The plan won support from Gov. Tim Pawlenty. DFLers also have ideas to provide some kind of relief from soaring college costs, making legislative action appear likely.
December 29, 2006
StarTribune
Pat Doyle
With a growing bipartisan chorus calling for college tuition relief, the new House Republican leader on Thursday proposed a one-year tuition freeze at Minnesota colleges and universities, and the idea picked up support from Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
"Our plan will help the average student catch up to the skyrocketing costs ... encountered in earning a college degree," said Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall.
The DFL majority in the Legislature also supports tuition relief but members labeled the Republican plan inadequate in scope and details. While Seifert said a tuition freeze could be financed in large part through cuts in school spending, a leading Democrat said increasing the state's appropriations to colleges and universities is a better option.
"A one-year fix is all well and good, but students go to college for at least four years," said Rep. Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, the incoming majority leader, who dubbed the House Republican proposal "a one-time gimmick."
But the proposal is another sign that some kind of tuition help is likely to be a priority in the legislative session that starts next week.
Tuition has risen by nearly 50 percent since 2002 at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, after adjusting for inflation, according to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.
It rose about 40 percent at four-year schools in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system (MnSCU).
High tuition became a key issue in the legislative campaigns leading up to the November election, and Sertich attributed some of the gains by DFLers to their support for relief.
Posted by john5091 at December 29, 2006 09:29 AM