As part of Gov. Jim Justice’s “Save Our State” budget plan, Marshall University’s state appropriations will be reduced by 4.4. percent, which could result in a loss of as much as $2.8 million in state funding for the university. West Virginia University will face cuts as well, roughly estimated at $5.9 million.

While it’s unclear what impact this could have on Marshall, as well as possible tuition increases, President Jerry Gilbert told The Charleston Gazette-Mail Wednesday there would likely be a 5 percent increase in tuition even without the $2.8 million cuts.

“I’m not prepared to say how much at this point, but we do need to look at the full budget and what we would need to balance our budget and fill in our budget holes as our university,” Gilbert said to The Charleston Gazette-Mail

This decrease in state funding follows a trend of higher education budget cuts since 2013 which, as of December 2016, had resulted in a loss of $11.4 million.

At last week’s West Virginia Legislative Lookahead in Charleston, Gilbert said during a higher education panel that cuts could have an effect on the quality of programs as well as the job security of Marshall’s faculty and staff.

“If we have additional cuts, we’re going to have to look very closely at all of our academic programs and start thinking about layoffs and reductions,” Gilbert said. “We’ve tried to maintain the quality of our programs, but at some point we can no longer continue to do everything we are doing. If you cut us, we are going to start suffering.”

Gilbert’s words reflect those of a university that has persevered in times of a budget crises that has taken a toll on the state’s ability to provide affordable quality education.

These cuts come despite the $2.7 billion the state’s public college added to local economies in 2014, as well as the 24,000 individuals employed through higher education, according to The Charleston Gazette-Mail.

In addition to higher education cuts, Justice’s budget also calls to eliminate all state funding for West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which could put the state’s PBS and NPR stations in danger of collapsing. According to the network’s website, the cut “would translate into layoffs of up 75 percent” of the WVPB staff.

Programming like Mountain Stage — which drew in more than 13,000 concert goers last year resulting in more than $1 million in “direct economic impact,” according to WVPB — would be eliminated, while only saving the state a mere $300,000.

One of the more confusing aspects of Justice’s proposal comes when one would consider Justice’s previous public statements about the importance of education — one of the largest things WVPB provides for the public. Programs like Inside Appalachia, Viewpoint and The Front Porch offer new talking points citizens may not have considered.

Families bond over listening to episodes of Snap Judgement, Mountain Stage and All Things Considered, learning sound clip after sound clip about not only the issues they face on a daily basis, but learning things they may not know about each other. This form of familial bonding can be hard to achieve and Justice’s proposals destroy the chance for that bond to blossom.

Justice’s budget will still need to be confirmed by West Virginian lawmakers. While key lawmakers have taken issue with the budget since Wednesday’s State of the State address — Senate Majority Leader Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, was “incredibly disappointed” in Justice’s proposal for tax increases, according to The Charleston Gazette-Mail — none have spoken out against yet another higher education cut.

The Parthenon hopes that the West Virginia Legislature and the new governor — a Marshall alum, nonetheless — see that higher education and public broadcasting are not costs for the state, but rather investments that provide both economic and academic returns.