COLUMBUS, Ohio – Governor John Kasich is threatening to “take an ax” to state funding of Ohio’s public universities and colleges if they fail to cut costs and make tuition more affordable.
READ MORE: In the Columbus Dispatch
“I reserve the right … to say that within the course of the next year, if they do not enact these changes … I think you just start cutting funding and tell them to deal with it,” Kasich said after meeting privately for an hour with presidents of two- and four-year colleges and universities in his cabinet room.
But, saying he was among friends committed to the same cause, Kasich said he doubts he will need to play the heavy.
He said he would give higher education leaders “a chance to do this before we take an ax to them.”
“But to me, that’s not the best way to do things,” the Republican said. “The best way to do things is to have a team of people committed to this common goal, which is exactly where we are.”
Kasich implored the higher education leaders to make access and affordability central to their missions and reduce student costs to earn a degree.
“Mom and dad and students need to know we’re very, very aware of these costs … we’re all worried about these costs,” Kasich said of tuition rates that leave an average graduate with $29,000 in loans to pay.
Kasich signed an executive order forming the Task Force on Affordability and Efficiency in Higher Education to propose ways to cut costs in other areas to hold down tuition bills.