Throughout the state, millions of students have benefited from the world class provided by the University System of Georgia. Our achievement in creating a system like the one in place remains one of the brightest accomplishments in Georgia’s rich history. With such programs such as the HOPE scholarship, students have become better educated and more competitive in job markets around the world. However, as Georgians continue to endure the greatest economic downtown since the Great Depression, severe cuts will need to be made to ensure the future of such an upstanding program.

As chairman of the Higher Education Committee, my fellow committee members and I have the responsibility of allocating funds for the entire University System of Georgia. This program accounts for a significant portion of the entire state budget and as a result will see large cuts in their annual operating budget. Although these decisions come with a heavy heart and much debate, we simply do not have another choice. It is important to remember that our commitment to higher education over the last five years has been significant. We have consistently put more funding into this program when the funds were available.

Unfortunately, the recession has gravely affected our state revenues and has required us to reverse this trend of increasing monies for higher education. Though we hope the cuts will be as minimal as possible, as legislators we must be realistic to the certainty that it is our job to balance Georgia’s budget, much like we do in our own home. The time has come to prioritize and make the hard decisions without compromising the integrity of an upstanding program like the University System of Georgia.

We can not allow for our students and programs to bear the brunt of these impending cuts. Instead, we must look within the highest levels of the administration and ask them to share the burden. Since our nation’s inception, we have seen that true leaders are the first to make sacrifices for the betterment of others. I am calling on the leaders of our state’s greatest universities to share in the sacrifice.

These economic times are a unique situation for us all and there is no road map. What we have now is a one time historic opportunity to join together as legislators to work in tandem with the Board of Regents. We must be teammates in finding a reduced budget that benefits all citizens in this great state. What you will see is an effort with all parties working collectively to come up with something significantly better than the drastic cuts that were laid out. Together, we will reach a balance that will continue the excellence we have in higher education throughout Georgia.

As the General Assembly nears the completion of our two week recess we used to work on the state budget, we will continue to be mindful of the current fiscal crisis we are facing. These challenging economic times have reminded us all that we must run government the same way we do our own finances: with a responsible and efficient mindset.

Seth Harp is chairman of the Higher Education Committee. He represents the 29th Senate District, which includes Harris and Meriwether counties and portions of Troup and Muscogee counties.

He can be reached at (404) 463-3931 or by email at seth.harp@senate.ga.gov.