By JayReyNEWS STAFF REPORTER

No matter how repugnant Carl Paladino’scomments about President Obama and thefirst lady may have been, they are not enoughto kick him off the Buffalo School Board, legaland educational experts say. He has protec-tion for his offensive speech under the FirstAmendment.

The board – which will petition the stateeducation commissioner for Paladino’s remov-al –maybe able tomake the case that his com-

ments violated policy or code of conduct as aswornmember of the Buffalo Board of Educa-tion.But so far, therehasn’tbeenmuchtohangthat on, the experts added.

Even if state Education CommissionerMaryEllen Elia decides to remove the boardmember – something commissioners hesitateto do – there is likely to be a court challengethat could drag on for years.

One thing is for sure: It’s highly unusual toseek removal of a board member for what hesaid in the political arena.

“I think we’re in uncharted territory,” saidJayWorona, general counsel for the New YorkState School BoardsAssociation.

Ousting Paladino would be tough, costlyEducation, legal experts citeFirst Amendment protections

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Obituaries .................. C5PicturePage ............ B12TheRegion ................. C1Scoreboard................ B11

Sports ............................ B1Travel ........................... F8TVTopics ..........................Viewpoints ................ H1

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WEATHER $2.50Newsstand andmachine price

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Seahawks,Texansadvance inplayoffsSeattle’s defense tamesthe Lions, 26-6; Houstontops Oakland, 27-14 Page B1

UP TO$1,269I N S AV I NG S

By Jay TokaszNEWS STAFF REPORTER

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomowants to entice more NewYorkers into earning a collegedegree with an offer of freetuition at the state’s public col-leges anduniversities.

It’s easy to understand free,especially when college costsprompt night sweats for par-ents of college-age students.Cuomo’s plan grabbed nation-wide attention.

StateUniversityofNewYorkChancellor Nancy Zimphercalled the free tuition proposala “showstopper” and praisedCuomo for putting higher edu-cation at the top of New York’slist of public policy issues for2017.

But higher-education poli-cy experts and private collegepresidents question whether“free tuition” is the most effec-tive way to get more studentsthrough college.

Among the concerns:• Whether public colleges

and universities can keep pacewith higher demand withoutsacrificing quality;

• Theuse of limited resourc-es to help a broad spectrum offamilies,many ofwhomcan af-ford to pay tuition, instead oftargetingmore aid toward low-er-income families;

• Whether the state will beable to sustain free tuition as

collegecostsgrow,andwhetherotherareasofhigher-educationfundingwill suffer;

• The possibility that in-creased competition for seatsin selective state colleges anduniversities will squeeze outlow-income students and leadto less diverse campuses.

The state is home to morethan 100 private colleges anduniversities, in addition to anetwork of 89 public collegesand universities in the StateUniversity of New York andCity University of New York.Cuomo’s plan would drive uphigher-education costs andput some private colleges outof business, to the detrimentof students and taxpayers, ac-cording to some private-sectorpresidents.

“I think all of us in the pri-vate sector applaud the gover-nor for trying to find a way toget more students into collegeand on to a degree,” said GaryA. Olson, president of DaemenCollege in Amherst, one of 11private nonprofit colleges anduniversities in Western NewYork. “I’m sure that all the in-tentions are good. Butwhat I’mseeing and he may not be see-ing is the unintended conse-quences.”

Currently, more than halfof the state’s bachelor’s de-gree earners and nearly three-

Free tuition planraises concernson equity, scopeProposal could hurt private collegeswhile failing to aid neediest students

By Jennifer SteinhauerandEric Lichtblau

NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON – As Sen-ate Republicans embark on aflurry of confirmation hear-ings this week, several of Pres-ident-elect Donald Trump’s ap-pointees have yet to completethe background checks andethics clearances customarilyrequired before the Senate be-gins to consider Cabinet-levelnominees.

Republicans, who are ex-pected to hold up to five hear-ings on Wednesday alone, saythey simply want to ensurethe new president has a teamin place as soon as possible. “Ibelieve all the president-elect’sCabinet appointments will beconfirmed,” Sen. Mitch McCo-

nnell of Kentucky, the majorityleader, said.

