March 20, 1995 - HOUSE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL OPERATING BUDGET
PROPOSAL
Pledging a "dramatic departure from budgets of previous sessions,"
House Majority Leader Dale Foreman, Appropriations Chairman Jean
Silver and other members of the Republican caucus made public
their 1995-97 biennial budget proposal Monday. The proposal had
previously been kept under wraps so WSU officials are still studying
elements of the proposal. At first glance, it appears to be more
funding for WSU than Gov. Mike Lowry proposed, but the University
of Washington and The Evergreen State College indicate the House
budget is worse for them than the Governor's plan.
Highlights of the House budget and tuition bill include:
- Increases in tuition for all students by 5 percent per year,
a tuition increase less than some other scenarios previously under
consideration by the House. However, all of the tuition raised
will be offset by reductions to the state general fund and not
retained by WSU.
- Permits tuition surcharges of up to 20 percent for graduate
students.
- Permits tuition surcharges of up to 30 percent for non-resident
students.
- A single salary increase on Jan. 1, 1996 of $100 per month
for each WSU employee. The exact salary increase for exempt staff
and faculty would be allowed to be determined by the university's
merit system drawing from a pool of money equal to $100 per month.
- The state contribution to health benefits is reduced to require
employees to pay $32 per month.
- New enrollment, though not fully funded, is provided for all
campuses. Students added under the plan are 400 FTE in Pullman
at $3,363; 166 in Tri-Cities at $2,795 each, and 256 in Vancouver
at $5,289 each. Spokane's graduate programs received 28 FTEs
at $9,452 each.
- $1.3 million is provided for WSU "instructional enhancements"
such as equipment and faculty support.
- A $583,000 cut to administration only (compared to a $6.97
million cut required by the Governor).
- Elimination of funding for assessment programs ($372,000 cut
to WSU alone).
- A $1 million appropriation for pesticide research that will
likely be largely conducted by the Food and Environmental Quality
Laboratory at Tri-Cities.
- $525,000 in additional funding for wine grape research at
WSU.
The WSU Reaction:
In testimony before the House Appropriations Committee Monday,
WSU indicated it was gratified by the House enrollment plan, the
proposed tuition level, the instructional support commitment,
support for agricultural research, and smaller efficiency cuts.
However, the university is expressing serious concern about three
aspects of the budget proposal:
- The salary increase minus the additional health benefits premium
will leave the average employees with $30 to $40 per month net
pay increase after taxes. That's an inadequate cost-of-living
adjustment for employees who will have only this one increase
in four years. It could hurt WSU's ability to compete nationally
for faculty.
- A proviso requiring WSU to increase the number of undergraduate
degrees awarded in 1995-96 is a well-intentioned goal but too
difficult for the university to achieve with the size of its senior
class fixed. WSU has asked for more time to improve its "time-to-degree"
efforts among freshmen, sophomores, and juniors.
- The decision to "offset tuition" in WSU's general
fund appropriation will result in students paying more to receive
the same level of programs. WSU proposes tuition be treated as
a "user fee" retained by the university.
