The Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine announced yesterday afternoon that Governor Mitt Romney has repealed his budget cuts of $3.6 million for the Vet School in the previous fiscal year. But Dean Philip Kosch indicated that there are still no guarantees on future funding from Massachusetts for the Vet School.
A significant portion of the $3.6 million will go towards veterinary care for Massachusetts State police dog and horse units. Due to the state deficit, officials originally found it easier to pay the bill for police animals themselves, rather than pay Tufts, explained Jodi Charles, the deputy press secretary to Romney.
The University had threatened legal action against Massachusetts for the cuts, saying that the $3.6 million included payments for services that had already been rendered.
The Vet School is still on shaky ground financially despite the returned funding, though. "The job before us is to continue all of our efforts, collectively, to encourage legislators and the Governor's Office to appropriate continued support this year," Kosch said.
Massachusetts also took away a $5,000 tuition break for Massachusetts residents. The tuition break was meant to encourage enrollment at Massachusetts' only vet school. There are only 28 vet schools in the entire country. It is unclear at this time if that tuition subsidy has been returned.
The Vet School has held spots in admissions for Massachusetts residents to lessen the financial burden that the community feels, and it remains unclear at this point as to whether or not the spots will be continued to be held. 50 percent of Vet School students are residents of Massachusetts.
The general sentiment felt by Vet School students is a concern for the future of the school and for the financial hurdles they will need to deal with in the coming years. Second-year student Rebecca Quinn is one of those students who is now facing a serious money shortfall. Quinn said that students will have to start taking out yet another loan, this time from the bank, meaning higher interest rates and more debt.
A letter was sent to all Vet School students Tuesday by Associate Dean for Administration and Finance Joseph McManus urging them to write to Governor Mitt Romney, the Massachusetts House Speaker and Senate President requesting continued funding of the Vet School by Massachusetts.
] "It is very discouraging that Governor Romney... announced [those] cuts," said first-year vet student Melanie Bizier, who is planning to take part in the letter-writing campaign. "Part of my decision to attend Tufts was based on financial assistance, which the state of Massachusetts promised its residents," Bizier said.
With state support comprising 13 percent of the veterinary school's budget, Tufts was less dependent on funding than other veterinary schools. State aid normally comprises between 26 and 36 percent of a veterinary's school operating budget.
The threat of cuts is frustrating, but Tufts is not the only school to be affected by this the state's budget cuts, with a total of $41 million removed from Massachusetts schools' budgets this year.
First year student Jonathan Yardley praised the Vet School administration for their support.
The administration "realizes that vet medicine is an underpaid profession," Yardley said. "The starting salary is about $40,000, which is equivalent to about one year of Tufts tuition. We're not here for the money."
But money is not even the heart of the issue, according to Quinn. "It's that our communities and the animals we have dedicated our lives to, [that] will pay for price for Romney's budget cut," said Quinn said. "After all, what is one more loan for people already in debt $180,000?"
Some students, like Yardley, also see the underlying problem being the current presidential administration, as George W. Bush has cut state education funding. "It's not entirely Romney's fault," said Yardley. "But it's a big financial decision to cut education, and not a good one in my opinion."
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