But Democrats are callingfor theprocess tobeslowedandfor the hearings to be spreadout. That, they say, would allowmore time to vet the nominees.“Our first overarching focus isgetting tax returns and ethicsforms,” said Sen. Amy Klobu-char, D-Minn.

Ina letter toSens.CharlesE.Schumer, D-N.Y., andElizabethWarren, D-Mass., the head ofthe Office of Government Eth-ics, Walter M. Shaub Jr., saidFriday that “the announcedhearing schedule for severalnominees who have not com-pleted the ethics review pro-cess is of great concern tome.”

“During this presidentialtransition, not all of the nomi-nees presently scheduled forhearings have completed theethics review process,” Shaub

GOP rushing toOKTrump nomineesCandidates’ vettingnot yet completeMark Mulville/Buffalo News

The owl, being tended to byRichard Burdeaux Jr., LauraWade andMarianneHites at Specialized Care for Avian&Exotic Pets in Clarence, had four pins inserted into its brokenwing, above left, and grows stronger each day.

ByBarbaraO’BrienNEWS STAFF REPORTER

The snowy owl, a visitor from the tundra,had survived formore thanaweekwithabro-ken wing before it was found on a rural roadinCattaraugus County.

Emaciated and sick, it may not have livedmuch longer, had not a farmer flagged down

two state Department of Conservation offi-cers who happened to be driving through theTown of Napoli the week before Christmas.They were able to capture the owl, and thentwo bird rehabilitators and a veterinarianwent to work. Already, the bird has shown ithas strength and awill to live.

Eventually, the owlmay be returned to thewild. But thatwill be awhile yet.

Snowy owls are not usually seen in West-ernNewYork, but this guy is in for an extend-

INJUREDSNOWYOWLISONROADTORECOVERYFarmer saves bird’s lifeby flagging downofficers

Care of the birdincludes giving

him extrafluids througha tube down

his throat, andantibiotics.Although hewas sick, hewas strong.

FROM COAST TO COAST,A KILLER OPIOID EPIDEMIC

Opioid addiction is America’s 50-stateepidemic. It’s theworst drug crisis inU.S.history, health experts say, killingmorethan 33,000 people in 2015. And there’s nosign it’s letting up. Story on Page A4

SeeTuitionon Page A10

SeeOwlon Page A9

SeePaladinoon Page A9

“The School Board ...is saying to the govern­ment, ‘We don’t likewhat he said andwewant you to punishhim for saying it,’”

– Attorney Paul Cambria

ShouldTrump target sanctuary cities?Debate centers on rule of law, compassion for immigrants | PAGEH1

SeeNomineeson Page A8

Continued from the Cover

quarters of its master’s degree earn-ers graduate fromprivate colleges anduniversities.

Small private colleges in particu-lar,which tendtorelyon tuition for thebulk of their revenue, already face tre-mendous financial pressures due to adecline in the population of tradition-al college-aged students across mostof New York and in other parts of theNortheast.

Olson said the governor’s plan asit is now would create havoc in thestate’s higher education landscape,potentially steering tens of thousandsof students from private colleges anduniversities ontoSUNYcampuses thatwon’t have the capacity to handle theinflux.

“They would be completely over-whelmed,” he said. The state wouldthen have to spend even more moneyon additional faculty and staff and fa-cilities, Olson added.

Cuomo’s tuition planCuomo’s proposal ultimatelywould

have the state pay tuition at public col-leges and universities in New York forresident students in families that earn$125,000 or less per year.

State officials anticipate using ex-isting federal and state financial aidprograms to pay for most of the cost,while adding $163 million in state taxdollars for Excelsior Scholarships thatwill coverwhat the traditional aidpro-grams do not. In announcing his plan,Cuomo said that college education is anecessity, not a luxury, in today’s econ-omy, and he cited state Labor Depart-ment data that show that within thenext seven years, 3.5 million new jobsacross New York will require at leastan associate degree. The governor alsosaid he wanted to help students suc-ceed “without the anchor of studentdebtweighing themdown.”

