Assemblywoman Addie Jenne Russell called out SUNY leaders for their request to independently increase tuition at state schools. The SUNY Board of Trustees recently met and formulated a plan to ask the state Legislature and governor for the authority to increase SUNY tuition without lawmakers’ consent (1).
“SUNY leaders must be living in a dream world if they think we’re going to allow them to raise tuition as much as they want, whenever they want when New York students are already saddled with crushing student loan debt,” said Russell. “When it comes to tuition, there needs to be stringent oversight, and there’s no way we’re going to let an appointed, unaccountable group of Albany bureaucrats decide our kids’ futures.”
Russell voted to freeze tuition at SUNY schools for the 2016-17 school year as part of this year’s state budget, noting that every New Yorker deserves to receive an affordable college education.
“I fought hard to freeze SUNY tuition this year,” said Russell. “And I’ll fight tooth and nail against removing legislators from the process. It will never happen.”
Rising tuition and ever-increasing student loan debt are strangling far too many students and working families, noted Russell. A recent report by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that student loan debt has risen from $39 billion to $82 billion in New York State over the past decade, averaging $32,200 last year. The report also indicated that New Yorkers’ student loans outpaced the national average (2). With more and more students being forced to take out loans to pay for their college education, they’re also being forced to wait longer to make important purchases, like buying their first home.
“Crushing student loan debt is bad for our kids and it’s bad for our economy,” said Russell. “Higher tuition is not the answer. We’ve got to look for better, practical solutions to help more folks achieve the dream of a college degree so they can compete – and succeed – in a complex, modern economy.”
Russell noted that the River District she represents includes SUNY campuses at Canton and Potsdam.
“Unchecked, increasing tuition will hurt our local economy too,” said Russell. “I’ll always do what’s right for our students and the North Country.”
(1) lohud.com/story/news/politics/politics-on-the-hudson/2016/11/02/suny-seeks-autonomy-tuition-hikes/93189756
(2) scribd.com/document/324668358/Student-Loan-Debt
