YCT Blasts Yudof's Tuition Dereg Scheme

Young Conservatives of Texas ^ | April 28, 2003 | David Rushing

[anymouse]

YOUNG CONSERVATIVES OF TEXAS

WWW.YCT.ORG

April 28, 2003

For Immediate Release

Contacts: David Rushing, YCT State Chairman (713) 408-3606

Matthew J. Griffing, Executive Director (972) 948-7882

NEWS ADVISORY

YCT Blasts Yudof's Tuition Dereg Scheme Up for Debate on House Floor Tomorrow and Urges Legislators to Resist Pressure from Lobbyists and House Leadership

Austin, TX - Today, the Young Conservatives of Texas (YCT) calls upon the Texas House of Representatives to defeat HB 3015, which the House will be debating tomorrow on the floor. The bill was on the calendar today, but was pushed to tomorrow as a result of lengthy debate on the informed consent for abortion bill.

Tuition deregulation is a scheme devised by UT Chancellor Mark Yudof would divest the Legislature of its authority to set college tuition rates and vest that authority in unelected bodies, effectively eliminating the public from the tuition-setting process. Yudof and other administrators acknowledge that, if this bill passes, tuition would soar to at least several times as much as it is today for middle class students.

YCT State Chairman David Rushing stated, "We are disappointed to see the House considering legislation to strip the public of its only mechanism for influencing tuition rates. We urge all conscientious House members to resist pressure from Yudof, UT 's army of lobbyists and the House leadership and oppose this outrageous piece of legislation. At the same time, we are calling on students, parents, and concerned citizens to immediately contact their legislators to make their views known.”

YCT Executive Director Matthew Griffing stated, “This legislation will be included in YCT’s legislative ratings for this session. We will make sure the public knows the outcome of this issue and how its elected officials voted. We hope responsible members of all political persuasions will vote to protect the public’s voice on a matter that will profoundly impact the finances of millions of Texas families. The question is not whether some increase in tuition is warranted at certain institutions, but whether unelected Regents should have unlimited authority to set tuition without meaningful public input at the same time public universities continue to receive large amounts of public funds.”

Rushing explained, "One of the dirty secrets about tuition deregulation is no one wants it except Mark Yudof and a few key leadership figures in the Legislature. Even Texas A&M and Texas Tech administrators have announced they do not favor tuition deregulation in exchange for less state funding. One conservative Republican gave a passionate speech against tuition deregulation in the House Education Committee but then voted HB 3015 out of committee, leading some to conclude he did so at the behest of the leadership. House Speaker Tom Craddick could be seen attempting to confer with members of the Committee as this vote was being taken."

Rushing continued, "There is a reason why legislators are being pressured to swallow the bitter pill of tuition deregulation; the huge tuition increases on the middle class which will result will be highly unpopular with the public. Tuition deregulation is trumpeted as a cop out for legislators because by abdicating their authority they can then blame tuition increases on the Regents, but this assumes voters are so easily fooled.

Worse, the committee substitute version of HB 3015 further undermines public accountability by implementing deregulation in 2005, which irresponsibly binds a future Legislature and circumvents voters in 2004. To add insult to injury, the bill now on the House floor was stripped in committee of ALL of the introduced version's caps, woefully inadequate as they were, that tuition not exceed three times its current amount and 5% of family income for families who are bureaucratically determined to be needy."

Rushing observed, "The bill that cleared the Senate Education Committee sponsored by Senator Shapiro is far more responsible, as it allows for a substantial but capped increase in tuition to compensate for the decline in state funding while deregulation is studied further in the next interim session. Shapiro and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst have acknowledged that there are not the votes in the Senate for total deregulation, making this the best alternative."

Griffing pointed out, "The proceedings in the Senate so far indicate lack of support for full divestiture of legislative authority over tuition and will hopefully discourage many House members from falling on their political swords for HB 3015 when it is doomed in the Senate. Members should vote on tuition deregulation according to their conscience and their constituents, not based on demands placed on them by power-hungry UT administrators, their legions of lobbyists, or the House leadership."

Rushing explained, "Complete tuition deregulation will result in a Robin Hood-style boondoggle for higher education that will destroy the opportunity for the children of middle class Texans to receive an affordable education at state universities. The University of Texas has announced that, if tuition deregulation is enacted, they will implement an income redistribution scheme in which middle class families making above the state median income of $42,000 will be charged whatever the market will bear to pay for not only the full cost of their children's education, but also free tuition for all children of families below that income threshold."

Rushing noted, "Based on what private universities charge, middle class Texas families could be forced to pay over $20,000 a year in tuition and fees for their children to attend UT-Austin or Texas A&M-College Station if tuition is deregulated. While UT Chancellor Mark Yudof, who is the highest paid college administrator in the nation with a salary of $787,319 plus a state mansion, may be able to afford this, a middle class Texas family making $50,000 a year with several college-age children cannot. Once the Legislature turns over authority to set tuition and fees to the unelected, unaccountable Board of Regents, the sky will be the only limit on what middle class families will be forced to pay."

Rushing added, "As indicated by the fact that every proposition ever on the Texas ballot to fund higher education has passed, Texans overwhelmingly support higher education, but that support will vanish if unelected Regents are allowed to convert higher education from a Social Security-style program in which all families pay in and have the opportunity to benefit into a means-tested welfare program. Such a drastic shift towards socialism would be grossly unfair because all Texans are supporting the state's higher education system through the state sales tax."

Griffing stated, "We urge legislators not to be fooled by the illusion that tuition deregulation is a free market proposal. Public universities would still be receiving hundreds of millions of dollars directly from the state even with deregulation, but they would no longer be accountable. A true free market system would be student-directed funding through higher education vouchers that could be redeemed at public and private colleges, but that is not under consideration. Instead, UT wants to have its cake and eat it too by enjoying public funds without public accountability."

Rushing concluded, "HB 3015 is also unconstitutional because it would gut the Texas Tomorrow Fund, which voters amended to the Texas Constitution. This bill attempts to legislatively amend the Texas Constitution through the back door by allowing universities to withdraw from the Tomorrow Fund at their sole discretion by discontinuing their prepaid tuition contracts."

The Young Conservatives of Texas, a non-partisan conservative youth organization, has been fighting for conservative values for more than two decades in the Lone Star State and publishes the most respected ratings of the Texas Legislature. YCT has chapters at Texas A&M University, West Texas A&M, Baylor University, the University of Texas, Texas Tech, Southern Methodist University, and in the Houston

The Young Conservatives of Texas, a non-partisan conservative youth organization, has been fighting for conservative values for more than two decades in the Lone Star State and publishes the most respected ratings of the Texas Legislature. Our legislative agenda for the 78th Texas Legislature is now available.

YCT has chapters at Texas A&M University, West Texas A&M, Baylor University, the University of Texas, Texas Tech, Southern Methodist University, Hardin-Simmons University, and in the Houston and Washington, DC areas.

[anymouse]

Are we not surprised that UT bureacrats want to disenfrancise the taxpayers and further line their pockets without elected oversight.

Glad we have some bright young conservatives pushing back on this. They could use some FReeper help too.

[anymouse]

Another bad bit of legistlation that needs Texas FReepers' attention.

[MeekOneGOP]

Please let me know if you want ON or OFF my Texas ping list!. . .don't be shy.
No, you don't HAVE to be a Texan to get on this list!

[anymouse]

Thanks.