Trib: Higher tuition today & forever

In his editorial this morning, Marty Trillhaase of the Lewiston Tribune comments:

Look out, Idaho college students. Here comes another round of tuition increases. For that, you can thank the Legislature’s budget-writing committee. Monday, the panel:

• Approved an 8 percent overall boost, bringing spending on Idaho’s four-year schools to $279.5 million. As generous as that sounds, it still falls short of the $285.2 million higher education was allotted before the Great Recession decimated its budget. To compensate for the lost money, colleges and universities squeezed students. A decade ago, the University of Idaho set its tuition and fees at $4,200 a year. That’s now up to $7,020. In that same time, the burden has shifted. A decade ago, taxpayers covered about two-thirds of the cost of instruction with students paying the rest. Today, it’s virtually 50-50.
• Rejected two modest attempts to hold the line on future tuition increases. This was nowhere near the dramatic turn their Republican counterparts in Olympia agreed to implement last year by dramatically boosting state support while cutting back tuition. More here.

Question: Do you have a college son or daughter attending an Idaho college?