Friday News Roundup: Week of June 11-15

University of Alabama System poised to raise tuition

Georgia’s zero-based budgeting program to focus on education

North Carolina Senate budget plan spends less on K-12 than House proposal

Louisiana colleges poised to raise tuition

University of Alabama System poised to raise tuition
The Finance Committee of the University of Alabama System Trustees this week issued its tuition recommendations for the 2012-13 school year. Under its proposal, in-state students would pay between 7 and 8.6 percent more in tuition and fees this coming fall than they did in the 2011-12 school year, the fifth consecutive year in which the system raised tuition and fees for students. System officials say that legislative cuts have necessitated the tuition hikes. Tuition would increase by 7 percent to total $4,600 per semester at the University of Alabama; 8.5 percent, bring tuition and fees to $4,200 per semester, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham; and 8.6 percent, making tuition and fees $4,397 per semester, at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. Though the Finance Committee has already approved the tuition hikes, the full board still needs to approve the measure. More here…

Georgia’s zero-based budgeting program to focus on education
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal recently signed a law shifting the state to “zero-based budgeting.” Zero-based budgeting will require legislators to carefully study spending for all programs and budget from scratch. Typically, legislators only closely examine programs identified for spending cuts or increases. Supporters hope the new budgeting process will reveal and eliminate waste in government spending. Though the bill only required legislators to scrutinize 10 percent of state programs in fiscal year 2013, they will be required to examine 25 education programs in 2014, including nutrition programs, Regional Education Service Agencies, and agricultural education. The state’s school funding formula is exempt from zero-based budgeting next year because a separate commission, appointed two years ago to review the formula and make recommendations to the legislature, is slated to offer its recommendation before the 2013 legislative session begins. More here…

North Carolina Senate budget plan spends less on K-12 than House proposal
The North Carolina state Senate’s fiscal year 2013 budget proposal would spend $127 million less than the House proposal and allocate less funding to education. The Senate proposal spends less on education than the House budget largely because it does not include one-time funds where the House did. Whereas the House proposal provides school districts with $259 million to fill a funding shortfall created by the loss of federal stimulus dollars a few months from now, the Senate budget does not. The Senate bill also spends less on community colleges, though it would spend more than the House on state universities. Governor Bev Perdue issued a statement denouncing the Senate budget because it declines to include her – or any – proposed new revenue sources; she had previously proposed either a three-quarter cent sales tax increase or a tax on video sweepstakes. More here…

Louisiana colleges poised to raise tuition
The Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges Board of Supervisors voted this week to approve a 10 percent tuition increase across its 16 campuses for the 2012-13 school year. Louisiana’s schools have collectively seen $360 million in budget cuts over the past four years, and the Community and Technical Colleges system will likely see a $21 million decrease in state funding from the current 2012 levels in fiscal year 2013. But schools will not be eligible for the approved 10 percent tuition hike – or any increase – unless they can meet the benchmarks set forth in the state’s 2010 GRAD Act. The GRAD Act requires colleges to meet 52 targets, including improved graduation and retention rates, before they can increase tuition by up to 10 percent. The Board of Regents will issue a ruling on whether schools are eligible to raise tuition later this month for all schools. More here…