elizabeth were the first in a long line of residential colleges to be renovated. There are also plans to fund construction of a new Breathitt Veterinary Center, which will cost an estimated $32 million to complete.
While these aspirations to expand campus would be beneficial to our veterinary program and residential colleges, they come at a price that is way out of our proposed budget.
This puts the University in a bind, and it will be forced to ration contributions from alumni and a rise in tuition enough to afford these endeavors.
Plans to replace Franklin Residential College are estimated to cost $29 million, which takes up more than half of the $46.8 million to be allocated by the state.
The Bucks for Brains program was another idea proposed by Beshear where we are also sold short. Murray State will see a $10 million split between the smaller schools, a bleak contrast to the $20 million schools like the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville will each receive.
Bucks for Brains is not the only budget incentive that favors the larger state schools. Beshear’s plan also looks to take $2.5 million from a coal severance tax to renovate the University of Kentucky’s Rupp Arena. The severance tax, which is seeing a steady decline, should be used to fund educational buildings before sports arenas. It is obvious what the priorities are of the state government after seeing the colossal funds allocated for things like the KFC?Yum!?Center while Murray State can barely afford a new library.
While we point the fingers at University administrations and show skepticism at proposed budget cuts on campus, we simply do not have much room to move because of our shrinking state funds.
We have little influence on state funding. At the rate we are seeing change, funding for Murray State will continue to decline. What we can do is learn the nature of these budget cuts and realize that it is Beshear who is failing us, and not Murray State.