The following is a post by Michael Cogar, Chairman, College Republican Federation of Virginia
"Democrats love to claim that they are the ones who care about education and that the big bad Republicans are trying to defund the education system and throw kids out on the street. Whether raised by embittered teachers’ unions in New Jersey or Wisconsin, or on the campaign trail of Democratic politicians like Tim Kaine, these claims are made again and again. Yet, their respective records as Governor show that while George Allen froze college tuition levels as Governor of the Commonwealth, Tim Kaine cut college funding by 25 percent.
This is a stark contrast from Virginia’s higher education system under Governor Kaine’s watch. While education in Virginia saw a boost in funding while George Allen was Governor, a 2010 report by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia shows that from budget years 2006 and 2007 to budget years 2010 and 2011, funding for each full-time in-state student in the Commonwealth fell from $8,709 to $6,500- a 25.4 percent drop. In the same period, state funding for community colleges fell by 36 percent. While college costs were reined in by Governor Allen, Governor Kaine saw tuition costs increase by 24.5 percent during his tenure.
Virginia’s students are struggling. Most of them will be graduating with thousands of dollars of student loans, and bleak job prospects due to the economy’s continued struggle. As they go to the ballot box this November, Virginia’s students should bear in mind which of the two former governors running for US Senate stood by them, and which one left them out to dry."
1 comment:
Higher education took a hit under Allen's time. I remember it well as a Virginia Tech professor (all to support prison-building. And, Kaine had to endure the worst recession since the Depression so cuts to higher education were understandable to faculty and staff.
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