April 26, 2017

Jadine Nollan
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd.
Room 407
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 557-7390

Mrs. Nollan;

I hope all is well in your life. My name is Damon Mouss, and I am a student attending Oklahoma
State University. Im writing in regards to the budget crisis in our beloved state. The 2017 fiscal
year is having budget cuts to the higher education programs. Maintaining funding for higher
education should be a top priority for the Legislature and the Governor of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is leading in higher education cuts since the 2008 recession (Perry 2014). In the 2015
Fiscal year Oklahomas budget cuts where at the highest in the nation, Oklahomas per student
school formula funding has dropped 23.6 percent over the past six years (Perry 2014). Even as
the economy began to recover, our, per student spending was $827 below the pre-recession
levels (Perry 2014). The total damage done to higher education in the state is $172 million
below what it was in fiscal year 2008 (Perry 2014). Cuts so deep in higher education have
drastic consequences.

Higher education is a fundamental priority our state is lacking in. At the beginning of the 2016
Fiscal Year the State Regents for Higher Education budget was allotted $963,412,106 (Querry
2016). Fast forward to the 2017 fiscal year where the State Regents for Higher Education budget
was set at $810,022,109 (Querry 2016). With such budget cuts in the state of Oklahoma
students are hit with the burden of taking up extra jobs and taking out more loans.

The 2016-2017 year was my third year at OSU. I was in the physical education program for the
first two years at OSU. Then I switched from physical education to the Spears School of
Business pursuing a degree in finance. At the time I was unaware of my financial situation. I
started watching my own finances and came to realization that the tuition and fees had been
going up. It wasnt until the 2017 spring semester while I was taking just two courses at NOC
that it dawned on me the amount of money I was going to need to pay for two courses was
roughly $1400. This amount isnt much to some but to me this was a huge amount since Ive
been living on financial aid and Oklahoma Promise. Since I wasnt full time I wasnt awarded
with the full amount to pay off my outstanding balance but was awarded $400. The remaining
$1000 was going to be a hard to make up. I still needed to pay rent every month at a rate of $450
per month not including living expenses. While trying to pursue a degree to make a living to
stimulate the economy in some way; people that go to college are being put in debt before they
know how to manage their finances and time. This makes life stressful for future students that are
trying to pursue a higher education.

I believe the system is set up backwards. Our future generations have to suffer due to the high
levels of debt. The average Class of 2016 graduate has $37,172 in student loan debt, up six
percent from last year (A Look at the Shocking Student Loan Debt Statistics for 2017). While
were taught that without a bachelors degree you cant get a high paying job or even a median
salary job. But the people that are pursuing a higher education get hit with high levels of debt
because this state lacks the infrastructure to help the people who are trying to stimulate the
economy by graduating with a bachelors degree.

Though, I dont respect the amount of money that hangs over our heads in student debt. I do
believe that higher education in Oklahoma is cheaper and accessible to Oklahomans. I support
the Oklahoma Promise grant that helps give low-income families the opportunity to send their
high school child to college. I stand for the students who are pursuing their life goals to create
something for themselves but please try to budget our state to help funding for our state colleges.

Sincerely,

Damon Mouss
821 North Monroe
Stillwater, OK 74075