HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus Leaders Wednesday sent a letter to the heads of the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University, Temple University and Lincoln University encouraging each institution to roll back announced plans to increase tuition and fees for the upcoming academic year.
According to the Leaders’ letter, the recent news that Gov. Tom Wolf will be using a pandemic response discretionary account to provide these universities with their sought-after 5% increase should lead these universities to halt planned tuition increases.
The full letter to the universities:
Dear Presidents Allen, Bendapudi and Wingard, and Chancellor Gallagher:
As you are aware, the Pennsylvania General Assembly worked very hard to ensure we supported the students and families attending your institutions in the recently enacted state budget and related legislation. The funding provided in the budget guarantees the Commonwealth’s long-standing relationship with your institutions continues and discounted tuition rates at your schools can be provided to Pennsylvania residents. In recent days, it has been made public that Gov. Tom Wolf intends to provide each of your schools with additional funding outside of the scope of legislative authorization as part of pandemic response-related discretionary funding he was provided in FY 2022-23.
First, given that this money is being provided outside of the normal scope of legislative approval, it should be viewed by you, and will be viewed by us, as a one-time influx of money that will not be considered as an appropriation of the Legislature to your school. As such it would not be included in the base funding for your institutions that is traditionally driven out through non-preferred appropriations.
Second, and most importantly, given that this additional funding equates to the 5%;o funding increase each of your schools sought at the start of the budget process, we encourage each of you to freeze already-announced plans to increase tuition at your institutions or stop consideration of tuition increases. We were disappointed to learn that almost immediately after your FY 2022-23 state funding was approved, Pitt, Penn State and Temple announced tuition increases for the coming academic year. In at least two instances, the state flat-funding appropriations over last year was cited as a cause for the tuition increase. Given the recent news about receiving additional funding for the 2022-23 academic year, it would only be prudent to roll back these decisions for all students, but at a minimum, for Pennsylvania residents attending your institutions. We would like to remind you that Pitt, Penn State and Temple have large endowments with endowments at Pitt and Penn States larger than or equivalent to the amount in the Commonwealth’s Rainy Day Fund. Rather than take a punitive posture towards Pennsylvania’s students and families attending your institutions by raising tuition and fees, the recent funding news coupled with large endowments upon which you can rely to help offset inflation-led cost increases makes now the perfect time to reverse course on tuition increases.
We hope you will give this request all appropriate consideration as you, and Pennsylvania’s families, continue to plan for the upcoming academic year.
Sincerely,
The letter was signed by all eight members of the House Republican Leadership team:
House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin), Speaker Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster), House Appropriations Committee Chairman Stan Saylor (R-York), House Majority Whip Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion/Armstrong/Forest), House Republican Caucus Chairman George Dunbar (R-Westmoreland), House Republican Caucus Secretary Martina White (R-Philadelphia), House Republican Caucus Administrator Kurt Masser (R-Northumberland/Columbia/Montour), House Republican Policy Chairman Martin Causer (R-McKean/Potter/Cameron).
