College system proposes tax, tuition hikes - Beth Kuhles, Ultimate Woodlands

The Lone Star College System is proposing a tax increase and tuition hike in 2011 as part of a multi-faceted plan to address state budget cuts and increased enrollment. The college system board met in a work session July 27 to develop the 2011 budget, which includes a $29 million shortfall attributed to the loss of $19.2 million state funds over the next three years and a 25 percent growth in enrollment this year. Student enrollment also is expected to climb 6 percent in 2011. “This is a shared responsibility,” Chancellor Richard Carpenter told the Lone Star board. “Everyone should have skin in the game and nobody has been spared.”