Despite disagreements over how exactly Measure 91 will affect Oregonians if it passes in the Nov. 7 election, people on both sides of the measure seem to agree on at least one aspect: It would affect higher education — more or less, depending on who you ask.
Measure 91 proposes an amendment to the state’s constitution that would remove the limit on the amount of federal taxes that individual income taxpayers can deduct in computing taxable income.
Proponents of the measure say its passage would make little difference to Oregon students, but opponents warn that less general tax funds would result in less funding for education and affect every student — from kindergarten through college — in the state.”Unquestionably the initiative, if it was approved, would make our universities less affordable and less accessible,” said Oregon University System Spokesman Bob Bruce.
As a state employee, Bruce can neither endorse nor oppose a measure, but he said the budget cuts that would result from the measure’s passage would surely impact students at a time when demand of higher education is on the rise.
But Becky Miller, executive assistant to Bill Sizemore, said many of the concerns being raised about Measure 91 stem from misinformation. She said students should not feel any impact on their higher education as far as existing programs go, if the measure passes.
“They shouldn’t experience any difference at all,” Miller said. ‘”There isn’t going to be any kind of cut in current spending.”
For the first year however, she said there would be no funding for expanding programs.
Bruce said with more students choosing to pursue a higher education, expansion is exactly what the OUS needs to keep accommodating rising numbers and interests of students.
ASUO student body president Jay Breslow said his position prevents him from voicing an opinion about the measure, but he did say he has no doubts that receiving millions of dollars less in general funding will affect students at the University and elsewhere in the state.
“Every single student pays tuition, so if there’s a tuition hike, it’ll affect every student,” he said.
Breslow is not alone with his impression that students would be affected by the passage of the measure. Mary Jubitz, chairwoman of the University Alumni Association’s advocacy committee, said if the budget cuts that are likely to result from the measure were to be spread evenly, higher education would lose an estimated $54 million next year.
Jubitz said the measure would reverse recent legislative efforts to make education more affordable to in-state students and might lead the state’s smartest high school graduates to earn their degrees elsewhere.
“If we can’t keep young people within the state, the best and the brightest, we’re going to shoot ourselves in the foot,” Jubitz said. “Why would we trade off a healthy K-12 and higher education system for something that is not going to benefit very many Oregonians?”
Jubitz is currently involved in drafting a letter to 60,000 in-state University alumni to encourage them to oppose the measure.
She said statistics show that only the wealthiest 6 percent of Oregonians would actually benefit from the measure, and even among those, many oppose the measure.
Miller, however, said after the first year following the passage of Measure 91, students should have no reason to be concerned. In fact, she said, the money taxpayers will save in tax dollars will eventually spur more growth, and consequently yield additional funds for colleges and universities.
“It’s really not a drastic cut,” Miller said.
Although the exact impact Measure 91 would have is unclear, those with stakes in higher education have little doubt that tuition would rise and the availability of financial aid grants would fall if the measure passed.
“It could be the difference to decide whether they would go to college or not,” said Gene Evans, a public information officer for the Oregon Student Assistance Commission.
Evans said state need grants are funded from general funds, which would be affected by Measure 91. Evans said that last year 33,000 eligible students applied for the grant and 30,813 received them.
Measure 91 could cut the amount of general funds available for such grants drastically, Evans said.
“As far as state aid goes, it could definitely affect the students,” he said.
John Cooper, a professor emeritus at Portland State University and a member of the Inter-institutional Faculty Senate, said the passage of Measure 91 would hurt already low faculty salaries across the state, in addition to raising the amount of tuition students pay.
“It’s something higher ed really cannot afford,” he said. ‘”I think every student should feel threatened by it. At the very least, there is the danger of rising costs of a higher education.”
He said he is confident universities would have to cut programs as well.
Besides the obvious effects opponents of the measure fear, Bruce pointed out that fewer students paying more tuition would hurt the state’s economy overall. Besides adding consumers to university towns’ economies, OUS institutions also produce revenues from research projects, he said.
Last year, universities produced about $300 million from such revenues. Should Measure 91 pass, Bruce said there might be less funding to invest into research projects, and consequently there would be less revenue.
“I think people overlook the fact that universities are a really big contributor to our state’s economy,” he said.