When 19% is seen as a "reprieve"...

...then you know how bad it could have been.

Pennsylvania's public colleges and universities got good news (if you want to use such a term) today, as they learned the state government will cut by only (only!!) 19 percent the funding they will receive next year.

Earlier this year they were told the cut would be 50 percent.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes,

For Pitt, that will mean a state contribution of $136 million. The school received about $168 million in the current budget, which included about $7.5 million from federal stimulus funds that were not available for next year.

Still, the minority Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee, which voted this morning along party lines to approve those cuts, said the General Assembly was ignoring the more than $600 million in excess tax collections that could be used to help college students.

Rep. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, said the proposed reduction for those four schools is much deeper than what they lost in stimulus dollars and cuts into what they received in state aid last year. He and others said those cuts will result in higher tuition for students.

The Patriot News examines what the cuts mean for Penn State.

The House Appropriations Committee, following a lengthy debate, approved bills that would provide $214 million for Penn State, about the same level of support Penn State received for its operating budget 15 years ago. That appropriation is down from this year's $264 million.

You know how I feel about this topic, so there's no need for me to say anything.