skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Progressives call push to change Constitution "risky," Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks, insurers while building real estate empire; new report compares ways NY can get cleaner air, help disadvantaged communities.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

House Speaker McCarthy aims to pin a shutdown on White House border policies, President Biden joins a Detroit auto workers picket line and the Supreme Court again tells Alabama to redraw Congressional districts for Black voters.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A small fire department in rural Indiana is determined not to fail new moms and babies, the growing election denial movement has caused voting districts to change procedures and autumn promises spectacular scenery along America's rural byways.

Report Shows Deep Cuts to University Funding

play audio
Play

Wednesday, August 23, 2017   

RICHMOND, Ky. - Kentucky has made some of the deepest cuts to state funding for higher education since the recession took hold in 2008, according to a new national report released today.

When adjusted for inflation, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report said, state funding per student in the Bluegrass State is down 26.4 percent, more severe than the national average of 16 percent.

Ian Cruickshank, a sophomore at Eastern Kentucky University, said it's taking a toll on students, including him.

"This past summer, I had to come up with $4,000 just to be able to come back, so I had to work all summer, and I still actually couldn't afford it, so I had to borrow a lot of money from my parents," he said. "And then this upcoming semester, it actually has raised, so instead of paying $4,000, I have to pay $9,000 directly out of my pocket."

According to the national report, 44 states, including Kentucky, are spending less per student than when the recession hit, while tuition has gone up in every state. Adjusted for inflation, it's risen 37 percent in Kentucky, close to the national average.

Ashley Spalding, research and policy associate with the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, said it's "very concerning" that unlike most states, Kentucky is not reinvesting in higher education. According to the report, Kentucky was one of just 13 states that cut funding this past year.

"Investments in education are investments in the economy," she said. "Reduced access to post-seconondary education is especially harmful for low-income students and students of color. This is not the direction that we want to keep going in."

Jordan Taylor, 27, of Paris didn't start college until he was 24. After graduating from community college, he enrolled at EKU this semester. While he relies on federal and state grants, he said, he still has to take out loans.

"I'm hoping to graduate with my bachelor's degree with, like, $18,000 total in loan debt," he said. "How long that's going to take, I'm not sure. It may take the rest of my life, for all I know."

Taylor said the investment will be "worth it" if he can get a good job in his dream field: broadcasting.

The report is online at cbpp.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Conservative legal groups are calling for a constitutional convention as early as 2025. (Kasia Biel/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Progressive groups are speaking out against the idea of a constitutional convention, warning it could be used to impose conservative policies on …


Health and Wellness

play sound

Today is National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and Nevada is one of the 10 states with the highest HIV infection rates. In 2021, more than 11,00…

Environment

play sound

The current Farm Bill expires Sept. 30 and with a looming government shutdown, reauthorization does not appear imminent. Wisconsin farm groups say …


More than thirty states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized low-level cannabis possession offenses, according to The Marijuana Policy Project. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Kentuckians continue to be charged, jailed and fined for cannabis-related offenses at high rates, despite dramatic shifts in public opinion, …

Environment

play sound

Three conservation groups have sued to stop a large logging project near Yellowstone National Park they say threatens endangered species in Montana…

A $27 billion fund managed by the Environmental Protection Agency is designed to help states and local communities construct sustainable green projects to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gases. (Adobe Stock/AI)

Environment

play sound

Elected officials in New York and across the country are urging state and local governments to use new funding available through the Environmental Pro…

Environment

play sound

A new poll found Pennsylvania Republican voters want political candidates to prioritize preserving and growing manufacturing including tariffs in the …

play sound

New polling data showed most Ohio Republican voters say small-town factory jobs are not coming back, and want their elected representatives to …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021