Coal severance tax can pay for the University of Pikeville to join state system, Stumbo says

Comments

• Bill Huff wrote on January 05, 2012 03:30 PM :

  Bringing Pikeville University into Ky higher education is going in wrong direction because we have such a large congregation of (7) higher education universities in 2012. Futhermore, Ky needs to wait and study this proposal after Ky lawmakers cut:

  $350 milling from state tax expenditures;
  $400 million from corporate tax shelters;
  $100 million from non-merit annual payroll of $100,000 dollar or more, annually;
  $ 10 million from property tax administration costs by reducing from 120 to 17 number of PVA;
  $ 12 million from $40 million to $29 million cost of estimated 680 deputy PVA’s;

  COLLECT estimated $300 million motor vehicle tax evasion caused by Commercial Enforcement Officers not complaincing Ky titling and registration; Governor direct Justice Cabinet to implement statewide titling & registration making violators Ky title & register and forwarding their identities to Finance Cabinet’s Dept of revenue property tax staff for appeals processing, billing and collecting estimated $300 million and dispersing to state and local taxing jurisdictions all tax evasion collections;

  Eliminate truck weight-distance tax wherein 3-out-of-10 Ky truckers have not been paying since 1994; excellent invite to high paying trucking industry jobs to settle in Ky;

  Using severance coal dollars that can be used for something else rather than inclusion of Pikeville college (university) at this time is a no-no! Later maybe.

  Re-visit MASTER SETTLEMENT & AGREEMENT PLAN (tobacco settlement) and use other 50% not going to Farmers to increase their net farm income” to enhance teacher salaries while reducing num bers of superintendents from 174 to 17; balance of monies be used to fight ky’s deteriotering health status!

• Chuck Caudill wrote on January 06, 2012 08:16 AM :

  If the money is available to fund a private university to the tune of 12-14 million dollars, why hasn’t that same money been available to fund the struggling K-12 school systems which are the feeder programs for such a college?

  Why fund another brick and mortar program instead of increasing access to the internet for everyone?

  If 97% of the UPIKE student body already receives financial aid, and they still have difficulty keeping the minimum of 1,000 students in class, why will state funding make a difference?

  If UPIKE has been in Pike county since 1889, why is the local bachelor’s degree accomplishment rate so much lower than the state colleges?

  What does the local population want?

  I want to believe this is a good idea, but don’t see how changing funding will improve opportunity for the majority of people in the region. They built this in 1889 and the people didn’t come.