Students attending Idaho State University while serving in the military may see their tuition aid cut as a result of the sequester.
When the government sequester went into effect Friday, March 1, the military responded to budget cuts by indefinitely suspending its tuition assistance programs. Prior to the budget cuts, active duty military members were eligible for $4,500 in tuition assistance per academic year.
That aid, promised to members of the armed forces when they enlisted, was no longer available.
“When they signed that contract, they thought that they would have the ability to go to school while they were in the service and that the service would pay for it. Now, they have to pay for it out of their own pocket,” said Casey Santee, manager of the Veterans’ Sanctuary.
In late March, Congress voted to order the military to restore the tuition assistance programs and make the cuts elsewhere in their budgets. However, the immediate impact of that vote has been minimal.
So far, the military branches have no timetable as to when the aid for military members would return.
“I think it’s sadly ironic that the ones that are making that decision took no cuts in their benefits or pay whatsoever,” said Santee. “That’s what infuriates people.”
“So the military has put it on the backs of the soldiers to further their own education and to improve the military, instead of the military paying to improve itself,” he said.
The cuts directly impacted ISU students. Santee said over 100 students attended ISU using the military’s tuition assistance benefits last year.
Kevin Fernandez, a six-year service member of the Army National Guard, will see a key tuition source disappear if the program is not restored.
“Working part-time jobs, odd jobs here and there” is how Fernandez said he plans to cope with the potential funding loss.
More time working to fund school means less time at home with his family. Fernandez has one child, and his wife is pregnant with their second child.
While active-duty students will be able to finish this semester with their tuition aid intact, their assistance for the fall semester is unclear.
“Dozens will have their primary funding source cut off,” according to Santee, if the program isn’t restored.
Santee said the Veterans’ Sanctuary is working to find alternative funding for students impacted by the cuts if the tuition assistance program is not restored.