Our Voice

As the first month of 2010 comes to a close Georgians have unfortunately been warned that more bad omens may await their wallets. Gov. Sonny Perdue’s proposed budgets earlier this month include steep cuts to many spending areas, including education.

The budget proposals now go to the General Assembly, where lawmakers traditionally use them as a beginning point for their own spending plans.

These cuts, if approved, will further the financial burden on Georgia’s education system. Following a host of cuts to education over the past year, including to colleges and universities, it’s hard to see how it will not be adversely affected.

Perdue said that the cuts had to come from statewide education funds because, by law, educational spending must be at least half of Georgia’s $18.6 billion budget. The total reduction for 2010 is a whopping $1.2 billion in state spending and of this, $147 million is from University System GCSU funding.

Last year, GCSU reacted to budget slashes by following the direction of the University System, which included instituting temporary furlough days. President Dorothy Leland said that this year GCSU will have “to find a different way to cut the budget.”

Budget cuts will call for creative and clever planning, both from the university and its students. Since many students have personal attachments to certain benefits and traditions, some could feel these cuts while others may barely notice them at all.

Some students find it hypocritical that despite the University System cuts, GCSU is still able to continue many expensive building projects, such as the renovation of Herty Hall that began in November, the Campus Theatre restoration that began over a year ago and the beginning of the new wellness center on West Campus. However, funding for these projects is separate from general education funding.

When viewing the current financial situation it’s clear there is not much of a cushion to fall back, at least until the economy gains some strength back on. The Colonnade recognizes how this strain is already affecting many students’ individual finances. We hope that this year will prove to better the current conditions. The lesson we are all learning is how to further each dollar.

Please send responses to
ColonnadeLetters@gcsu.edu.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Jan 29 2010. Filed under Our Voice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry