KPLU Local News
(2010-02-08)
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(AP Photo/G. L. Kohuth)
Yunhee Choi is the first in her family to go to college and has just a year left until she graduates from the University of Washington. If funding for work-study dries up, though, she worries that she won't get a cap and gown.
"I don't even know if I'd be able to go to school because the loans would just build up on top of each other," Choi says. "And that's not something I even want to think about."
Choi has to pay for college herself. So she relies on work study for about 1/3 of the cost. Her job as an assistant in the Education Department is subsidized by the state government. More than 9,000 students earn money through the program. Most of them are low-income.
John Klacik, director of student financial assistance for Washington's Higher Education Coordinating Board, says the cuts send a message that college is expensive and there isn't much help for students who want to pursue it.
He also says that state work-study often leads to permanent employment or employment in a field related to the student's career or curriculum.
Legislators say that something has to give in order to balance next year's budget. Klacik hopes they'll make small cuts across all financial aid programs, instead of eliminating work study entirely.
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