Cuomo’s free tuition plan won’t ex-actly be free – either for taxpayers orfor students.

Some graduates of the SUNY sys-tem already have complained on so-cial media about struggling throughcollege, working to pay for it, while fu-ture SUNY students could get free tu-ition, paid by tax dollars. But today’sstudents bearmuchmoreof the cost ofhigher education than 10 or 20 yearsago. Public college tuition used to below enough that many students couldwork a summer job and part time dur-ing the semester to pay their way. Notanymore, said Kim Dancy, policy ana-lyst for theNewAmerica Foundation.

“In recent years, we’ve seen a hugeincrease inwhatpublic institutionsarecharging students in a way that mini-mum wage salaries haven’t kept upwith,” saidDancy.

Besides, an individual’s college edu-cation translates into societal benefits,so taxpayer contribution to that edu-cation is an investment in the broadercommunity, saidKatherineS.Conway-Turner, president of SUNY BuffaloState.

“It’s a public good,” she said. “It’sgood for our communities when peo-ple have degrees. It’s good for kids. It’sgood for families. It has cascading col-lateral benefits.”

Dancy has studied the idea of freecollege since Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, made it a centerpiece of hiscampaign for the Democratic presi-dential nomination. Sanders joinedCuomo at LaGuardia Community Col-lege in Queens for the governor’s an-nouncement and urged state legisla-tors to support the free tuition plan.

Alternative ideasInstead of free tuition, the gover-

nor’s proposal could be tweaked toexpand the state’s Tuition AssistanceProgram, or TAP, a financial aid grantprogram that follows an income-eligi-ble student to the institution of their

choosing, public or private, Olson andother private college leaders said.

Cynthia Zane, president of HilbertCollege in Hamburg, called the gover-nor’sproposal “anewphilosophicalap-proach to funding higher education.”

“Wouldn’t everyone like to go tocollege for free?No question. It soundswonderful,” she said.

But Zane said the proposal had thepotential to upset one of the state’smost effective public-private partner-ships and significantlyweaken thepri-vate sector, where students on averagegraduate at much higher rates andhave lower loan default rates than theaverage for SUNY and City UniversityofNewYork campuses.

The plan also could have devastat-ing economic effects across the state.Small private colleges fuel local econo-mies by two to three times the size oftheir budgets, according to estimatesby the Commission on IndependentColleges and Universities. Hilbert,with enrollment of about 1,000 stu-dents, an annual budget of around$16million and employing the full-timeequivalent of 200 people, has an eco-nomic impact of $43million annually.At Daemen, the impact is estimated at$130million.

“A lot of the private colleges, they’rein small townswhere theyare the larg-est employer,” said Zane. “I have noidea to what extent the governor and

his office have studied those issues.”

Low-income impactHigher-education policy experts

said the governor’s plan isn’t as pro-gressive as it sounds.

“The studentswho need it themostwill benefit the least,” said Julie Ajin-ka, vice president of applied researchat the Institute for Higher EducationPolicy inWashington,D.C.

That’s because low-income stu-dentswon’t receiveanyadditionalben-efit fromtheplan.Theyalreadyqualifyfor enough federal Pell and state TAPmoney to cover SUNY tuition,which is$6,470 this year.

The biggest winners will be stu-dents in families that earn between$75,000 and $125,000. They currentlyreceive little or nothing from Pell andTAP.

Ajinkya said Cuomo’s plan – while“definitely politically popular” be-cause it includes a broader spectrumof students – fails to take into accountcollege costs beyond tuition, such asbooks, fees and living expenses, whichare growing just as fast or faster thantuition. Students from families withlower incomes are less prepared to ab-sorb those costs than higher-incomestudents. And it’s often an inability topay that forces them to drop out.

