Testimony of Brigid Callahan Harrison, Ph.D. before the NJ State Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee

Thank you Chairman Sarlo for the opportunity to address this committee.

I am speaking to you as Chair of the Department of Political Science and Law at Montclair State University. I am a First Generation college graduate who was able to attend Stockton College (now University) working as a bus greeter and then a cocktail server at the Tropicana Hotel Casino in Atlantic City, a feat that would be impossible for today’s college student.

Many of you have probably seen headlines to the effect that this budget increases appropriations to higher education by $10 million. I want to call attention to the fact that while some colleges and universities will see increases across the board, some universities, including Montclair State, Stockton University, Kean and Ramapo and will see decrease in state aid, if the $22 million in legislative add-ons for the FTE floor is not restored the net effect of this cuts hurts your constituents.

If I were to say to any of the legislators on the Budget Committee that a student living in their legislative district would have to pay more tuition to earn a four-year degree because of their race, their ethnicity, or their gender, there would be outrage. But this budget — by eliminating the FTE floor — does just that by discriminating against students based on the college they choose to attend.

These cuts:

• a $10 million cut to Montclair State University – a Hispanic Serving Institution where 30% of the student population is Latino and 13% are Black.
• a $6 million cut to Stockton University, where 60% of attendees are female, and which serves a disproportionate number of First Generation college students and is a key economic driver in southern New Jersey, the poorest area of  the state
• as well as the $4.5 million cuts to Kean and $1.5 million cut to Ramapo will do drastic harm to these institutions and the diverse student  populations they serve.

This is a question of equity and fairness.

I am asking members of the committee to realize that these cuts affect  their constituents who attend these universities and their parents. Should  your constituent be penalized for choosing one in state university over  another?

Because that is what this budget, with its elimination of the add-ons for  the FTE floor does.

While you may not represent Montclair or Stockton or Kean, I can  assure you that students from your district attend these colleges and will  face increased tuition, cuts in programs and services, and increased class  size because of these cuts.

These cuts are also counter to Governor Murphy’s initiative to combat  outmigration of college students. On average, the State of New Jersey  has invested over a quarter of a million dollars educating students in the  K-12 education. And now, when we are so close to realizing their potential as employees who contribute to fiscal health of our state, by  underfunding our colleges and universities, we push them to places like  Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York, where they earn their degrees,  get their first jobs, settle down and contribute to the economic growth of  these states.

The way to stop subsidizing other states is to invest fairly and equitably in our own colleges and universities, making them more competitive and  affordable so that students choose New Jersey.