The cost of attending a public college in Georgia increased 77 percent between 2006 and 2015.

Why?

That is the question the state Department of Audits and Accounts Performance Audit Division attempts to answer in a new audit.

The main culprits: Slashes to higher education funding and reductions to the HOPE Scholarship by the Legislature.

Forced to find more money, the University System of Georgia turned to higher tuition and more mandatory fees. all of which land on students. The audit also found increases in housing and meal plan costs, both more than double the inflation rate.

And the audit discovered hefty fees to underwrite sports teams and expanded athletic programs, fees paid by all students.

To read more about this issue, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.

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8/26/17 - Atlanta, GA - Georgia leaders, including Gov. Nathan Deal, Sandra Deal, members of the King family, and Rep. Calvin Smyre,  were on hand for unveiling of the first statue of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday at the statehouse grounds, more than three years after Gov. Nathan Deal first announced the project.  During the hour-long ceremony leading to the unveiling of the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. at the state Capitol on Monday, many speakers, including Gov. Nathan Deal, spoke of King's biography. The statue was unveiled on the anniversary of King's famed "I Have Dream" speech. BOB ANDRES  /BANDRES@AJC.COM

Credit: Bob Andres