The recent proposal of Connecticut’s two-year state budget could bring an array of changes to Central Connecticut students.

One of the major concerns addressed by Connecticut State Colleges and Universities President Mark Ojakian was the possibility of financial difficulties.

“We need to be clear that if the state college and university system ends up with the funding proposed today, significant financial problems will remain, totaling a $57 million shortfall between the community colleges and state universities,” Ojakian said.

Tuition increases and “drawdowns” of dwindling reserves, or “likely both,” could come as a result of this, Ojakian said.

Ojakian also added that if tuition is raised by four percent, as it has been over the past two years, the shortfall for the state budget would be $21.1 million compared to $31.7 million with a zero percent tuition increase.

Governor Ned Lamont’s plan also addressed the implementation of tolls and “sin tax” for vaping. The budget proposal, according to Lamont, will require months of deliberation and will need to be finalized by early June.

Lamont’s proposal also included a long list of items, like child car seats, non-prescription drugs, textbooks and more that could soon be taxed at 6.35 percent. The most concerning out of all of those, according to some CCSU students, is the possible tax hike on textbooks.

“At this point, he might as well bump our tuition up since he single-handedly will keep students from taking classes after seeing the price of the books,” the Student Government Association’s Academic Affairs Committee Chair Johanna Zukowski said. “I think it’ll be disappointing and students will definitely be deterred from taking classes if they can’t afford the price, which is unfortunate.”

One of the possible solutions to combat this, Zukowski said, is for professors to utilize “Open Educational Resources,” or OER’s, which is a free digital library that students can utilize.

The SGA’s External Affairs Committee Chair Roshanay Tahir had a similar mindset to Zukowski, saying that a textbook tax would just be another unwanted burden on students.

“We are already paying high enough prices with tuition and that doesn’t include the $300 to $500 some spend on textbooks for a single semester. Adding a tax on textbooks would definitely be an extra burden on students wanting an education,” Tahir said. “There are students who are working two or three jobs to just barely afford tuition, not including rent, bills and other expenses they may have.”  

The budget also sustains appropriations of $16.2 million for community colleges to support fringe benefits outside of the state’s General Fund, according to Ojakian. He stated that the budget maintains funding for a scholarship program that provides financial aid to in-state residents attending public and private colleges.

Altogether, Lamont’s proposal includes a 1.7 percent increase for the first year and a 3.4 increase in the second, topping the budget at $21.2 billion.

Despite addressing items that could see a tax spike, Lamont failed to include a possible statewide car tax, which he supported during his campaign. Recreational marijuana usage or the possibility of legalizing sports and online gambling is also left out.