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Associated Students of Montana State University-Northern Sen. Riley Mortenson, from left, and Vice President Christopher Brekke talk to Northern student Sterling Grimes about the likelihood of legislative budget cuts forcing college tuition increases. The senate participated in a statewide effort to hold rallies at Montana's university campuses about the proposed cuts.
A group of Montana State University-Northern students gathered Tuesday at noon by the Student Union Building to express concern and inform other students about $11.8 million in proposed budget cuts that may increase student tuition.
"The main thing we're trying to do today here at Northern is get the word out to all of our students and everybody and make them realize what this affect can have on them," Northern student president Collin Miller said during the gathering. "I've been at meetings with our local faculty and staff. The word is out that it could possibly be about $1,000 extra a year in tuition increases if we don't get anymore funding."
Before the group started handing out information, Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education Chair Paul Tuss spoke to the students, emphasizing the importance of the Montana university system. He touched on the supposed brain drain that happens in Montana.
Eighty percent of students educated in Montana stay in Montana, he said.
"Montana students educated in Montana educational system, by and large gets jobs in Montana," he said.
Student governments across the state Monday coordinated rallies about the proposed cuts. The students are asking legislators to fully restore the funding for the Montana University System in the 2018-2019 biennium, including all state-sponsored scholarship programs, a news release for the event says.
The release says budget cuts, or even flat funding for the state university system, could mean program cuts along with tuition increases.
"This will lead to longer ties to graduation, dropping out, or transferring for the many Montana students who are trying to balance tuition costs, work and school, and would freeze many low- and middle-income Montanans out of their public colleges and universities," the release says.
Meagan Wilkinson of Whitefish, a junior studying elementary education at Northern, was stopping students walking by to tell them about the budget cuts.
"Say no to budget cuts," she would say before giving the passerby an informative flyer.
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