Some Arizona lawmakers want the state to cover more of the costs of higher education for high school graduates. The plea comes after years of cuts to higher ed.
Members of the Senate Committee on Higher Education and Workforce Development want to put an extra $102 million into universities for the upcoming school year. That figure would increase over the next couple of years. Republican J.D. Mesnard says he support the measure, but, "My vote here today does not mean I support taking more from our taxpayers. I want to be very clear about that. I don't want this to be used as a, well, then, whatever it takes to pay for this. I would re-prioritize within the existing pie," he said.
The panel hopes to return the state’s portion of funding to 50 percent of the cost of educating young Arizonans. The Board of Regents says state support is just 34 percent.