April 20, 1995 - WSU LETTER TO THE HOUSE-SENATE BUDGET CONFERENCE
COMMITTEE
In priority order, here are the seven major concerns
WSU has asked operating budget conferees to address:
1. Support of Senate plan for long term funding of higher education.
Maintaining an accessible and viable system of higher education
is necessary for the economic and social health of the State.
The Senate budget provides a means of tying higher education
funding to state economic growth. This approach would slow the
decline in the percentage of state budget devoted to higher education.
WSU strongly supports this approach.
2. No offsets of tuition increases.
Tuition should be considered a user fee, not another tax. Offsetting
tuition revenue with a reduction in state funding is a way of
taxing students to pay for growth in state government outside
of colleges and universities. Any increase in tuition should
stay with the institutions to benefit the students who pay the
fees.
Reducing state budgets to offset tuition increases will inevitably
lead to progressively higher tuition over time. Already WSU`s
tuition for undergraduate students is higher than at 14 of the
22 public peer institutions. Tuition in Washington went up 30%
during the current biennium and could go up another 27% in 1995-97,
a compounded increase of 65% in four years.
3. Support of five percent salary increases without reducing
benefits.
The great majority of WSU faculty and exempt personnel have received
no increases in 1993-95. Both House and Senate proposals fund
only one increase in 1995-97. During these two biennia most institutions
with whom we compete for talent will have had four general salary
increases. The most recent Chronicle of Higher Education
reports that nationally professors who had worked at the same
institution for at least two years received average increases
of 4.6% for 1994-95 alone. Even with a 5% increase in July of
1995 as proposed by the Senate, by the end of the biennium WSU
salaries will lag behind the peer average by more than 10%. WSU
supports increases of at least 5%.
WSU opposes any reduction in employee benefits. Reducing benefits
while salaries are failing to keep pace with other institutions
and with inflation would seriously damage faculty and staff morale.
4. Support for enrollment increases at levels of House or Senate.
WSU appreciates the efforts made in both the House and the Senate
to fund part of the increase in enrollment needed to keep up with
enrollment demand. The enrollment levels in either budget are
adequate, although we would hope new enrollment for WSU Spokane
would increase by at least 50 FTE.
5. Full funding of new enrollment increases as in the Senate
budget.
The level of funding differed considerably in the two budgets.
The House budget uses a separate rate for each campus based on
historic funding patterns. This approach inadequately funds all
campuses, and perpetuates the historic problem of insufficient
funding per student at WSU Tri-Cities. The Senate funding is
based on the HECB cost study and more fully recognizes the need
for library, student services and other support costs.
6. Fund minor crop pesticide research and grape wine research
as in the House budget.
Research in minor crop pesticide usage and grape wine issues
is of particular importance to the agricultural sector of the
state. WSU strongly supports this funding.
7. Continue to fund water quality Cooperative Extension agents
and the Small Business Development specialists.
The House budget cut, perhaps inadvertently, two WSU activities
which were previously funded in other agency budgets. We support
funding within the WSU budget, as provided in the Senate bill,
for continuation of Cooperative Extension agents formerly funded
by the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority.
We also understand that the House appropriations bill cut funding
within the budget of the Department of Community, Trade and Economic
Development for two WSU Small Business Development offices. These
offices are important to the communities of Olympia and Port Angeles,
and we support continued funding with the DCTED budget.
