Higher ed officials press lawmakers to avoid more cuts

Trustees and regents from the state’s colleges and universities spent Tuesday at the Capitol urging lawmakers to prevent further cuts to higher education.

Twenty-eight regents and trustees met with members from the House and Senate higher education committees and Marty Loesch, Gov. Chris Gregoire’s chief of staff, among others.

Lawmakers cut $500 million from higher education last year, and Gregoire has proposed an additional $160 million cut to help deal with the state’s budget deficit.