Tax commissioner candidate seeks to lower ND tuition
Over the past three years, NDSU tuition has gone up at least 10 percent each year, according to the North Dakota Legislative Council.
Brent Edison, North Dakota’s Democratic candidate for tax commissioner, hopes to use the state’s budget surplus to keep tuition at a reasonable rate at North Dakota universities, he said.
“ Rising tuition is a form of tax on our young people and their parents ... It is in our best interest to use part of the state’s $527 million budget surplus to make sure North Dakota tuition rates stay competitive with our neighbors,” Edison said.
The $25 million per year tuition relief proposal is part of Edison’s $500 million, four-year plan for property tax relief and education funding.
“ If we are going to continue the economic growth that helped create our state’s huge budget surplus in the first place, we need to ensure that we have an educated, capable workforce to maintain that growth,” Edison said.
North Dakota is not the only state helping to curb rising tuition costs at universities.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has proposed a plan that will offer high-achieving Minnesota students free tuition for two years at public colleges, Edison said.
In addition, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is using $50 million over two years to help keep tuition low, Edison said.
Edison believes keeping tuition low and offering well paying jobs is essential to the state’s economy, because it will keep existing students in North Dakota, and attract students from other states as well.
“ My son graduated from college in May, and he tells me he has many friends who have had to leave the state for better paying jobs to be able to pay off their student loans,” Edison said.
Edison said it is important to attract students to North Dakota because statistics show “a good percentage of those students stay here and make a living in North Dakota.”
Another part of Edison’s plan is to lower property taxes. Edison said because the state is spending less on education, local property taxes have had to increase to fund schools.
“ I think that it has become unfair for people on fixed income and others to have to pay too much of the cost of education because the state has not been meeting its obligation,” Edison said.
Edison wants the state to spend more on education to give those paying exorbitant property taxes to fund schools a break.