WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Mallory Cortez understands her dream of becoming an OB-GYN wont come cheap.
But the 22-year-old Wichita State University freshman wasnt prepared for all the fees, book charges and other expenses that piled up along the way. Between classes, Cortez works as a pharmacy technician and donates her plasma for extra cash, the Kansas City Star reported.
Its a paycheck-to-paycheck life.
I was nervous. I was really worried my future and whole livelihood of my career would be jeopardized by my financial standing, Cortez said of the sticker shock she encountered when she started college last year.
Students and parents have worried about the cost of college for years, but those concerns are being felt strongly right now in Kansas after years of stagnant state funding for higher education. Gov. Laura Kelly wants to increase funding and lawmakers have several ideas for reducing costs, from tax exemptions to scholarship incentives.
Still, students now provide much more funding for Kansas universities than the state does. Its a situation thats unlikely to change anytime soon.
Less than a decade ago, the opposite was true.
Students paid $719 million in university tuition in fiscal year 2017, according to the Kansas Board of Regents. State funding to universities was $569 million.
By contrast, student university tuition was less than $475 million in 2009, while state funding to universities was nearly $675 million that year.
Kelly wants to boost higher education funding by $9 million in her budget. That increase would take Kansas higher education funding back to 2017 levels following a cut that year. Funding is still well below 2009 levels.
Kelly has said the state needs to take a fiscally conservative approach to its budget and has no margin for error if a recession strikes. She is concentrating this year on K-12 school funding, Medicaid expansion and the foster care system.
Kellys plan to restore higher education funding to 2017 levels comes at a time of financial pressure for Kansas universities.
THE UNIVERSITY of Kansas has moved to reduce its spending by $20 million, a cut of about 6 percent. Kansas State University cut $15 million last year. And Wichita State University will ask students to approve a $6-per-credit hour fee hike to fund campus infrastructure a year after the university raised fees $95 per semester to build a new YMCA.
The Kansas Board of Regents governs the states universities. Its president and CEO, Blake Flanders, said Kellys funding proposal will help control the cost of education. Its still well below the $50 million increase that the board is requesting. Lawmakers must approve any funding increase.
