Cuts in funding – not salaries – are at heart of college budget problems - DEREK KILMER, News Tribune

A recent op-ed by Sen. Mike Carrell rightly voiced concerns about rising costs facing students in Washington’s institutions of higher education. Unfortunately, Carrell diagnosed the problem as primarily driven by rising salaries and administrative costs. Make no mistake – the state needs to do all it can to reduce unnecessary costs. And none of us has an appetite for large bonuses when many of us are just trying to make ends meet. But let’s look at the facts. Washington’s colleges and universities have made double-digit cuts in administrative expenses. In fact, the cost of educating each student has remained flat for 20 years and is lower today than in 1990. So, if administrative increases aren’t driving tuition prices up, what is? State disinvestment in higher education.