By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
New Jersey Policy Perspective, the prolific think tank, has provided another grim reminder about how middle class families are squeezed in their endeavor to educate their kids, and the numbers are jarring.
The latest analysis shows that state support for four-year publics has dropped 22 percent since 2008 (or $2,150 per student), while the average tuition has risen 14 percent (or $1,611 per student).
And all this is happening while the average wage has fallen by 7.3 percent.
Indeed, disinvestment is the national rage, but Gov. Christie claimed that his 2016 budget calls for the same higher education funding as 2015. But 2.6 percent of that will shift from the operating budget into fringe benefits, just to plug a pension hole. In other words, our publics will actually share a $38 million haircut.
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