News you can use
News you can use
Living costs, textbooks, tuition — these things all add up quickly as college students who are looking to build a strong future for ourselves so that we can contribute back to the Montana we love.
At a time when we are already dealing with recent increases to our tuition costs, proposed state budget cuts will not only pinch our pocketbooks even further but also could prevent opportunities for students like us to receive a higher education.
If the Legislature is not willing to work with Gov. Bullock to find a more responsible path to balance our state’s budget, our colleges, universities and campuses where students thrive will be at risk of providing the valuable education that benefits our state’s future.
Additional tuition increases and a reduction in the amount of financial aid available, jeopardized federal grant dollars to support career and technical assistance, and cuts in programs we rely on to get the best education possible could all be on the chopping block.
We want to get a good education so that we can ultimately get good-paying jobs and fulfilling careers here in Montana. But we cannot do so if the state’s budget is balanced on our backs.
We urge legislators not only to carefully consider more revenues — ones that are fair and thoughtful — but also to consider what is at stake and look to the future. In order to continue growing a strong economy, you need an educated future workforce. And we are that educated future workforce.
So raise revenues, not tuition. And remember that all future students in Montana are depending on you to make the right decisions to move our state forward, not backward.
This letter was submitted by Montana State University students
Madison Minter
Hannah Bott
Ann Rupert
Taylor Blossom, ASMSU Senator
Anne Lynam
Margaret Davies
Haley Cox
Alex Lei, ASMSU Senator
Drew Deskin
Claire Lewinski
Micah McFeely, ASMSU Vice President
Connor Hoffmann
Gerrit Egnew
Christopher Guenther
Mayah VandeWetering
Lauren Winter
Hannah Telling
Reader Comments(0)