Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said Ohio is facing a $1 billion budget shortfall. So, local college administrators are looking to Washington, D.C., for extra grant money to keep doors open and to keep tuition low.
Kenneth Yowell, president of Edison Community College in Piqua, is was in Washington, D.C., recently and asked Congress to offer more and larger Pell grants.
The grants are paid for with federal money and given to low-income students who hare having trouble paying their tuition.
Yowell said Congress must intervene because there is not enough help available from the financially strapped state government in Columbus.
He said, “Higher education has not been fully supported by our leadership.”
MacFarlane said that Ohio community colleges say Ohio is already losing prospective students. Because of the state budget problems, they said one credit hour at a school like Edison costs $115. In other states like New Mexico, one credit hour is $37.
Congress is considering other help for financially strapped students. It has debated legislation to lower the interest rate on student loans, which students spend years paying off after graduation.
Rep. Jim Jordan of Lima said Pell grants are more effective.
Jordan said, “The student loan focused on after the fact, after students have already gotten the education. We want to focus on the front.”
President George W. Bush recently raised the maximum Pell grants from $4,000 to $4,300. Congressional leaders, including presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said the maximum needs to be bumped higher.
In a statement released from the governor's office, Strickland said he is concerned about the rising costs of higher education in Ohio and he will work to dramatically increase the number of students in Ohio's colleges and universities by broadening access and ensuring that those who attend succeed and graduate with a degree that counts. The budget environment is very challenging and will require some difficult choices, but the Governor is committed to investing in those things that matter most to Ohioans.