Board votes to double tuition at Puerto Rico university

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A majority of federal control board members have voted to more than double tuition at Puerto Rico's largest public university.

Six of seven members also voted Friday to cut benefits at the University of Puerto Rico, implement a 10 percent cut in operating costs and consolidate 11 campuses that serve more than 58,000 students on an island mired in an 11-year recession.

Government and university officials vowed not to implement those and other measures, and critics warned the changes would make higher education unaffordable for many since nearly 45 percent of the U.S. territory's population lives under the poverty line.

A majority of members also approved a fiscal plan for Puerto Rico's Highways and Transportation Authority that calls for toll increases and a 15 percent reduction in personnel costs.