Spring Break
Legislative committee hears testimony on co-chairs' budget in meeting hosted at Cheldelin Middle School
ASOSU President and staff were unable to testify, will travel to Eugene for another hearing
Nick Ngo
Issue date: 4/11/07 Section: News
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Amid the crowd was ASOSU President Mike Olson, accompanied by other ASOSU staff, OSU students and faculty waiting to come and testify for funding higher education.
However, as the hearing carried through the night and many came up to testify for other issues and topics, Olson was not able to testify by the time the meeting was over.
Even though Olson didn't testify, there were other representatives from OSU who were able to give their opinions.
Kevin Ahern, biochemistry and biophysics senior instructor, was able to make it up to the table. Ahern said the state needs to pass Senate Bill 5515 for funding higher education. He talked about the success students are achieving in the biochemistry and biophysics program, voicing concern over what detriments budget cuts might have on the program.
Earlier in the year, co-chairs Sen. Kurt Schrader, D-Canby, and Rep. Mary Nolan, D-Portland, from the Joint Ways and Means Committee shaved off money from the governor's proposed budget for higher education. Within the governor's proposed budget, OSU was asking for $874.6 million. When the proposal reached the committee's table, the committee decided to take off $34.6 million.
Olson said the amount of money taken away would affect class sizes and faculty salaries.
"You really have diminishing returns on your education and the ability to receive a quality education," Olson said. "It's just impossible for them to keep trying to reduce tuition and implement systems such as the Shared Responsibility Model. It doesn't maintain that quality of service and quality of higher education we all hope to receive."
Along with a budget for higher education was the Capital Budget, which affects things like maintenance on campus. The governor proposed a budget of $324.8 million, while Joint Ways and Means proposed a budget of $271.8 million less at $53 million.
"That has huge implications on the quality of our buildings and structures," Olson said.
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