Manning stresses need for education
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The challenge for Tennessee is getting there.
Our state, he pointed out, is currently ranked 49th nationwide in the number of college graduates among its population, due in large part to the under funding of higher education.
Manning was in town last week, not for the purpose of discussing the state’s higher education budget, but to tour the local campus of Tennessee Technology Center and receive input from the center’s students, faculty and administration.
But given the state’s current budget crisis, talk of funding was never far from his mind.
“Higher education is the largest discretionary pool of money in the state,” Manning said. “In 1986, higher education was 18 percent of the state budget. This year it is a proposed 13 percent – the largest decrease of major state units.”
He added, “Unless a major new source of revenue is found by the state, higher education is close to tapped out.”
Manning said funding for higher education is of critical importance and likened higher education to a type of infrastructure, saying if we don’t treat it as such it will be much more difficult to get and retain better-paying jobs.
“It’s a public system, but one with public and private benefits,” Manning said. “Privately, the educated and trained person will make more money. Publicly, a well-trained workforce serves to make our state more competitive nationally and globally.”
Should lawmakers not be able to generate more revenue and adopt the Downsizing Ongoing Government Services (DOGS) budget, higher education could lose up to $44 million. If this happens, Manning said, students would face another double digit tuition increase. And this, in turn, will make it increasingly difficult for state residents to better themselves economically in future years.
“Our challenge is to convince Tennesseans their future and their childrens’ future depends on a higher level of skill and education training. And not just their future, but their neighbor’s as well,” he said.