"The state's $96 million financial aid budget.... ranks among the country's least generous"
Another Massachusetts Myth exploded; so where is all the money going?
.... Students should still expect steeper overall bills....
The tuition decision was made a week after public colleges and universities learned they would lose more than $100 million in state subsidies next year under Governor Deval Patrick's proposed budget. Patrick's proposal reduces aid to community colleges, state colleges, and the University of Massachusetts by 11.6 percent and raises the prospect of sharp fee increases....
On Thursday, the board also called on state universities and colleges to urge all their applicants to complete the federal financial aid form, making more eligible for government grants and loans.
Are the banks loaning money?
Studies have shown that many students who probably meet income requirements for assistance do not apply. A state study has shown that an additional 16,000 students would qualify for $59 million in public support if they completed the form.
The move makes Massachusetts the first state in the country to adopt a system-wide recommendation of this kind, the board said. "These challenging economic times underscore the need for students to seek every possible form of financial assistance," said Richard Freeland, the commissioner of higher education.
Yeah, unless you are a biotech, Hollywood, Raytheon, Israel, a corporation, or a lying, looting legislator. Then you are doing just fine, because that's where all the TAX DOUGH GOES!
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So how does the institution of ejerkashen deal with the problem?
They ROB PETER TAXPAYER to PAY for PORK!!!!
"UMass may widen financial assistance; Funding is tied to a fee increase; Needy students would benefit" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | February 10, 2009
The University of Massachusetts system, facing sharp cuts in state funding, is poised to sharply raise student fees next school year and use the extra money to dramatically expand financial aid for low- and moderate-income students.
That's what they are telling you, anyway.
Under the plan, university officials said yesterday, schools in the system would meet the financial need, excluding room and board, for more undergraduates whose families earn less than the statewide median annual income of $78,500. Most of these students would see their bills, and their loans, decline.
The $1,500 fee increase, a 15 percent hike, would bring the yearly cost of tuition and fees for in-state students at campuses in Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, and Lowell to an average of $11,000....
And to think of all the millions this state throws away; they could provide free education for everyone if they kept the tax money!
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The plan comes as the UMass campuses report record numbers of applications during a trying economy. But the public schools are also eliminating staff and curbing spending to offset sharp losses in state aid.
So WHERE is all that $$$$ going?
The plan mirrors large increases in financial aid at elite private colleges and marks an aggressive step toward expanding college access for students from poor and working-class backgrounds. At the same time, it adds to the strain for middle-class families looking to the public system for financial relief....
If they are funding ILLEGALS TUITION at the expense of Americans, I am going to be really pissed!!!! I NEVER GOT a DAMN DIME from them!! You make too much!!!!
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Here is what you are PAYING FOR, taxpayers:
More than 175 state employees were paid $200,000 or more last year, including more than 150 University of Massachusetts administrators and professors, 13 of whom made $400,000 or more, according to a payroll report released yesterday.
The state's top earner was Derek Lovley, associate dean of UMass-Amherst's College of Natural Resources and the Environment. Lovley, a specialist on biofuels, made $613,000, according to data made public yesterday by the state's Office of the Comptroller. He was followed by UMass Medical School Chancellor Michael F. Collins, who made $609,000.
Yes, the ENVIRO-FRAUDSTERS ARE COSTING YOU in SO MANY WAYS!!
LIES are HARMFUL no matter WHAT THEY ARE!!!
Five other UMass administrators were paid between $459,000 and $549,000, followed by UMass president Jack Wilson, who received $436,000.
Why five unmentioned? They Jewish?
Also among the top earners was James Julian, UMass executive vice president and former chief of staff to former Senate president William M. Bulger. Julian joined Bulger when Bulger became the school's president in early 1996.
Also among the state's highest moneymakers were the head basketball coach at UMass, Derek Kellogg, who made $260,000, and the school's head football coach, Donald A. Brown, who made $233,000.
Is that REALLY the BEST USE of the UNIVERSITY'S MONEY!!!
I'LL DO the JOB for A LOT LESS!!!!!
Brown left to take a coaching job with the University of Maryland. The university's athletic director, Dana Skinner, made $192,000, while the men's head ice hockey coach, Blaise MacDonald, was paid $178,000.
Wow! That's a lot for HOCKEY!!!
The payroll - which totaled more than $5 billion - included only salaries paid to employees of regular state agencies. It did not tally the pay of employees of authorities or commissions such as the MBTA, the Massachusetts Port Authority, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, or the Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, which have traditionally paid some of state government's highest salaries.
Yeah, NO KIDDING!! So THAT LOOTING is HIDDEN from TAXPAYERS, 'eh?
Related: Mass. Pension Fund Loses $16 Billion
Yup, but the guy who manages it got a raise -- a nice "$64,000 bonus on top of his $322,000 annual salary!"
Also see: Mining vacation gold at Massport; Benefit is used to increase salaries, pensions of workersore
Turnpike Toll Hikes Going for Manager Bonuses
At $140,534, Governor Deval Patrick was 1,076th on the list. Supreme Judicial Court justices earned slightly more - $146,000, with the chief justice making $151,000.
Isn't there something wrong when a SPORTS COACH makes more than a JUDGE?
Robert Connolly, UMass spokesman, who was paid $163,000 last year, wrote in an e-mail that the system pays its employees in a "competitive range" with other state universities around the country.
"The University of Massachusetts sets salaries for faculty, staff, and administrators in relation to what peers are paid at comparable universities. Benchmarking salaries at market rates allows UMass to attract and retain the faculty who bring outstanding teaching to the classroom and the staff and administrators who make the University of Massachusetts an efficient and well-run institution," he wrote.
Connolly said many top-earning UMass employees are paid through research grants.
Which are funded by GUESS WHO, taxpayers?
Presidents of the public colleges - including Middlesex Community College, Northern Essex Community College, Mt. Wachusett Community College, Holyoke Community College, Fitchburg State, Salem State, Worcester State, and Westfield State - all were paid more than $200,000 last year, according to the records.
Other top earners were the state's acting chief medical examiner, Henry Nields, who was paid $250,000. Dana Mohler-Faria, the president of Bridgewater State College, made $236,000, and Joseph Carter, adjutant general of the Massachusetts National Guard, made $200,000.
Members of the State Police also earned big money, in many cases doubling their regular salaries with overtime. Mark Delaney, State Police superintendent, made $210,000. Nearly three dozen troopers received $170,000 or more, including five who more than doubled their $70,000-a-year base pay rate. One trooper, Kathleen Carney, saw her earnings soar from $70,000 to $184,000, according to the records.
Yeah, cut into the cops and firefighters so we won't pay attention to the BIG-TIME LOOTERS and we will turn against the local flatfoot! The AGENDA-PUSHING NEVER STOPS!!!!
I LIKE my LOCAL HEROES and would rather THEY GET the $$$!!!!
Among the lowest paid employees were mental health, social, and other human service workers, many of whom made $36,000 or less....
Yeah, and THOSE are the people that get LAYED OFF -- like TEACHERS!!!!
