You Are Making A Difference

According to the AJC, Governor Perdue's recently revised budget plan would leave higher education in better financial shape than had been expected. From the AJC:

The 2011 budget still includes the $265 million reduction to higher education Perdue announced in January, but over the past three weeks, the University System of Georgia has reeled from calls from lawmakers for an additional $300 million. The governor's plan released Thursday instead has $113 million in new cuts.

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USG Rally at the Capitol

Join us this Monday morning 8:30AM-12NOON at the Capitol for the USG Students for Quality Education Rally at the Capitol.

When and Where?

The rally begins at Hurt Park at 8:30AM and at 9:30AM moves to the Capitol.

Our Message

In order to present a unified message to our state, many of the SGA Presidents from University System of Georgia schools have drafted a document outlining positions on the budget issue. Please download the document here.

If you have anything to add, please comment on this post or at the facebook event page.

Please remember:

• Wear the colors or official apparel of your school.

• Conduct yourselves in a way that reflects well on the students of Georgia

• Be respectful to those in attendance as well as government officials

• The organizers of this rally are not responsible for the safety of those in attendance. Be mindful of your surroundings.

Thank you for your interest and participation. See you at the Capitol!

Twitter Accounts to Follow

Follow these Twitter accounts for more information on education and state issues.

University System of Georgia: BORUSG

Georgia Senate Press Office: GASenatePress

State Education Budget Press Releases

SGA Secretaries Claire Ogee and Joseph Barbier were present at March 4th's press release by State Senator Harp and Representative Earhart.

Please view the videos of this press release at:

Video 1 and Video 2

View two more press releases in the following links:

No Stone Unturned

Sharing the Burden

Town Hall Meeting on Possible Tution Increase

This morning, the President of Kennesaw State University, Dr. Daniel Papp held a town hall meeting to inform those concerned about the state financial situation and how that affects state funded education. He delivered a short speech and then answered questions. Video of the speech is available at http://web.kennesaw.edu/news/stories/full-video-town-hall-meeting-budget-reductions

Please voice your opinions and suggestions at www.kennesaw.edu/budgetideas

Get informed and get involved.

~Joseph Barbier, Secretary of PPR for KSU SGA

Email Template for Communication with Your Legislators

To make a difference on this issue, you may contact KSU’s Senators. Senator Chip Rogers may be contacted through his website at http://www.senatorchiprogers.com/ and Senator John Wiles at http://www.johnwiles.com/. A template for your conversation with them is below:

I am a concerned student at Kennesaw State University.

On Feb. 24^th, the Atlanta Journal Constitution published an article entitled, “College tuition hikes get support from strapped lawmakers” (http://blogs.ajc.com/gold-dome-live/2010/02/24/college-tuition-hikes-get-support-from-strapped-lawmakers/"
This article states that the Chancellor of the University System, Errol Davis, testified before a joint House-Senate budget committee to address the committee members questions about proposed budget cuts for the University System of Georgia.

The article states that the University System of Georgia would require a 77 percent tuition increase across the system’s 35 schools in order to meet the demand for a $385 million cut in the state’s higher education budget. Even if only $200 to $300 million is absorbed in the form of tuition increases, this would be an increase of around 50 percent for every University System of Georgia student.

In response to these proposed cuts, the Kennesaw State University Student Government Association has passed a resolution with recommendations to the Georgia Legislature. This resolution can be found at www.ksusga.com/resolution.pdf. Please take my SGA’s recommendations into consideration when passing the state budget for Fiscal Year 2011.

Resolution on Tuition Increase

http://www.ksusga.com/resolution.pdf