College Considerations
I've had a lot of meetings about University of Alaska this week. We avoided a full fledged fiasco last year, but our problems are far from over.
The 'compact' the governor signed with the University means more and more cuts for higher ed, from diesel mechanics to PhDs in fisheries. The Regents signed it to prevent immediate devastation, and so they're not pushing for adequate funding this year. But a compact between the chief executive and an executive branch agency isn't how the state writes budgets. That's the legislature's job. (I wonder if we can find a professor of politics or history to go over that with them?)
The university is working on creative ways to bring in more funding from outside the general fund. They know they can't jack up tuition to the point where UA isn't accessible to Alaskans. At the same time, the legislature needs to fund a budget that lets the University provide quality education all around our state. That budget discussion should be between us, the governor, and the voters.
Ultimately, this is about Alaska students. We need to make sure they're getting a good education. That's how we build the workforce and the entrepreneurs who will grow our economy into the future.
