Students and faculty at Riverland Community College discussed paying for college and finding employment after school with Minnesota representatives Friday at Riverland Community College in Albert Lea.

“Unfortunately in higher education and in a lot of different areas, because of the unallotments that are happening, we’ve had to make a lot of cuts at the legislature this year,” said Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, chairman of the House higher education committee.

Rukavina is a potential governor candidate, and he’s filed paperwork allowing him to run for governor. He said he’ll decide whether or not to run by early September.

Rukavina was the main speaker who fielded questions and comments from about 30 Riverland students and faculty members. Rep. David Bly, DFL-Northfield and Rep. Robin Brown, DFL-Moscow Township also attendened.

Gary Peterson, an industrial maintenance mechanic instructor, said 12 faculty positions have been cut through retirements, and the school does not plan to fill the positions.

“We’re nickel and diming you folks. The kids are going to pay for it. The instructors are going to suffer. The staff is going to suffer, and we got to do something,” Rukavina said.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system announced a 5 percent tuition hike for fall that will be lessened to 3 percent temporarily by federal stimulus dollars.

MnSCU alone has had $70 million cut through unallotments by Gov. Tim Pawlenty — $20 million late last year and another $50 million in June.

Rukavina said funding from the federal stimulus package has helped lessen the effect of some of these cuts.

The cuts, Rukavina said, were more directed toward administration and less toward the classroom.

To illustrate the problem of increasing tuition, Rukavina referred to a comment made when he visited the Austin campus on Thursday. Danyel Helgeson, director of Riverland’s nursing program, said she has seen her students go from paying $5,000 per year just a few years ago to paying between $14,000 and $17,000 for their educations.

Rukavina said more money is available through financial aid because of the stimulus package.

Some students questioned the availability of jobs after their schooling, and the amount of work shipped overseas was discussed as a reason for fewer jobs.

“We have to change and go a different direction, and jobs have to be our highest priority going forward. We have to be able to put people to work. We have to change that notion of outsourcing,” Bly said.

Bly said we have to change the idea that CEOs will keep making more money, while everyone else sees their wages decrease.

Rukavina said job loss is a key issue in his district. The unemployment rate in Hibbing has recently hit 18.7 percent.

“It’s not a fair economy,” Rukavina said.

Rukavina said he wants to pass legislation requiring things created in Minnesota universities to be produced in the state. He said he helped pass legislation a few years ago that required all American flags sold in Minnesota be made in the U.S.

One key to fixing the lack of jobs is helping small businesses, and Bly said a second stimulus bill could be directed more toward small business growth.

Rukavina asked about Riverland’s new wind energy program, and he said he hopes more wind turbine components will be manufactured in Minnesota some day.

Bly mentioned a state bill that, if passed, would create more market for renewable energy by helping residents and small businesses purchase solar panels and wind turbines. He said the owners would get a guaranteed rate of pay for energy produced.

Bly said a similar program increased the amount of renewable energy and created new jobs in Germany.

Rukavina also visited the Riverland campus in Austin yesterday, and he also visited schools in Red wing, Winona and Rochester.

—Staff writer Mike Rose contributed to this story.