Tuition freeze casualty of Ohio budget cuts

COLUMBUS (AP) — A newspaper reports that a planned tuition freeze for an additional year at Ohio’s public four-year colleges is one of the casualties in a state budget deal.

The Columbus Dispatch, citing sources, reported today the budget will cut state funding for higher education by $170 million. Instead of the tuition freeze, colleges will be able to increase tuition by 3.5 percent each of the next two years.

Leaders agreed Friday after having to approve at least two temporary budgets to buy more negotiating time after a June 30 deadline. The agreement puts slot machines at Ohio’s seven horse racing tracks to raise an estimated $933 million.

The agreement also makes $2.4 billion in cuts to erase a $3.2 billion budget deficit. The details of the cuts will become public during a planned budget meeting Monday.