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Union and campus representatives back Green & Healthy bill, urge debt relief and financed capital to protect affordability
Summary
At the same Joint Committee hearing, witnesses supporting H.1426/S.949 pressed for a Green and Healthy Public Colleges and Universities approach that couples deferred‑maintenance funding with campus debt relief to reduce pressure on tuition and staff wages.
Union representatives, campus staff and faculty advocates told the Joint Committee on Higher Education that a separate bill — H.1426 (and S.949) discussed during the same hearing — should be approved to pair campus modernization with relief for campus‑borne debt. Testimony argued that debt service and deferred maintenance have been shifted onto students through fees and that debt relief would free resources for student affordability and employee pay.
What witnesses said: Casey Krone, health and safety coordinator for the University Staff Association, presented survey results showing staff hardship in recent months: “Between April 2024 and March 2025 across multiple surveys ... 34 percent to 50 percent of us experience some level of food insecurity,” and many members reported working second jobs or delaying life milestones because of low pay. Krone and MTA witnesses said campuses sometimes pass debt service costs to students and recommended a capital debt relief fund that would: (1) provide relief for campus debt tied to prior capital projects, (2) prohibit charging students for released debt, and (3) require any savings be used for student success, hiring and compensation.
Joanna Gonsalves (Massachusetts State College Association) and others reiterated that previous bond programs (2008 bond package was cited) often covered most of project costs with state support; they urged the committee to avoid designs that force high campus matches that would shift costs to students.
Why it matters: witnesses framed H.1426/S.949 as both a facilities and affordability bill. They argued that without an explicit debt relief component and strong state support for capital costs, campuses will be forced into greater borrowing, public‑private partnerships or higher student fees — outcomes that would undercut the bill’s goals of expanding access.
Ending: supporters asked the committee to consider language that (a) creates a capital debt relief fund, (b) requires the Commonwealth to fully fund certain future capital projects rather than shift costs to campuses, and (c) specifies that savings from any debt relief be reinvested in faculty/staff compensation and student support services.
