PASCO, Wash. -- Higher education in Washington state dodged a real financial bullet when the governor signed the recent budget deal from the state legislature.
Operating a school with less money from the state is a tough task. At CBC the result has been reduction in classes and staff in the past.
Not knowing what state lawmakers would decide this year, school administrator Curt Freed says they were prepared, "planning for up to $ 3.5 million dollars to be cut that would mean between now and July, cutting these funds and that's a pretty significant and challenging thing to do."
Currently, CBC gets $16 million from the state. $7 million less than what they got four years ago.
No reductions is good news not just for CBC but also WSU Tri-Cities. Doing more with less is something this school is familiar with. While no classes were cut. No new staff was added and there's more bad news for students this fall.
"Tuition continues to increase, and it has steadily gone up each year of these budget reductions and we're anticipating another tuition increase this coming fall," explains Vicky Carwein, chancellor of WSU Tri-Cities.
Tuition rates will go up 16 percent from $9,886.00 in the 2011-12 school year to $11,468.00 in the fall.
Bad news for students like Shirah Thietje who doesn't qualify for financial aid and gets help from her dad, "both my mother and brother are disabled and so my father has to support them as well, so if cost continue to rise, then I might have to postpone or even drop out of school temporarily as well."
WSU Tri-Cities adds while tuition will increase it's still cheaper than other campuses when living costs and other fees are factored in.
At CBC tuition will also go up by 12 percent from around $1,300 to more than $1,400. Both schools say while they caught a break this time, there's concern over future cuts.
