State Auditor: Iowa fiscal policy on wrong course
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
WATERLOO — State Auditor David Vaudt says it's time to cut up the state government's Mastercard and start making payments to erase the debts.
Vaudt, who has been criss-crossing Iowa to give residents “an independent, honest assessment of Iowa's financial affairs,” is delivering an alarming message about the state's growing reliance on cash reserves and borrowing money from other funds to present the false appearance of a balanced general fund budget.
“We've done that by depleting our cash surplus and raiding other accounts,” Vaudt said Wednesday during a presentation at the Waterloo Center for the Arts. “What we've essentially done is taken current services and deferred payment to future years. There's no way on a long-term basis that you can continue to do that.”
Dumping a financial onus on students
DailyIowan.com
The university is in the process of squeezing $12 million out of the general-education fund in response to another round of state appropriation cuts. After two-straight years of near-20 percent increases, tuition will rise only (haha) around 9 percent. During the last five years, the UI has lost tenure-track faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has enlarged class sizes, and eliminated two administrative vice presidents. In all likelihood, at least one UI sport will be eliminated – the General Education Fund Task Force recommended cutting $1.8 million of athletics funding from the general education fund.
Tuition Jumps At 15 Iowa Colleges
TheIowaChannel.com
DES MOINES, Iowa — Community college students will be paying 15 percent more in tuition next fall compared to fees two years ago.
According to budget documents presented to the state Board of Education, the hike will affect all 15 community colleges in Iowa.
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