COVID has derailed college dreams. Lawmakers must protect our economic future | Editorial
COVID-19 has caused deaths, destroyed livelihoods, slowed student learning and stunted personal growth.
And unfortunately, it’s a safe bet that the harm caused by the pandemic will ripple for years to come.
That’s why it is so important for Washington state lawmakers to think longer term and protect the budgets of our colleges, technical schools and four-year universities.
In order to recover from this traumatic time, we need an educated society. If we want to strengthen our economy, we need a workforce that has the credentials for careers in the future.
If we want to close the gap between the poor and the rich, restricting higher education opportunities is the worst mistake public officials could make.
Colleges and technical schools are the great equalizers.
But higher education leaders around the state are worried that with pressure to funnel money toward short-term needs, the budget for the state’s colleges and universities could be targeted for devastating cuts by the Legislature.
The Tri-City Herald Editorial Board met recently with Columbia Basin College President Rebekah Woods, WSU Tri-Cities Chancellor Sandra Haynes and Andrew Sund, president of Heritage University, based in Toppenish.
They are deeply concerned about students who have dropped out of college classes because of the pandemic.
Some students lost jobs and couldn’t afford tuition. Some students are staying home to help children with their online school work and don’t have time for school themselves.
And others do not have the tools at home to navigate online learning, or they can’t find a quiet place to concentrate in a house full of family.
Whatever the reason, it’s a shame that people who were trying to better themselves by furthering their education have had to delay their goals because of COVID-19.
WSU-Tri-Cities lost 100 students from the year before, while enrollment at CBC was down 8 percent — or 476 at the start of fall quarter.
Most alarming of all, though, is that enrollment in the ESL program at CBC dropped 60 percent — or 164 full-time students.
That’s truly a concerning loss. ESL programs help students learn English, which is a critical step for people trying to immerse themselves into the community and improve their circumstances.
“We know that it is our students, communities of color, low-income families that have been hit hardest by the pandemic,” Woods told the editorial board. “Any reductions that would be made to educational pathways that exist for our students after high school is only going to exacerbate the inequity that already exists.”
In the aftermath of the 2008 state recession, Washington state’s higher education budget was gutted by legislators. There was no choice but to shift the burden to students, causing tuition rates to jump to levels that had not been seen before.
Since then, state officials have expanded state grant and scholarship programs for lower income students in order to help alleviate the financial burden of going to college.
But Woods, Haynes and Sund fear the progress that has been made over the last several years could be lost if state lawmakers don’t continue to make funding and financial aid a priority.
Washington lawmakers are required by the state constitution to amply fund K-12 basic education, so most of the state operating budget ends up covering public schools. Providing matching money for federal programs is also a requirement.
But higher education budgets are considered discretionary, so they are a tempting place to raid if lawmakers are looking to make cuts.
Already, the governor’s proposed budget slashes millions from the state’s two-year colleges and four-year universities with furloughs, salary freezes and other reductions.
Such cuts could have a damaging ripple effect that state officials would regret later.
The Washington Roundtable, a nonprofit economic policy group, has been working with industry leaders to ensure that our own high school students will be prepared for jobs offered in our own state.
But according to its latest report, just 41% of Washington’s high school class of 2017 is expected to earn a college degree or other credential by age 26.
That’s not good enough. The state goal is 70% and we are a long way from reaching that.
COVID has derailed college dreams for thousands of people in our state, and it’s sad and distressing. Lawmakers must protect higher education budgets to make sure those dreams are not dashed permanently, and that the future economic strength of our state isn’t damaged by shortsightedness.
This story was originally published February 12, 2021 at 12:22 PM.