NIC: The tale behind tuition

A valuable point was missed in discussions regarding North Idaho College’s budget. NIC didn’t ramp up when enrollment dramatically increased. Many employees took on extra work with little or no extra compensation, saving taxpayer dollars through their effort. Now that enrollment is expected to return to 2006 levels, the school has the same number of employees as there were in 2006. There’s nothing to ramp down. NIC administrators and trustees have received little credit for their astute planning.

A statement made at the May 27 board meeting regarding student fee increases claimed that parents pay three times to send their children to NIC. That’s a false characterization. Property and state tax funding don’t cover the cost of educating a student. Tuition is not a third, extra payment — it completes the payment. Look at Gonzaga’s tuition rate of $17,282 per semester to see the cost of educating a student without taxpayer support.

Paying lower taxes means higher user fees. Having both low taxes and tuition is expecting that mythical free lunch. The speaker argued that increasing employee pay penalizes parents by raising fees. Apparently, NIC employees are expected to subsidize the cost of education more than other taxpayers of Kootenai County by foregoing pay increases.

Increasing state support is the surest way to lower tuition/fee costs for higher education. State funding has been flat for a decade. Why are legislators not cited for lack of support? It’s time we hold legislators responsible. Urge legislators to increase education funding, lowering the cost to parents.

JOE JACOBY

Coeur d’Alene