Acknowledging that too many students are on the edge of being priced out of college, Chancellor Hank Huckaby said Tuesday that the university system is taking a hard look at tuition and fees.
Students are paying about 9 percent more in tuition and fees this year and their costs have skyrocketed in recent years as the University System of Georgia increased charges to replenish some state budget cuts.
Colleges will have to make a strong argument if they want students to pay more in fees, Huckaby said during a joint committee of state lawmakers reviewing the budget plans. There are more than 318,000 students in the University System, and they are paying between $352 and $1,185 a semester in fees, depending on the college. In some cases, fees have increased by more than 40 percent in two years.
"We are going to be very, very sensitive to the consideration of tuition increases," Huckaby said, adding the system told campuses "if you’re going to ask for a fee increase, you gotta make a heck of an argument for it. We’re going to slow that train down."
While there "will probably be some increase" with tuition, the goal is to keep it "to a minimum," said John Brown, vice chancellor for fiscal affairs.
Lawmakers said Huckaby's comments represented a change from that of Erroll Davis, the former chancellor.
Davis often warned lawmakers that tuition would increase. Lawmakers sometimes interrupted him when he spoke. They applauded Huckaby when he was done speaking. Huckaby is a former lawmaker and who started as chancellor in July.
"I walked in your shoes, not for very long, so I got a glimpse of what you deal with," Huckaby said, as the lawmakers laughed.
Sen. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, said he was encouraged by Huckaby's comments.
"He acknowledged that they are aware of the struggles students are facing and the struggles being placed on the HOPE scholarship," said Carter, chairman of the Senate Higher Education Committee.
The House and Senate higher education committees have scheduled a joint meeting for next Wednesday to discuss the popular scholarship. Lawmakers overhauled HOPE last year, reducing payouts to keep the program from running out of money. The scholarship, which has more than 256,000 students drawing benefits, used to cover all tuition at public college and provide some money for fees and books.
But HOPE's financial woes continue. Current high school freshmen should expect HOPE to cover less than half their tuition and fees at University of Georgia and other top-tier schools by the time they enter college, according to projections from the Georgia Student Finance Commission, which administers the scholarship.
Education leaders were the first agency heads to testify during what will be a week's worth of hearing on Gov. Nathan Deal's proposed spending plan for the 2013 fiscal year, which begins July 1. State spending on education accounts for more than half of the proposed $19.2 billion budget.
Ron Jackson, commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia, said the commission is closing smaller campuses to rein in spending. While 14 campuses are candidates, Jackson doubted they would all shut down. So far two campuses outside metro Atlanta have closed and another four or five might, he said. He did not release the names of candidates.
State School Superintendent John Barge promised a big push to have students reading on grade level by third grade. The governor is recommending $1.6 million for reading mentors, and other grant money will be put toward more training for teachers in this area, Barge said.
Some lawmakers questioned some of Deal's recommendations. Why, they asked, would the governor propose a $527,900 cut in funding for the popular school nurse program this year, then recommend a $3.7 million boost for next year?
"It's a very good point. Why would we do that next year at the same time we're cutting more this year?” said Scott Austensen, deputy state school superintendent for finance and business operations.
Deal's spending proposal ends of some the major cuts public schools and colleges have endured the past few years and includes $258 million to support enrollment growth. But his budget doesn't restore the money lost through consecutive years of budget cuts. Local school systems have lost about $1.1 billion in recent years.
During morning budget hearings, state economist Kenneth Heaghney predicted a slow, steady growth. Georgia will not reach the peak general fund revenues last seen in the 2007 fiscal year until the 2015 fiscal year, he said.
Deal described his spending plan as one that maintains conservative budgeting. The plan increases spending by about 5 percent over the current fiscal year, with the majority of the money going to increased school enrollment and higher health costs.
"This is smaller government that is focused on doing the things government is expected to do and to do them well," Deal said.
Staff writer Nancy Badertscher contributed to this report.
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