By State Rep. Randy Terrill
In "‘Bully' pulpit gone wrong” (Opinion, Dec. 16), state Sen. Mike Morgan accused me of "bullying” an unelected, largely unaccountable bureaucracy.
Heaven forbid.
I don't know about Sen. Morgan, but I was elected to represent my constituents, the working families of Oklahoma, not a bureaucracy that sees the state treasury as its own private stash of "mad money.”
I believe it may be time for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, who oversee the state's college system, to undergo an independent performance audit. For some reason, Sen. Morgan finds that extremely upsetting.
My concern is that the regents now have a budget exceeding $1 billion and have also been given a half-billion-dollar bonding authority, yet they continue to request budget increases greater than $100 million every single year while simultaneously subjecting students to massive tuition and fee increases.
Worse yet, the regents have become increasingly belligerent and nonresponsive, frequently thumbing their noses at much-needed reforms.
For example, the regents actually argue that taxpayer-funded scholarships should be diverted from Oklahoma citizens to illegal aliens. Then, apparently to make life tougher for Oklahoma's working families, the regents support diverting the remaining scholarship money for poor students to wealthy families who earn more than $100,000 per year.
They also oppose requiring students to maintain the same grade point average in college — a mere 2.5 — that they must maintain in high school to qualify for the scholarship.
The regents' biggest moral failing is their approval of never-ending tuition and fee increases. Compared with 2003, the year before the regents were given tuition-setting authority, they have increased tuition and fees by more than 50 percent.
That may be one reason why they weren't particularly fond of a new law allowing freshmen to lock in tuition rates for four years.
Those dramatic tuition hikes have come in spite of record state appropriations for our college system.
Thanks to the regents, higher education is becoming increasingly unaffordable to the average Oklahoman — most of whom are not independently wealthy — and it's becoming very difficult, if not impossible, for families to save or invest enough money to cover the cost. Tuition and fees have grown faster than savings can grow even in most official state college savings programs.
As a result of the regents' self-serving policies, Oklahoma students are forced to forgo a college education or assume massive debt to pay for a degree.
Upon graduation, many students are forced to leave the state to obtain jobs that will pay enough to cover their living expenses and debt payments. If the regents want to understand the reason for Oklahoma's "brain drain,” then perhaps they need to look in the mirror.
Sen. Morgan shouldn't confuse demands for accountability and performance with "bullying.” The taxpayers of Oklahoma shouldn't keep writing blank checks to the regents.
An increasing number of legislators feel the tail has been wagging the dog for way too long. The regents need to be held accountable. I believe an independent performance audit just might do the trick.
Terrill, R-Moore, represents District 53 in the Oklahoma House and is chairman of the House Revenue and Taxation Subcommittee.
http://newsok.com/article/3183806
No comments:
Post a Comment