University students push subcommittee for $755 million
College students from every corner of the state — many of them wearing waterproof ponchos to "Stop the downpour of student debt" — filled a hearing room Tuesday at the Oregon State Capitol to advocate for higher education funding.
Students have been rallying all session long for increased state funding: $755 million for universities and $550 million for community colleges.
Tuesday's hearing was held by the Joint Ways and Means Subcommittee on Education regarding funding appropriation for universities, specifically HB 5024, which distributes money from the general fund to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission.
The commission is a volunteer board of volunteers that advises the governor, legislature and Oregon Education Investment Board on higher education policy. It makes biennial budget recommendations, funding allocations to universities and community colleges and approves new academic programs, according to the commission's website.
The list for witness testimony from students, faculty and alumni filled four registration sheets and most of them wanted essentially the same thing: to restore funding levels for public post-secondary institutions to what they were before the recession.
Written testimony by Oregon Business Groups gave chilling facts about the landscape of Oregon's higher education: the post-secondary system is the only state program area that has not reached pre-recession funding levels. The state ranks 47th in terms of state support for higher education (it spends about 63 percent of the national average). State funding decreased by about 38 percent between 2007 and 2014. During that same period tuition and fees at public universities increased by 41 percent.
Ariah Suek, a student at Oregon State University and a member of the Oregon Student Association, spoke to a reality that many students at state school face:
"There have been many times that I've worked three or four jobs a term," Suek said. "It leaves an individual exhausted, and often school suffers."
Torii Uyehara, a student at Southern Oregon University and also a member of the association, and many others, called on the committee members to remember her story and take action.
"I have seen first hand the negative impacts of the states disinvestments in higher education," Uyehara said. "The promise of opportunity that a college degree is supposed to represent will be put on hold until I can gain financial stability."
Jeff Dense, professor of political science at Eastern Oregon University and president of the Interinstitutional Faculty Senate, chose to highlight three top concerns in his testimony.
"Textbook affordability, Interinstitutional collaboration and academic quality," Dense said. "No student should have to make a choice between buying a textbook and eating."
After the committee heard from only a portion of the witnesses who registered to speak, Sen. Rod Monroe, D-Portland, shared the process by which funding occurs in the legislature.
"I've been an educator for 50 years. I'd love to give you the $755 million," Monroe said. "We're about the third tier in the decision-making process."
Above the subcommittee are two co-chairs, and above those co-chairs are presiding officers of the House of Representatives and the Senate, House Speaker Tina Kotek, D-Portland, and Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem.
"They work on these budgets all along and decide how much total money there is and how much total can be spent on education," Monroe said.
Among other education investments to consider are early childhood education and K-12 (which was approved last week at $7.26 billion.)
"There's not enough money. They didn't give us a printing press when they gave us this job," Monroe said. "It's a very difficult job. This panel is made up of people that are passionate about education."
jdewitt@StatesmanJournal.com, (503) 399-6714 or follow on Twitter.com @Joce_Johnson1
HB 5024
The bill is scheduled for another hearing before the Joint Subcommittee on Education on Wednesday and Thursday at 8:30 a.m.