Gov. Gregoire seeks higher-ed surcharge

OLYMPIA — Gov. Chris Gregoire, who pledged not to raise taxes or fees this session, proposed Tuesday that students pay a temporary surcharge during the next two years to help make up for higher-education budget cuts.

Sen. Joe Zarelli, the ranking Republican on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said that sounds like a tax or fee to him, but the governor's office disagreed.

"We don't view it as a fee. We view it as a temporary charge in lieu of greater tuition increases," said Pearse Edwards, the governor's spokesman.

The governor's budget office said it was running numbers for a proposal that would raise $50 million to $120 million during the next two years.

The charge would be the equivalent of a tuition increase of 3 to 7 percent and would come on top of planned tuition increases of up to 7 percent. That means a University of Washington student could see annual costs go up as much as $875 next fall.

The governor maintains the charge would not be a tuition increase.

"I think there is an opportunity for us here to put on a potential surcharge, limited in time with regard to higher education, for the four-year universities ... to ensure the enrollment numbers stay where they are," Gregoire said Tuesday. "I do not want to close the door to students at this critical time. I want to keep those doors open."

In December, Gregoire called for a 13 percent budget cut at the state's four-year universities. However, because of the deteriorating budget situation, state lawmakers since have been asking universities to run budget scenarios with even larger cuts, which could force reductions in enrollment.

The governor's office said a higher-education tax credit recently approved by Congress, as well as beefed-up Pell grants, would offset the increased costs for all families except those in high-income brackets.

"I think there is a formula that makes that all work so there's no greater burden on students and families that can't afford it," Gregoire said. "And, meanwhile, we can keep our doors to higher education open."

The proposal came as a surprise to many state lawmakers and university officials Tuesday.

Universities, which have been arguing for authority to increase tuition beyond 7 percent this year to offset anticipated cuts, are backing the proposal. But some key lawmakers are less enthusiastic.

Rep. Deb Wallace, D-Vancouver, who chairs the House Higher Education Committee, said she wants to keep college costs in check.

"My take is, unless it's done based on income, it will make universities less affordable," she said.

Wallace said she hopes that federal stimulus money might keep cuts at universities to between 11 and 13 percent. "With that level of cut, I personally would not do something to increase tuition beyond the cap of 7 percent."

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, added that the surcharge proposal "isn't where the Senate is heading" with its higher-education budget.

But Randy Hodgins, UW's director of state relations, said the university welcomed the governor's proposal. "It could have the effect of allowing us to keep enrollment at current levels," he said.

"The question is, what do we do at the end of the biennium?" Hodgins said, which is when the surcharge would supposedly go away. If the economy and state revenues haven't turned around by then, he said, the university still could have budget problems.

Sherry Burkey, director of legislative relations for Western Washington University, called the proposal "a good step forward."

"We are supportive of additional revenue to help continue the quality of education that Western is famous for," Burkey said. Without the extra money, she said, classes would need to be cut and students would take longer to graduate.

Glenn Kuper, a spokesman for Gregoire's budget office, said the proposal would allow the state to use more of the federal education stimulus money recently approved by Congress for public schools and two-year colleges, and then use the surcharge to help the universities.

"Her desire was to try to keep [public schools] as whole as possible while also helping higher education keep their enrollments up," Kuper said. "The surcharge allows her to do both."

House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, said she was open to the idea, but is withholding judgment until she sees details.

Andrew Garber: 360-236-8268 or agarber@seattletimes.com