Colleges squeezed by budget

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, June, 2008 | by Jonathan Tamari Inquirer Trenton Bureau

Two scholarship programs dodged Gov. Corzine's budget ax this week, but colleges still expect to feel a pinch from another year of reduced state support. College presidents in New Jersey say it has become a nearly annual rite. The latest cut would decrease state support for operations at four-year public colleges by about $94 million, dropping direct aid below fiscal year 2000 levels, according to past and current budget documents.

Each school faces a 10 to 12 percent decrease. At Rowan University, president Donald J. Farish said this budget would be the seventh consecutive spending plan that either reduces direct aid to the Glassboro school or fails to fully fund the salaries negotiated by the state. "Seven years in a row grows a little old after a while," Farish said....