May 16, 1995 - HIGHER ED ISSUES AMONG THE LAST CONSIDERED IN
LEGISLATURE
House and Senate budget conferees agreed Monday that higher education
issues would be among the last considered by legislative negotiators
trying to hammer out a compromise 1995-97 operating budget. There
is just one week remaining in this 30-day special session. The
Legislature has been in session for 128 consecutive days.
At least partial agreement has been reached on virtually all areas
of state government except higher education and compensation,
raising concerns that public colleges and universities will again
be the "discretionary" portion of the state budget,
the area that will simply receive "what`s left."
Budget negotiators agreed Monday to step up efforts to reach an
agreement on what the level of tax cuts will be for the upcoming
biennium, linking the outcome of those talks to the remaining
issues to be decided in K-12 education and public employee salary
issues, and virtually all major issues in higher education.
STILL UNRESOLVED
on the 23rd day of a scheduled 30-day special legislative session:
- The tuition rate students will pay this fall through July,
1997. WSU urges tuition increases be kept small.
- Where any increased tuition dollars would be spent. WSU
argues tuition increases must benefit the universities the student
attends and not go into the "general fund" to be used
elsewhere in government.
- The funding that will be available to enroll more students
at public colleges and universities. WSU supports full funding
of new enrollments for Pullman, Vancouver, Tri-Cities, and Spokane.
- The level of general fund-state support for public colleges
and universities. WSU favors the Senate funding level, which
is $20 million above the House.
- Cost-of-Living salary increases for university faculty
and staff. WSU supports salary increases for all state employees
with no cut in benefits.
House Majority Leader Dale Foreman, R-Wenatchee, turned down a
Senate "package offer" to complete negotiations on K-12
Monday, stating that he could not decide those issues until the
tax cut proposals are finalized. While he said hundreds of areas
of agreement have been reached in K-12 funding, there were at
least 140 more areas of disagreement.
Senate Ways and Means Chair Nita Rinehart, D-Seattle, agreed that
the issues of tax cuts, education and compensation must be linked
but indicated tax cuts would not be her first priority. "Our
focus is to try to settle the schools first, so that we know what
to do for taxes," said Rinehart. The State House of Representatives
have proposed $738 million in tax cuts while the Senate has proposed
$264 million.
Also held up pending the outcome of the operating budget negotiations
is the finalization of the 1995-97 capital budget for new building
construction at WSU.
