FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Contact: Jessica Tramontana, jessica@progressmichigan.org, (517) 974-6302
Romney, Snyder have clear record of slashing higher education
LANSING – Today Mitt Romney brought his anti-education message to students at Lansing Community College. Romney recently said he thinks students should “shop around” for good tuition loans if they’re worried about paying for higher education. The Romney-Ryan budget plan locks in the doubling of student-loan interest rates, cuts Pell grants, and other education programs that help countless Americans pay for college.
“When it comes to making higher education more expensive for middle class families, Mitt Romney and Rick Snyder are two peas in a pod,” said Zack Pohl, Executive Director of Progress Michigan. “Romney and Snyder both slashed higher education to pay for huge corporate tax giveaways, driving tuition rates even higher. It’s clear Michigan’s middle class students can’t afford Mitt Romney’s anti-education agenda.”
As Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney made record cuts to higher education. According to the Boston Herald, “Romney’s higher education proposal aims to save $150 million per year by wiping out the office of the UMass president, privatizing the flagship Amherst campus, merging several smaller community colleges, and hiking tuitions by at least 15 percent.” [Boston Herald, 3/11/03]
Last year, Snyder cut funding for higher education by 15-percent. Snyder’s own dashboard indicates that tuition and fees as a percent of median family income have increased at Michigan’s community colleges and universities since he took office. According to the Associated Press, “College students this fall will pay more than twice as much in tuition at the state’s 15 public universities as students paid 10 years ago, taking about $5,000 more out of their pockets.” [AP, 6/25/11]
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