 "Photo: Kristen Powell")
Georgia universities and colleges gave Gov. Sonny Perdue an inch, and he took a mile.
The ability of the University System of Georgia (USG) to tighten its belt amid massive cuts has only served to embolden Perdue, whose proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year plants a $300 million shortfall on the backs of educators and students.
The USG Board of Regents (BoR) scrambled to release a plan to distribute these cuts across the 35 institutions, but Chancellor Errol B. Davis Jr.’s “Summary of Reductions” clearly shows that there is not much distribution to be had — just decimation.
According to the summary, which was for discussion only and is not definite, AASU could shoulder nearly $5.3 million of the burden.
Cutting degree programs, firing qualified personnel and eliminating continuing education for the community are the decisions the BoR is forced to make, and students know more fees and increased tuition follow close behind.
While stealing this money from education may create funds for some short-term jobs, as any smoker knows, instant gratification is not only expensive, but also fatal.
Let alone the jobs that will be lost with these budget cuts (AASU alone will lose 12 percent of its full-time workforce and 57 other positions will be closed), now Perdue expects Georgians to pay more for a lesser quality education that takes longer to complete.
What a deal.
Many will go somewhere else, especially for graduate degrees, when they begin comparing prices with the quality of schools one can find outside of the state.
College will be an impossible dream for many residents who would like to get ahead.
But it is not all about those people who are too poor to afford college. The long-term effects for the entire state will be disastrous.
When out-of-state students hear how education is valued in Georgia, they will head toward university systems in which knowledge and critical thinking are more important than cigarette taxes.
More importantly, when an uneducated workforce greets visiting CEOs, corporations will take their businesses elsewhere.
The dwindling salaries will mean less of a tax base in the future, which translates into more budget deficits in the future.
At least this time that money troubles have come around, students, faculty, staff and the BoR are united against the same threat. Students have scheduled protests, faculty is writing letters, and everyone is signing the petition.
Perhaps Perdue has pushed the USG too far this time. Our representatives may be able to shoot this one down, if they know enough of their constituents were upset enough to send an e-mail or hold a sign.
If so, it may be possible to keep Georgia competitive for jobs and education, and maybe a great place to raise a family or simply settle down and live.
And if not, the USG and its students cannot afford to repeat the mistakes they made with Perdue. Now that Perdue has taken enough rope, it is too late — it is his last year in office.
Get informed. Get involved. Stand up for not only your education, but your community’s future.
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