Higher ed budget heads to Dayton; could mean tuition hikes

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) _ Minnesota’s Legislature has passed a bill funding public universities that school officials say will result in tuition increases.

The budget passed in the House and Senate Sunday bumps up higher education funding by $166 million. That sum falls short of what the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system requested to extend tuition freezes at all their schools.

Several lawmakers say it’s wrong to give more money to the state college system than to the University of Minnesota. Some two-year schools in the state college system may see a tuition cut.

The budget also earmarks $30 million for the University of Minnesota’s medical school.

It’s the first bill lawmakers have sent to Gov. Mark Dayton as they rush to pass a budget before Monday’s midnight deadline.