On April 1, Gov. Christine Gregoire made many decisions. The decision to veto a bill that allotted $1 million toward childcare facilities at two-year and four-year colleges was among those.
Western has a Child Development Center that watches 56 children of students and faculty.
Though the consequences of the veto does not have a widespread affect for students without children, it does continue a long-term trend of declining financial support for higher education.
Gregoire vetoed a bill that was strongly supported by the Washington Student Lobby.
This is the only student-led lobby group in Washington state, according to the Washington Student Lobby Web site.
Not only would the vetoed bill have provided funding for childcare facilities, but it also would have provided money needed for mental health counselors at state colleges, according to the Washington Student Lobby Web site.
By vetoing this bill, Gregoire has placed a financial burden on students with dependents.
Though students make the choice to have children and they have a responsibility to take care of them, they need to be supported in order to continue their pursuit for higher education.
Single college students have a difficult enough time focusing on classes and work, raising a family can be an additional straining.
As Western’s enrollment increases, the amount of funding Western receives from the state is not increasing proportionally. Because of this, programs across campus can suffer.
Understandably, Western cannot expect every request for funding to be filled by the government, but Western students should reasonably expect to receive substantial support from the state in many areas including childcare.
Students at Western are a large part of the future of Washington. Though our state has a budget deficit, it cannot forget to include financial consideration for colleges and universities.
Every two years the government makes a budget to cover costs for the next two years.
After the first year of the budget, there can be request for funding from areas around the state in a supplemental budget.
Western’s request for childcare funding was attached to the supplemental budget.
When Western does not receive enough money from the state, students have to pick up the deficit through student fees and tuition increases.
Though there cannot be changes made about the outcome of the decisions on the last supplemental budget, Western students can urge the state government to pay attention.
There are not many things that are more important than educating students for the future.
When the budget comes up next year, students can stand up and request more help from the government.
As Western’s enrollment continues to increase, will the government pay attention to the costs associated with the growth?
Will Western be able to keep matching the current resources for future students?
The vetoed bill is more about the larger picture — that funding for high education is lacking.
Western not receiving the money it requested is unfortunately not surprising.
The only thing students can hope for is that their future and their education are held to the highest priority when next year's budget approaches.
The editorial board is comprised of Editor in Chief Jeff Richards, Managing Editor Shana Keen and Opinion Editor Lisa Hust.
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