Winthrop University and York Technical
College officials say it's too early to tell what effect Gov. Mark
Sanford's proposal to cut higher education funding by $13 million could
have on their institutions.
But a proposal to freeze tuition levels could hurt York Tech in
particular, its president said.
"We're having to spend some additional time to go through and assess
what all of it means," Winthrop spokeswoman Rebecca Masters said of the
proposed cuts. "From what we understand, there's not a draconian cut of
the sort we've had in previous years. However, there's not a restoration
of those funds either."
Sanford wants a $92 million increase in spending on K-12 education to
a total of $1.9 billion. But he wants to reduce college spending by $13
million, including a $10 million cut in state funding for research
university professorships and programs. The state's three research
universities are the University of South Carolina, Clemson and the
Medical University of South Carolina.
Sanford says college spending is out of line with national levels and
that the state has too many colleges. South Carolina spends nearly twice
the national average on colleges while it has the nation's second-lowest
high school graduation rate, Sanford said.
Like Winthrop officials, York Tech leaders are unsure what the cuts
would mean for their school, President Dennis Merrell said. However, he
said, "just as worrisome is the notion that they might attempt to freeze
tuition."
York Tech's tuition has more than doubled over the last four years,
Merrell said. When the economy began its decline, the school's tuition
was about $600 a semester. Now, tuition is about $1,300 per semester.
Those increases haven't helped the college's economic picture as much
as was hoped, he said.
"Clearly, we have not made up all the losses" from state cuts in
recent years, Merrell said.
York Tech's state allocation has gone from $10 million to $7 million
in recent years, he said. Further budget cuts, combined with potential
tuition freezes, "could really have some damaging effects on our ability
to serve students," he said.
"If we hadn't have raised tuition, we would have to close programs
and turn students away," Merrell said. "It clearly creates some anxiety
for us."
Meanwhile, Winthrop officials are concerned that Sanford's budget
proposes salary increases for state employees, but excludes raises for
those in higher education, Masters said.
But with months of budget talks ahead, there's plenty of time for
changes.
"The key thing for everyone to know is that this is the beginning of
a very long process," Masters said.
Jason Foster • 329-4066
jfoster@heraldonline.com
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
