The Board of Regents is hoping the $125 tuition surcharge they passed last week in place of a straight tuition increase will send a message to state legislators that Illinois needs increased higher education funding. However, some legislators have said the wrong message was sent.

At Thursday’s Regents meeting, Regents Chancellor Roderick Groves expressed doubts about the surcharge for Regency schools. He was concerned that under the guise of a surcharge, the funds from the increase might not be allocated back to the Regency by the state legislature. He also said there might be better ways to send the message of educational needs to legislators.

State Representative John Countryman, R-DeKalb, said the message the Regents sent was “dead wrong.” They are sending the message they are unwilling to look for areas where they can cut costs. “They have to make due with what they have,” he said.

State Senator Patrick Welch, D-Peru, said, “I think the legislature is concerned about how high tuition increases.” He said the legislature attempted to pass a bill limiting the amount of tuition increases, but universities opposed the bill.

Countryman said the Regency system opposed the bill, which failed to make it out of the house committee by one vote.

“I’m not sure why a surcharge is different than a tuition increase. It sticks out more,” Welch said.

Countryman said he is opposed to any increase in tuiton. The Regency system is taking it upon itself to add to its budget and is passing the bill on to students, he said.

“I think the problem is the Board of Regents. They think they have a blank check and they can spend, spend, spend,” Countryman said. An example of that is “the Wingfield situation,” he said.

Former NIU president and current professor Clyde Wingfield recently was sent on an administrative assignment to Washington, D.C. to work for the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Regents voted to give Wingfield an $85,000 salary while on the assignment.

“Frankly, they need to assess whether they can continue to do things this way. It’s almost as if they don’t need the money,” Countryman said.

Welch said the legislature has to appropriate money that is raised by the universities back to the universities. But he said it is possible the money from the surcharge would not be appropriated back to the Regency system.

Regarding the re-appropriation of surcharge funds, Countryman said, “I think some (legislators) are very concerned about it.”