If you’re a South Carolinian, you should be aware of just how royally the budget for your state govenrment is screwed.
Since I work at one of the state’s technical colleges, here’s the bit that I want to emphasize:
The cuts have also affected colleges and universities. Officials at the University of South Carolina say they expect to have a plan next month on how to handle $36.9 million in cuts, but there are no plans for mandatory, systemwide furloughs, spokeswoman Margaret Lamb said.
USC’s not forcing folks to sit home without pay, but Clemson has. But you know who’s really screwed? The technical college system. We can’t raise tuition mid-year like the large schools can. We don’t have many fees that can be increased to make up for yet another round of budget cuts.
So if you care about having a workforce that can attract new jobs to replace those at plants who are closing their doors during this recession, ask your state representative what he’s doing to ensure that your local technical college remains open.