College spending plan in Minn. joins budget merry-go-round

A $3.16 billion plan to bolster public universities and firm up financial aid programs reached Gov. Tim Pawlenty's desk Tuesday night amid signs it will bounce back to the Legislature the same way other several budget bills have with a veto.

The bill represents a 12 percent increase in higher education funding over the current two year budget, and architects of the proposal said there's enough money to curb tuition growth after years of steep jumps.

"The students have really been bearing the burden of underfunding by state government of our institutions," said Sen. Sandy Pappas, DFL-St. Paul. "We think it's time to halt that."

Under the bill which won 44-21 Senate backing and 85-46 House approval tuition would rise anywhere from 1 percent to 5 percent at public colleges and universities. Pappas said the actual increase would differ by campus in each year and depend partly on a student's family income. Tuition could actually fall at the Morris campus of the University of Minnesota, she said.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system would be in line for $153 million in additional funding. At the University of Minnesota, the bump is about $205 million, although some of that is earmarked for a research partnership with the Mayo Clinic.

Another $58 million would go into state financial aid programs. The bill also takes moderate steps toward making college textbooks more affordable.

Pawlenty left no doubt that he would veto the bill, which he called "underwhelming" and "uninspiring" at a Capitol news conference.

The Republican governor said that it shortchanged an achievement-based scholarship program he wanted. And he continued to raise concerns over the piece-by-piece budget strategy of the DFL-led Legislature.

Republican legislators also howled about having to vote on another budget bill without having a grasp of the complete picture. Legislative leaders haven't said how much they're eyeing up for early childhood through high school spending bill, the largest slice of the state budget. A tax plan is also in flux.

"We don't know how much money is in the checkbook," said Sen. Ray Vandeveer, R-Forest Lake.

For that reason, Senate Minority Leader David Senjem, R-Rochester, said the higher education bill is headed "down the road to Vetoland."

The GOP lawmakers are well aware of the coming choice: Democratic leaders have flatly said legislators and Pawlenty will have to decide whether to support a tax increase if they expect to see a hefty boost in classroom spending.

As of Tuesday, Pawlenty signed three budget bills and vetoed four after striking down a $10 billion package for health and welfare programs. An environment and energy bill gained his signature, but he canceled five appropriations through line-item vetoes.

The final college spending package doesn't contain a provision that would have made foreign-born children of illegal immigrants eligible for resident tuition at all public colleges. But six communities colleges would get extra funding about $3.4 million so they could offer a single tuition rate to all students regardless of where they obtained their high school diploma.

Brian Bakst can be reached at bbakst(at)ap.org