As much as $1 billion in education funding could be wiped out in the coming months as the Legislature strains to rebalance the state budget to correct what is commonly referred to as a $2 billion problem.
That’s the message Rep. Larry Seaquist, chairman of the House Higher Education Committee, delivered to kick off today’s meeting at Seattle University. It’s the committee’s third of its four-stop Chautauqua Series highlighting key educational attainment objectives in the face of historic budget cuts. The Chautauqua Series continues tomorrow in Mount Vernon.
Today’s focus has centered on getting students through the pipeline to graduation. The upshot of what’s been presented is that the state’s four-year public baccalaureate sector is at the very top or among the top five among all states in getting students through the system most efficiently by just about any measure. But the state is among the worst when it comes to participation rates.
In other words, once students get in the pipeline, they are able to navigate it better than counterparts in just about any other state. But not enough of them get into the pipeline in the first place.