Editor:

While I agree that education should be the highest priority of state government, I think The Chronicle’s March 7 editorial “U Survives for Another Year” questions some decisions that shouldn’t be questioned.

The two examples The Chronicle cited were the capitol building and road funds. These are not good examples of funding waiting to be plucked for higher education. Whenever the state begins a building project, it signs contracts which include penalties if the project is scrapped. The capitol preservation was a three-stage process estimated to cost over $100 million. Last year, legislators cut stages two and three and kept stage one on schedule because the penalties of putting it off would have eaten up any benefit of eliminating the project.

Please research the facts more thoroughly before broadly condemning spending. Education is, and should be, a high state priority, but it is not the only one.

Jason Gallian

Class of 2002