Regents funding should be stepped up

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It is a myth that Iowa needs to cut funding to the Regents institutions in our state. We did not experience the same degree of economic hardship as the majority of states, and we have enjoyed a faster rate of recovery. Housing values declined only slightly, and the unemployment rate is significantly lower than the national average (6.7 percent as compared with the national rate of 9.8 percent).

State tax receipt estimates have climbed 3.3 percent this fiscal year, and are expected to grow another 3.6 percent in the coming fiscal year.

Despite these relatively strong numbers, the Regents faculty agreed to salary and benefit cuts in 2009 for the good of the state and all three institutions. Therefore, if the Regents budget is cut further, it is simply because the new state leadership is ideologically opposed to public university education.

Elizabeth Lefler

Cedar Falls