Could Pennsylvania’s struggle with public education get worse? The answer seems obvious: probably not.

So, how could a $1.9 billion structural deficit that is hamstringing forward-thinking investment, a 2015-16 budget boondoggle costing school districts nearly $1 billion in loan interest payments, and the nation’s most inequitable school funding system possibly get worse?

One word: college.

Analysis released Wednesday by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Budget and Policy Priorities shows that per-student subsidies at public colleges and universities in Pennsylvania have declined at nearly double the national rate since 2008. Nationwide, such public subsidies shrank by an average of 17 percent since 2008. In Pennsylvania they’re down 33 percent — the fifth-highest drop in the country over that time.

That equates to a drop of more than $2,200 per student, and the pain is being passed along — both in slashed academic programs and rising costs. Tuition and fees at the 14 state-owned and four state-related universities have increased an average of $2,200 — or about 20 percent — since 2008.

“These choices have made college less affordable and less accessible for students who need degrees to succeed in today’s economy,” write the study’s authors, Michael Mitchell, Michael Leachman and Kathleen Masterson.

Critics of that viewpoint like to argue that grants and scholarships have increased at a faster pace since 2008, ostensibly offsetting much of the increased cost of college.

But the reality is that a college degree in this state costs more than ever before. Recent college graduates in Pennsylvania carry the third-highest debt load on average — $33,264 — of any students in the country. Only New Hampshire and Delaware send college graduates out into the workforce with more debt than we do.

This matters because our national economy is in the midst of a dramatic shift toward workers with a postsecondary education. Throw out what you’ve heard about too many college graduates with useless degrees kicking around in their parents’ basements. We actually need more college graduates, and we’re not on track to meet the demands of a shifting workforce.

Within four years, 63 percent of jobs in Pennsylvania will require either a two or four-year degree, according to Georgetown’s Center for Education and the Workforce. More than 75 percent of the 55 million job openings nationwide between 2010 and 2020 will be filled by people with at least some college on their resume.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, which has more than 100,000 students — nearly 90 percent of whom are Pennsylvania residents — and confers more than 25 percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded in Pennsylvania each year, will play a vital role in helping Pennsylvania meet these workforce demands.

The PSSHE must remain financially viable.