Locke knocks GOP plan

OLYMPIA -- Democratic Gov. Gary Locke criticized a state Senate budget plan to reduce the number of new slots at state universities and colleges, stopping short of threatening a veto at a news conference yesterday.

"I'm absolutely confident that the budget that will emerge from this Legislature will have close to the enrollment, if not the enrollment that we recommended," Locke said.

Under Locke's plan to make room at state universities and colleges, the UW would receive funds to enroll 577 more students. The state House of Representatives, which is controlled by Democrats, proposed spending enough to provide for 528 slots.

The Republican-controlled Senate balked at what its budget chief called "doling out funds" in a tight budget year. Sen. Joseph Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, instead, called for a study to determine the long-term needs for higher education in Washington, he said.

"We want to make sure we get the right data for higher ed instead of accomplishing very little with a small pot of money," said Zarelli, who chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

The Senate proposed allotting 227 full-time slots to UW, cutting Locke's request by more than half and requiring that the slots be designated for high-demand fields such as nursing, computer science and engineering.

Gary Quarfoth, UW budget director, said the school is waiting to see how many dollars lawmakers will give.

"We hope to get additional money," Quarfoth said.

Locke has linked additional funding for state universities and colleges with subsidies given to high-tech companies engaged in research and development.

"If we don't provide more college opportunities for our students, emerging businesses will look outside the state of Washington to fill the good jobs they would be creating," Locke said. "How can anyone consider giving tax breaks to businesses to create more jobs without giving our students, our sons and daughters, the chance to land those jobs?"