“When they’re left to foot the re-mainder of that bill, there’s a bigger

gulf for them,” she said.Ineffect,Cuomoisproposinganex-

pansion of the state’s TAP program tohigher middle-income families, addedMatthew M. Chingos, an educationpolicy researcher at the Urban Insti-tute in Washington, D.C. “The Cuomoplan does precisely zero for kids fromlow-income families,” said Chingos.

Many of those middle-class fami-lies feel squeezed by college costs, too,and in New York, a $125,000 incomethreshold means very different thingsdepending on whether a student re-sides near New York City or in upstateNewYork, he said.

A flood of new students into theSUNY system could lead to other in-equities, particularly at the most se-lective campuses, such as Bingham-ton University and the University atBuffalo. Students from more-affluentfamilies have years of educational ad-vantages that help them meet higheradmissions standards.

“It’s almost certain that you wouldhave more competition for those seatsthat could potentially drive out low-in-come students,” said Chingos.

UB already enrolls a higher per-centage of students from affluent fam-ilies, comparedwithotherSUNY insti-tutions. About 62 percent of the 16,511in-state undergraduate students atUBwouldqualify for free tuition, basedonan adjusted gross income of $125,000

or less. Statewide, 80 percent of house-holds make $125,000 or less. And 90percent of SUNY Buffalo State stu-dents comefromhouseholdsbelowtheproposed free tuition income thresh-old.

AdvantagesStill, free tuition offers a powerful

marketing advantage: A simple, clearmessage that could convince manylow-income families who thought theycouldn’t afford college to apply anden-roll their sons anddaughters.

“This raises the expectation that,‘Mykid cando this too,’” saidZimpher.“Tome, it’s a hugemotivation.”

It’s already happened in Tennes-see, where community colleges saw a25 percent increase in enrollment in2015, after the state promised tomakeearning a two-year degree tuition free.Tennessee’s program also makes upthedifference in tuitionnot coveredbyfederal aid, benefitting more middle-income families.

Targeting low-income studentswith financial aid hasn’t worked ef-fectively anyway, because the currentaid system is too confusing andunder-funded for families to have much con-fidence in it, according to Sara Gold-rick-Rab,professorofhighereducationand sociology at Temple Universityand author of “Paying the Price: Col-lege Costs, Financial Aid, and the Be-trayal of the American Dream.” Gold-rick-Rabwrote an opinion piece in theWashington Post praising Cuomo’sproposal.

The plan “brings together peoplefrom all social classes in a commonprogramandpolicy,” she said in the es-say. “Low-income people lack the po-litical power of the middle class, andcross-class alliances that include thetoo often ‘missing middle’ can shoreup political support.”

Full-time requirementTheCuomoplanwould require stu-

dents to enroll full time to receive freetuition – a stipulation that could pres-ent a problem, especially for commu-nity college students,whooftenattendpart time because they have jobs.

“It seems like it’s going to limit yourability to have a job to pay for your liv-ing expenses,” said Dancy. “Studentsare still likely going to have to borrowto pay for their living expenses.”

On the flip side, free tuition maybe just what some students need toswitch frompart-time to full-time andcomplete theirdegreework faster, thusincurring less debt.

“One thing we know unequivocallyis that, if you are fully enrolled, there’sa much better chance you will stay ontarget or finish early,” Zimpher said.

How to payCuomo’s plan so far hasn’t provid-

ed details on how the state will pay forthe added cost of the Excelsior Schol-arships. Prior to the announcement,as SUNY was crafting its budget pro-posal, the Governor’s Office cautionedSUNY officials to temper their requestbecause disappointing state incometax revenue projections were likely tolead to a budget deficit.

So to make sure their campuseswould have enough revenue, SUNY of-ficials asked the state to renew a “ra-tional tuition” policy that had allowedfor yearly tuition hikes between 2011and 2015. The policy, which led to a30 percent increase in tuition over thefive years, expired in the spring andthe Legislature declined to extend it.SUNY officials want to bring it back,with a wrinkle – tiered tuition rate in-creases, inwhich individual campusescould elect to request an annual hikeof $100, $200, or $300, or no increase.

