SUU must have
legislators’ aid

We used this space Monday to suggest that our readers write their state legislators and implore them to support higher education. Today, we’re taking our own advice.
Here’s an open letter to Sen. Tom Hatch, R-Dist. 28, and Rep. DeMar “Bud” Bowman, R-Dist. 72:
Dear Mr. Hatch and Mr. Bowman,
We’re writing to say thanks and to make a request.
First, the thanks: Thank you for the work you do on behalf of the people of southern Utah and, more specifically, SUU students, faculty and staff. Thank you for investing a portion of yourselves into governing with the aim of satisfying the needs and wants of Utah citizens. We appreciate the sacrifices you make and the time you invest to serve.
Mr. Hatch, we acknowledge your public-education reform bill, which has the foresight to recognize the value of competency-based education. Your bill proposes some $30 million to replace part of what’s been lost in funding our public schools over the past two years.
Although this bill is, in our opinion, excessively vague about where this $30 million should come from, it’s a step in the right direction, and we appreciate it.
Mr. Bowman, thank you for the work you did to get SUU’s proposed teacher education building moved up to No. 5 on the list of 10 state capital development projects currently being considered for funding.
As a member of the Capital Facilities Appropriations Subcommittee, you negotiated on our behalf to the point that we now are in a position to receive funding for the first $9 million of the building’s $15 million price tag.
We’re told, Mr. Hatch, that you, too, were influential in lobbying to fund the teacher education building. Again, thank you for your efforts.
Now, the request: If this sounds a little like, “Thanks a lot, but what have you done for us lately?” . . . well, that’s because it is.
Although we appreciate what you have done in recent weeks, we’re asking you to do more.
Particularly in a tight budget year, when some legislators are whispering ominously about tax increases as if those were dirty words, the temptation is to cast every budget-related vote with an eye on what the folks back home might think.
That’s a great way to get re-elected but a poor way to govern. A vote that might get you re-elected is not necessarily what is best for the people you were elected to serve.
Right now, we believe that what is best for the people you were elected to serve is to take an uncompromising stand in favor of education.
The economic future of the State of Utah depends on a well-educated work force. That’s not the University Journal talking; that comes from the state’s own Employers’ Education Coalition.

  

Unfortunately, at a time when we ought to be investing in education,we’ve been cutting. Now, as the Legislature considers next year’s budget, higher education is rumored to be taking it in the shorts again — to the tune of a 2-percent cut worth about $11 million.
That’s more than one-third of some $30 million in projected budget cuts across the board, and it’s not acceptable.
It’s also a slap in the face to SUU students, who have already agreed through their elected student-body representatives to accept a 23.5-percent tuition increase.
We all took heart Monday with the news that fiscal analysts are projecting $64 million in unexpected new tax revenue this year. Of course, these are just projections, but they signal a welcome rebound in the economy.
We’re asking you, Sen. Hatch, and you, Rep. Bowman, to lead the fight to use part of this revenue to protect higher-education budgets. We’re asking you to use your influence to keep that $11 million from being cut from higher-education spending.
If we’re going to sacrifice by paying 23.5-percent more for tuition, then make our sacrifice mean something. Don’t force our administrators to choose between cutting programs and professors or cutting back on the quality of our education.
Label us naïve, but we’re still young and idealistic enough to believe that you’re supposed to represent the needs of your constituents. We are your constituents, and we need your support.
We hope that we’ll get it. Between now and the end of the legislative session, we’ll be watching which bills you support and how you vote. We ask that you make and keep a pledge to hold higher education harmless in the current legislative session.
The opinion expressed above is the collective perspective of the University Journal editorial board. The editorial board meets every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Room 172 of the Sharwan Smith Center. Visitors are welcome.