The Legislature Completes Work on Some of the best WSU Operating and Capital Budgets in Years
ITS OVER: HOUSE HIGHER ED CO-CHAIR DON CARLSON CROSSES PARTY LINES TO DELIVER BUDGET
House Higher Education Co-Chair Don Carlson, R-Vancouver, took dozens of votes against his House Republican leadership to bring the Senate operating budget to a favorable vote of the full state House of Representatives Sunday night. With Carlson breaking the gridlock of a House evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, the Legislature passed Senate Bill 5180, a combined supplemental and biennial budget written by Senate Ways and Means Chair Valoria Loveland, D-Pasco. Joining Carlson on the final critical vote to send the budget to the governor was another WSU branch campus supporter, Rep. Shirley Hankins, R-Richland, and Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Spanaway. The result is adoption of the best legislative budget proposed this session for all WSU campuses, appropriating $39.5 million in new operating money to the university during the next two years. Then, just before midnight adjournment of the regular session, the House overwhelmingly sent to the governor a 1999-01 capital construction budget that provides $137.5 million more to the WSU system for new buildings and facilities maintenance. The governor is expected to sign the WSU budgets and university issues are not expected to be the subject of any deliberations of a proposed May 10 special session.
Here are the highlights of the pro-education operating budget:
Three percent Salary Increases in July for All Employees, $2.9 million Recruitment and Retention Pool
The final proposal matches the House Democrats` base pay increase for all WSU faculty and staff equivalent to 3 percent per year beginning July 1. The earlier House budgets delayed the salary increase until September. The university had sought funding to raise salaries by 4.5 percent per year. The final legislative budget provides $2.9 million for selective "retention and recruitment" pay increases plus the authority to use a portion of any tuition increase for salaries. Any tuition increase must be initiated by the Board of Regents. The Legislature set only the maximum rates of 4.6 percent increases for this fall and 3.6 percent for next year. The board has not yet begun deliberations on the tuition level it would set for the upcoming biennium.
$36 million Over Six Years To Reimburse WSU`s Agricultural Trust. The final budget appropriates $20 million this biennium to begin repaying the century-old land grant trust, which provides building construction funds for the university. To complete the terms of a settlement agreement between the governor`s office and WSU Regents, who are the trustees, the Legislature proposes $16 million more will be repaid in the next six years. While interest from trust revenues can benefit a diverse number of university construction projects, this settlement ensures immediate construction of the $36 million Health Sciences Building at Riverpoint. The Legislature also passed SB 6090, which forbids DNR from taking inappropriate management fees from these trust lands. The Legislature provided $2.6 million for the next biennium to OFM to pay DNR management costs, leaving that agency without any fiscal impact from the bill.
Senate Funds Safe Food Initiative at Industry-Requested Level. The Legislature fully funds the WSU Safe Food Initiative beginning in the second year of the biennium, fiscal year 2001. Legislative writers delayed implementation one year to give WSU time to hire the necessary faculty and staff for the research program. The budget also fully-funds the WSU request for $500,000 each year of the biennium to benefit the Washington Commission on Pesticide Registration.
Final Budget provides $1.5 million for WSU Advanced Technology Initiative. Senate Ways and Means Chair Valoria Loveland, D-Pasco, added $500,000 each to WSU and UW ATI budgets with an amendment adopted by her committee and retained by the House. WSU and UW are exploring combining their $500,000 appropriation into a new research cluster for "Precision Agriculture and Forestry." The new research team may explore using global positioning systems and other technologies. The remaining $1 million at WSU is being considered for a new research team in either semi-conductor research, including some work at WSU Vancouver, or reproductive biology, including a laboratory at WSU Spokane.
Technology: Final Budget Doubles Previous House Recommendations, Provide Learning Center Monies Unlike the partisan House budgets, the final Legislative budget includes $905,000 recommended by the governor for learning centers at Skagit Valley Community College, Walla Walla Community College and Grays Harbor College. The Senate budget also funds $940,000 recommended by the House budgets for the WSU Teaching and Learning Center to support technology-assisted delivery.
Budget Provides No Funding for Spokane Health Sciences Consortium. The final budget provides no funding for the establishment of a state-wide Health Sciences Consortium in Spokane. The governor fully funded this request.
Access. Funding is provided for 159 new FTE in Spokane, 226 FTE in Pullman, 151 in the Extended Degree Program and 150 at WSU Vancouver. $500,000 is provided for a demonstration project in Jefferson County with WSU and Peninsula College.
Higher Education Funds Provided by the Budget Which WSU Can Compete For:
- $4.75 million for 500 FTE undergraduate students in high demand fields who are highly sought after by Washington employers. Money will be awarded by the Higher Education Coordinating Board in consultation with the governor and the Legislature.
- $2 million in one-time funding to public four-year institutions to expand information technology and computer science programs.
- $150,000 is provided for Child Care matching grants from the HEC Board under the terms of Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5277 which was supported by the Associated Students of Washington State University.
- $600,000 is provided for a "Fund for Innovation", grants that support new techniques in teaching and learning.
