COLUMBUS, Ohio — At least two public universities in Ohio are delaying sending tuition bills to students due to state lawmakers' ongoing failure to pass a budget bill, according to school officials.
Kent State officials told students Thursday that their fall tuition bills, which they had planned to send on July 16, will be delayed “due to legislative delays in finalizing the Ohio state budget.” They didn’t say how long the delay would be, but in a statement said the university will share more information soon.
“Kent State tuition rates and Ohio financial aid grants must be authorized in the state budget, so the university is not able to generate e-bills at this time,” the statement to students said.
Cleveland State University has delayed sending tuition bills to students for similar reasons, said Will Dube, a university spokesman.
The new budget bill, if passed, would allow universities to increase tuition by up to 2% for each of the next two years, on top of the 1.5% annual increase allowed under current law. So universities that want to hike rates above 1.5% are stuck waiting until the state budget passes.
State budget negotiations have stalled as Senate President Larry Obhof and House Speaker Larry Householder have been unable to come to an agreement. State lawmakers blew a June 30 legal deadline to pass a temporary budget, but to avoid shutting down the state government, they passed a temporary budget to fund state government at current levels for 17 days.
That temporary budget expires on Wednesday. Legislative leaders have continually said they’re close to coming to an agreement. But the picture has soured as this week has continued, and Householder said Thursday he’s not confident they’ll do so before the latest deadline.
Householder has said in negotiations the sticking point is a business-income tax break that the House is looking to scale back, although many Statehouse observers feel a different issue — a separate bill designed to bail out two Ohio nuclear plants that Householder strongly backs but Obhof has said should wait until a budget is passed — is casting a pall over negotiations.
State Rep. Randi Clites, a Kent Democrat, said she learned of the tuition delay from a constituent.
Republican state leaders have minimized the significance of the budget impasse, since government offices remain open and funded, but Clites said the tuition delay issue shows it’s causing difficulties for everyday Ohioans.
“We know that these delays in our decisions in Columbus impact real-life, everyday things, and this is one of those things,” Clites said.