Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut released his proposed budget on Thursday, Feb. 19, which contains several cuts with the intention of improving the state’s continued fiscal challenges. Among the cuts, Malloy proposed to cut private college students out of the state financial aid program, the Governor’s Scholarship program.
Malloy’s proposal would restrict not only the amount of funds that financial aid directors are able to award to those Connecticut students in need, but also who may receive these scholarships, according to Judith Greiman, president of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, to Connecticut by the Numbers.
According to Vice President of Student Affairs Thomas Pellegrino, Ph.D., the legislators on the Appropriations Committee offered a public hearing on the proposed budget, giving people the opportunity to voice their concerns on “the impact such a cut would have on students and their ability to fund their college education.”
Fairfield students and college administrators were invited to join those from other schools, such as Quinnipiac, to travel to the hearing that took place on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at the State Legislature in Hartford.
Dean of Enrollment Karen Pellegrino stated, “The State of Connecticut has provided financial support in the form of grants to Connecticut residents attending private schools in the state.”
Although this support has decreased gradually throughout the years, “these grants provide an extremely valuable source of support to our Connecticut residents,” she added.
Malloy’s 2012 state budget also proposed a $5.8 million cut to private colleges and universities, according to the New Haven Register.
For Karen Pellegrino, it is important that students and the public voice their concerns over Malloy’s proposed cuts, saying that “the cuts that the governor has proposed are extreme.”
She added, “The proposal is not simply to reduce the amount of each school’s allocation, but to eliminate all grants to students attending private colleges and universities. It is important that Fairfield, as well as other private schools in the state, demonstrate the impact that this cut will make to our students.”
Should Malloy’s budget proposal be enacted, it would have a major impact on future students at Fairfield, according to Karen Pellegrino.
“This year, close to 300 current Fairfield students are receiving some form of grant from the state of Connecticut. If that funding was to be eliminated, there is the very real possibility that many of these students would not be able to attend Fairfield,” Karen Pellegrino stated.
Although Semina Kojic ‘18 was unaware of Malloy’s budget proposal, she agreed with Karen Pellegrino that it would have a serious effect on students attending private schools.
“People would have to pay more obviously and maybe some people wouldn’t be able to pay, and thus have to transfer to somewhere else,” Kojic said.
According to Thomas Pellegrino, a student-based rally protesting Malloy’s budget cuts is on the agenda for March.
“Students [should] plan to be there if [or] when a March meeting is scheduled,” Thomas Pellegrino suggested, especially if they did not have the opportunity to express their thoughts on the matter at the State Legislature on Tuesday.
Maybe this is a good thing for Fairfield U. The tuition has gotten too expensive for even upper middle class families to afford. If these budget cuts go through, yes, students will be forced to attend college elsewhere. But this may mean that Fairfield has to reevaluate their outrageous tuition price. The same education gets more expensive every year and it needs to stop. If the price of attendence goes down due to these cuts, then good for the school. If not, there are 1600 other private, nonprofit institutions to attened according to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.