• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Greater Boston's Alternative News Source

State Wire: Mass Advocates Of Higher Ed Set Goals For Fair Share Revenue

Written by KATHRYN CARLEY Posted January 25, 2023 Filed Under: News, News to Us, NEWS+OPINIONS

“This new funding revenue hopefully gives us the chance to be innovative and think outside the box.”


Advocates for higher education in the Commonwealth will gather today to collaborate on how to use revenue generated by the Fair Share Amendment which has officially been signed into law.

Voters approved the creation of a surtax on million-dollar incomes to help pay for public education, but lawmakers must still guarantee how the money will be used.

Femi Stoltz, Massachusetts policy director for the nonprofit uAspire, said she hopes the funding will help lower costs for tuition and fees at state colleges, which have increased nearly 60% in the past two decades.

“This new funding revenue hopefully gives us the chance to be innovative, think outside the box and hopefully think of better ways to serve students,” Stoltz stated.

Stoltz pointed out the cost of public college has risen faster here than in any other state, while the average student borrower in Massachusetts is burdened with nearly $32,000 in federal student loans.

The UMass system currently holds some $3 billion in debt itself, and at Mass State Colleges, it is more than $1 billion. It is estimated students pay more than $2,500 in annual fees just to help cover their school’s debt.

Stoltz noted the MassGrant system, the state’s largest need-based grant for students, is also grossly underfunded, leaving disadvantaged students with few pathways to earn a debt-free degree.

“That grant a couple decades ago used to cover about 80% of a student’s tuition and fees at a public school, and now it covers about 8% of tuition and fees for a student in the UMass system,” Stoltz explained.

Stoltz and other higher education advocates said Fair Share revenue could also go toward repairs of campus infrastructure, fair and equitable pay for all faculty and staff, and more hiring of desperately needed student counselors.

In one of the country’s wealthiest states, Stoltz argued, there should be ample resources to ensure all students get the education they deserve.


KATHRYN CARLEY
+ posts

Kathryn Carley began her career in community radio, and is happy to be back, covering the New England region for Public News Service. Getting her start at KFAI in Minneapolis, Carley graduated from the University of Minnesota and then worked as a reporter for Minnesota Public Radio, focusing on energy and agriculture. Moving to Washington, D.C., she filed stories for The Pacifica Network News and The Pacifica Report. Later Carley worked as News Host for New York Public Radio, WNYC as well as Co-Anchor for Newsweek’s long running radio program, Newsweek on Air. Carley also served as News Anchor for New York Times Radio. She now lives near Boston, MA.

  • KATHRYN CARLEY
    https://digboston.com/author/kathryn-carley/
    State Wire: Mass Leads Nation In 'Green' Building Development
  • KATHRYN CARLEY
    https://digboston.com/author/kathryn-carley/
    State Wire: The Legacy Of MLK’s Dream Of Economic Justice In Mass
  • KATHRYN CARLEY
    https://digboston.com/author/kathryn-carley/
    State Wire: Mass Activists Campaign To End Raytheon Weapons Sales To Saudi Arabia
  • KATHRYN CARLEY
    https://digboston.com/author/kathryn-carley/
    State Wire: Mass Minimum Wage Hike Not Enough For Costly Housing Market

Filed Under: News, News to Us, NEWS+OPINIONS Tagged With: college, Fair Share amendment, news

WHAT’S NEW

Mass Higher Ed Advocates Urge More Investment In Students 

Mass Higher Ed Advocates Urge More Investment In Students 

Guest Opinion: Promoting Metal Detectors In BPS Perpetuates Dangerous Narrative

Guest Opinion: Promoting Metal Detectors In BPS Perpetuates Dangerous Narrative

State Wire: Mass Leads Nation In 'Green' Building Development

State Wire: Mass Leads Nation In ‘Green’ Building Development

State Wire: Mass Advocates Of Higher Ed Set Goals For Fair Share Revenue

State Wire: Mass Advocates Of Higher Ed Set Goals For Fair Share Revenue

Does Massachusetts Underestimate Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

Does Massachusetts Underestimate Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions?

State Wire: The Legacy Of MLK’s Dream Of Economic Justice In Mass

State Wire: The Legacy Of MLK’s Dream Of Economic Justice In Mass

Primary Sidebar

LOCAL EVENTS

AAN Wire


Most Popular

  • 20 Great Tracks To Come Out Of Greater Boston In 2022
  • Think Massachusetts Cannabis Prices Are Low Now? Just Wait Six Months!
  • Why Are Cannabis Prices Really Crashing?
  • A New Beginning For Formerly Incarcerated Women
  • Jerrod Carmichael Has First Show After Coming Out—At the Wilbur In Boston

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an email blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: sales@digboston.com To reach editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): editorial@digboston.com