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State Representative Kim Norton
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-9249
For more information contact: Charlie Vander Aarde 651-297-8406
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ROCHESTER HIT HARD BY HIGHER EDUCATION CUTS - LARGEST EVER CUTS TO HIGHER ED FUNDING
(ST. PAUL) – State Representative Kim Norton (DFL-Rochester) responded to passage of the omnibus higher education bill today. The bill makes reductions of $201 million to the MnSCU system, a 15.9% cut, and reductions of $227 million to the University of Minnesota, a 17.7% cut.
“This bill hurts Rochester and it hurts Minnesota," explained Rep. Norton. “Funding for higher education will be below 1998 levels,” said Norton. “This is a job killing bill.”
Reduction in the state appropriation coupled with tuition caps create a revenue gap for MnSCU schools statewide. Norton is concerned the state will not be able to recover from these cuts.
“RCTC will face a gap of over $6 million under this proposal. The result will be higher tuition and cuts to programs, course offerings and staff layoffs,” says Norton.
Tuition will be capped at a 2% increase at MnSCU colleges and 4% at MnSCU universities. Both WSU and RCTC will be impacted by these limits. The University of Minnesota-Rochester would have a 5% limit imposed.
“We are pricing our children and families out of the higher education system,” said Norton. “We must look at responsible ways to slow the steep growth of tuition. Reducing state support for higher education on top of tuition caps will lower the quality of education students will receive.”
“We must maintain and grow the U of M Rochester campus, our WSU presence, and RCTC,” explained Norton. “These schools are key to our region’s future. No quality higher education system can properly prepare our future workforce under this proposal.”
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News Items
- Rep. Norton Selected as Vice Chair of House Health and Human Services Finance Committee - (Posted: 2012-12-14 00:00:00)
- It’s Time for Legislature to Get Back to Basics, Balance the Budget Honestly - (Posted: 2012-12-11 00:00:00)
- Second Saturday Coffee Meeting Date Changed to December 9 - (Posted: 2012-12-03 00:00:00)
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