Dear Pitt Community Members:
In the coming months, the governor and state legislature will finalize a state budget for next year. I am writing to enlist your help because the appropriation bill that funds the long-standing tuition discount is at risk of not passing this year.
The bill, which requires a two-thirds supermajority, has one purpose: to fund a tuition discount for students from Pennsylvania. This discount—which has benefited Pennsylvania families for more than half a century—typically saves an in-state Pitt student around $15,000 in tuition costs annually.
We enjoy strong bipartisan support in the state Senate, as well as solid backing from the Governor and House Democrats. Some House Republicans and a select number of their leadership, however, are using unrelated issues as political bargaining chips to justify a failure to support Pitt students. As a result, the appropriation bill’s passage is in jeopardy, and nearly 17,000 Pitt students and their families could lose this needed tuition support.
We need your help. I am calling on all members of our university community to sign up for Pitt Advocates. In doing so, you’ll join a network of supporters and learn about information and opportunities to help advocate for Pitt students.
If enough House Republicans renege on the state’s long-standing commitment to Pennsylvanians, we can expect:
- current Pitt students and their families will suffer instant financial consequences;
- current residents will look beyond the commonwealth to continue their education;
- local communities will see an exodus of homegrown talent; and
- Pitt’s power as an economic engine—including injecting more than $4 billion into the state’s economy annually—will be compromised.
If these issues matter to you: Join Pitt Advocates to stay informed, get involved and learn more about what you can do to support Pennsylvania’s future—and Pitt students and families—today.
Sincerely,
Patrick Gallagher