Zimpher said SUNY will continueto press for the rational tuition policy,while alsoadvocating forCuomo’spro-posal.

email: jtokasz@buffnews.com

SUNY campusesmay not be able to handle influxTUITION • fromA1

A10 The BuffaloNews/Sunday, January 8, 2017

ByDanClarkNEWS ALBANY BUREAU

Gov. AndrewM. Cuomo said highlevels of student loan debtmotivatedhis proposal for free tuition at anypublic university or communitycollege inNewYork State for studentsfrom families earning less than$125,000 a year.

“It is incredibly expensive, andthe debt is so high it’s like starting aracewith an anchor tied to your leg,”Cuomo said of paying for college.“Average college debt – $30,000 perstudent.”

TheGovernor’s Office projected

210,000 students would seek thebenefit. If so, the programwould costthe state $163million annually by2019.

So is Cuomo right about theaverage student debt load inNewYorkState?

Average debt loadThe Federal Reserve Bank of New

York collected 2015 data on studentloan debt in the state.

The Fed reports 17.9 percent ofconsumers inNewYork State have astudent loan, and their average collegedebt is $32,200. That’s higher thanthe national average of $29,700, theFed said.

The debt steadily increased for adecade. According to a Septemberreport from the state Comptroller’sOffice, the average student debt load

inNewYork State increased bymorethan 47 percent between 2005 and2015. The national average grew by 56percent.

Total student debt statewidemorethan doubled during that time period.

The Institute for College Access &Success, an independent, nonprofitorganization, pegged the average debtof the state’s college graduates in 2015at $29,320.

That ranked 18th highest amongthe states. Fifty-nine percent of thestudents graduatedwith debt, theorganization said.

The average debt among graduates

of State University of NewYorkcampuses was generally lower thantheir private college counterparts. Theaverage debt for University at Buffalograduates was $26,165, followed bythose at BinghamtonUniversity,$25,844; SUNYAlbany, $25,727; andStony BrookUniversity, $23,542.

The average debt for graduatesfluctuated among private colleges inNewYork State. Among the higheraverages were incurred by graduatesof Ithaca College, $39,771; RochesterInstitute of Technology, $38,198; St.BonaventureUniversity, $38,073;FordhamUniversity, $37,607; andSyracuseUniversity, $36,500, accord-ing to the institute.

The average debt was lower– but still significant – for gradu-ates at other private universities:Colgate University, $20,859; Cornell

University, $24,394; ClarksonUniver-sity, $29,000; NewYorkUniversity,$30,480; St. John’s University, $33,179.

Our rulingCuomo said the

average collegedebt for thosewhoborrowed for collegeinNewYork state is

“$30,000 per student.”Cuomo gets it right, according

to the Institute for College Access &Success, which analyzed debt for 2015graduates inNewYork State. Andhis claim is about what the FederalReserve Bank of NewYork calculatesfor all NewYork State consumerswithcollege debt.

We rate his claim as True.

email: dclark@buffnews.com

Governor gets it right about average student debt loadNewYorkers carry$30,000 in loans

Majority of state’s four-year college graduates are in debt for student loansMore than half of all students in New York graduated from four-year institutions in 2015with student loans, and the average debt was $29,320. A sampling of average debt loads of graduatesfrom four-year public colleges and universities in New York:

City University of New York Brooklyn College $15,235

Fashion Institute of Technology $25,162

Stony Brook University $23,592

University at Albany $25,727

Binghamton University $25,844

University at Buffalo $26,165

SUNY Fredonia $30,553

SUNY Buffalo State $25,861

SUNY College at Brockport $30,192

SUNY College at Geneseo $21,787

Source: The Institute for College Access & Success, Project on Student Debt

Sharon Cantillon/Buffalo News

“One thingwe knowunequivocallyis that, if you are fully enrolled, there’s

amuch better chance youwill stayon target or finish early.”

SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher

Harry Scull Jr./Buffalo News

“I’m sure that all the intentionsare good. Butwhat I’m seeingandhemaynot be seeing is theunintended consequences.”

Gary A. Olson, president of Daemen College