(TRENTON) — Assemblyman Peter J. Barnes III (D-Middlesex) released the following statement Wednesday as the Assembly Budget Committee heard testimony on higher education spending cuts in Gov. Chris Christie’s budget proposal:
“Gov. Christie’s budget plan equals bad news for New Jersey college students and their families, impacting every college in our state and slashing student financial assistance through the Tuition Aid Grants, the Educational Opportunity Fund and other scholarship programs.
“But perhaps the most egregious cut is the plan to bar new students from the vital and successful NJ STARS scholarship program.
“This move would rob New Jersey of some of its best and brightest minds at a time when college education is no longer a luxury, destroying the dreams of many of our best high school students who simply don’t have the means to attend college without this program.
“As we work to encourage business growth and job creation, making it even more difficult to attain a college education is the wrong approach for New Jersey.”
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