Along with the five percent cut to the higher education budget passed during the legislative special session, New Mexico lawmakers also took $5 million out of the $6 million in the College Affordability Fund, according to Bill Jordan, government relations officer With New Mexico Voices for Children.
“New Mexico is broke and couldn't pay the overdue bills from last year,” Jordan said. “They weren't able to balance the budget this year so they had two options: they could have raised new revenue (and) new taxes or they could cut the current budget.”
The legislature was left with having to balance the budget with current programs, and one of the programs to suffer a cut was the College Affordability Fund — as well as higher education.
“House Republicans reportedly will change that bill to take out cuts to parts of the Children, Youth and Families Department while deepening cuts to higher education,” according to the New Mexico Political Report.
Jordan said these cuts were not the first made to the higher education budget and, due to previous cuts, were especially hard on the higher education budget.
“They took over five percent from colleges and universities, and that was after they cut 20 million dollars last spring from higher education. Now they cut another five-and-a-half percent in the special session a few weeks ago,” he said.
Jordan said the fund used to have $100 million in it, money that was being used to help low-income students make it through college.
Over the last couple of years the fund has had money repeatedly taken out of it, dropping its value which, after the $5 million budget cut, stands at just $1 million today.
Jordan said, generally, the University uses about $2 million a year, so the latest cut puts them — and the students who may rely on it — in a bind.
“I don't know what they're going to do next year because the money is gone,” he said. “There is only a million left, and you need a couple of million a year to sustain programs, so I'm not sure where that leaves it.”
Jordan said, as for impact on the students, access to the funds will be limited, which will make it harder for struggling students to afford college.
The cut to the College Affordability Fund, combined with the 30 percent cut to higher education over the last six years, has led to increases of more than 45 percent to tuition and fees, he said.
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“The real story is that they have wanted to cut taxes for big corporations, and they found money for those big tax cuts — one of the ways they found the money was to cut higher education,” Jordan said.
Kenneth Frederick, a senior biology and biochemistry double-major, said the cuts were unfortunate because New Mexico lacks resources that many other states still have.
“Education is very important for the future,” he said. “If you're going to college, students are looking for opportunity and trying to better themselves. When you take away those resources it makes it a lot harder for us,” he said.
Sebastian Fierro, a junior chemical engineering major, said that, while he is fortunate to have scholarships and other resources that can help pay for his own tuition, he understands that many other students are not as lucky when it comes to financial aid.
“I wouldn't say it's a very great compromise,” he said. “Some states just have to do what they have to do, but it’s still really sad to hear a lot of students won't be getting the benefits that they're used to. Who knows, some might have to drop out and not be able to focus on their careers anymore.”
Jordan said within the work he does, he believes the solution for students in terms of the cuts to higher education and the college affordability fund is to get out and vote. The issue of college affordability — and the possibility of attending college without having to pay tuition — was a big part of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ platform when he was running for president earlier this year, for example.
“One of the reasons why I think that issue is in the center is because so many students end their college career with a lot of debt,” he said, adding that default loan rates for many students stand at 20 percent.
Jordan said this rate is the highest in the nation, and the response the state had to the extraordinary numbers was to cut higher education further and to take money from the college affordability fund, which he thinks this is the wrong solution.
Students should ask the candidates if they are going to prioritize higher education funding and stop shifting the burden on to students, he said.
Jordan said by being involved in the political process, students can ensure that the issue of college affordability is one that is being discussed with politicians, and that they are being fair in those discussions.
“(Are) our legislators and the governor willing to balance the budget by collecting enough taxes,” Jordan asked, “or are they going to continue to cut taxes for big out-of-state corporations and shift the cost of state government on to students?”
“Are they willing to raise taxes in other places in order to pay the bills in order to pay the state's bills in order to balance the budget or are they going to continue to balance the budget on the backs of college students? That's the real question,” Jordan said, “(Are) our legislators and the governor willing to balance the budget by collecting enough taxes or are they going to continue to cut taxes for big out-of-state corporations and shift the cost of state government on to students?”
Nichole Harwood is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Nolidoli1.
