More of the Same, Only Worse:
Christie’s Higher Education Budget

Governor Christie signed a $750 million bond issue for higher education into law in 2012. Combined with the four higher education capital funding programs under which the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority (EFA) issues bonds, a total of $1.3 billion in grants was made available for New Jersey’s public and independent institutions of higher education to construct and equip higher education facilities. Has this purported investment improved your working conditions, made college more affordable or significantly enhanced student services? Most likely not, because the construction these funds are financing will not necessarily go to projects that would benefit faculty, staff or students. Rather, if there are new classrooms built, there is a good chance that they will be packed with ever increasing numbers of students paying ever rising tuition and fees. Furthermore, the faculty will more likely be underpaid adjuncts rather than full-time tenured faculty. In essence, as long as the State fails to systematically increase annual state appropriations to our institutions, the situation will not improve.

So what does the governor have in store for us this budget season? According to his own budget document, “The fiscal 2016 budget provides overall funding for the state’s senior public institutions at the same level as in fiscal 2015. Approximately 2.6% of this total support will shift from direct operating support to fund increases in fringe benefits costs.” However the non-partisan Office of Legislative Services disclosed that direct operating aid for senior public institutions of higher education in FY 2016 will actually drop by $37.9 million or 5.2% below the FY 2015 adjusted appropriation, which is substantially more that the Governor would care to admit.

In plain English, this is a significant cut to our institutions’ base budgets and this is how it breaks down:

Thomas Edison State College	-14.28%
Rowan University	-3.84%
New Jersey City University	-9.43%
Kean University	-7.21%
William Paterson University	-8.40%
Montclair State University	-7.13%
The College of New Jersey	-8.29%
Ramapo College of New Jersey	-9.25%
Stockton University	-11.04%

Council Legislative Representative Sarah Ann Harnick commented, “The State's abandonment of public higher education has become the norm in New Jersey. Gov. Christie's budget is a statement of what is important to him. Obviously, the future of New Jersey's students is not a priority.”

“We're very concerned, because the reduction in this budget proposal would be a significant share of our institutions' direct appropriations, and it would continue a pattern of declining state funding for public higher education," said Paul R. Shelly, spokesman for the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities.

The disguised reduction was too much for even the Southern NJ Chamber of Commerce, which typically takes conservative anti-government positions. At a budget committee hearing, a spokesperson pointed to the detrimental effect these cuts may have on the state’s economy.

Christie’s budget proposal would also cut $1.6 million from the Educational Opportunity Fund, which provides financial assistance and support services to students from educationally and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Council President Tim Haresign is “dismayed, but not surprised by the Governor's continued lack of support for higher education. Particularly egregious this year is the Governor's proposal to cut $1.6 million from the EOF allocation. Investment in the EOF program has a proven track record of providing big dividends in terms of the retention and graduation of economically disadvantaged students. This proposed cut is symptomatic of this administration's failure to support excellent, affordable higher education that is accessible to all.”

According to New Jersey Policy Perspective, a progressive think tank based in Trenton, the situation college students face remains dire. New Jersey is spending 23 percent less per student on higher education than it did in 2008, after adjusting for inflation. These cuts have driven up tuition and student fees. This major disinvestment, which amounts to more than $2,200 per student, continues to keep higher education unaffordable for many New Jersey families, preventing their children from pursuing degrees that would help them boost their earnings as adults. In the long run, limiting access to high-quality primary education and shutting students out of higher education greatly undermines the state's economy.

New Jersey does not have an explicit funding methodology or formula to allocate State appropriations to the senior public institutions. A task force convened by the chairman of the Commission of Higher Education, in accordance with a requirement established under the “Higher Education Restructuring Act of 1994,” issued a report in September 1995. That report included a recommendation that the State fund two-thirds of higher educational operating costs and the students provide the remaining one-third. This recommendation was never adopted. Since that time, the proportion of State funding to funding from tuition and other non-State sources has dramatically shifted to approximately one quarter to three-quarters.

There is the rub. Until the Governor—and the Legislature—makes higher education funding a priority, little will change. The voices of students and concerned higher education labor unions must be heard.