Olympia Update No. 7 ● April 8,
2009
House Ways & Means Passes Budget
From: Larry Ganders, Assistant to the President
Click Here for Print-Ready Adobe PDF Version
Click Here for House and Senate budget bills
Gregoire, WSU seek
better
university funding
Facing the deepest
higher education cuts in state history, Washington State University is joining
Gov. Christine Gregoire in supporting the state Senate funding level for higher
education institutions and in providing flexibility to raise tuition up to 14
percent per year.
Gregoire spent much of
her weekly press conference today discussing the troubling budgets facing public
higher education institutions.
Last week, the state Senate announced reductions of 20 percent from the level
necessary to continue current WSU programs, or about $104 million. Then the
House stunned WSU with a 29 percent cut or $151.4 million. That budget passed
the House Ways and Means Committee today with few modifications for
universities. Gregoire expressed concern that the House and Senate cuts are so
deep that students will be hampered getting through the system even with some
federal stimulus dollars and the typical seven percent tuition increase added
in. “I can’t get jobs for them if they
don’t have a college education,” said Gregoire of her agenda to stimulate the
state economy.
WSU President Elson
Floyd and other state university presidents are calling on legislators to make
five critical amendments to mitigate the impact of the cuts.
These actions will not avoid record reductions in WSU state funding. But these
actions would set the net reductions for WSU at $32 million after tuition
increases and federal stimulus dollars. That is approximately the net reduction
proposed by the governor last December. Adopting these necessary actions will
mitigate much of the impact on students and their ability to graduate in a
timely manner. It will also reduce the
impact on our employees, their families and the communities in which they
reside.
1.
Adopt no more than the Senate’s 20 percent state
funding cut for WSU.
This means that the final legislative budget for WSU should be less than $104
million. In her comments today, the governor supported moving the budget toward
the Senate funding level. The House cut WSU’s base budget by $47 million more
than the Senate. Even with a higher tuition rate, the House made net cuts to WSU
that are three times the governor’s level and 50 percent greater than the
Senate.
2. Grant
governing boards authority to increase tuition up to 14% per year for resident
undergraduates.
The Legislature is also asked to enact Senate Bill 5734 which reauthorizes
tuition setting authority for graduate and professional and non-resident
students. WSU resident undergraduates currently pay $6,218 per year. The WSU
Board of Regents would have the authority to raise tuition up to $870 per year.
That would be an additional burden on students and their families. But the
governor pointed out that it is far less of a burden than the cost of a student
paying up to $10,000 in additional tuition, housing and other living costs to
attend school for an additional semester. Student may need to attend an extra
term because classes necessary to graduate have been cut. The governor noted
that WSU has the “Cougar Commitment” that covers all tuition costs for students
that qualify for the state need grant. Families with incomes of $52,600 to
$96,000 per year receive additional benefits through the new benefits of the
Hope tax credit. The Hope tax credit began as a $1,800 deduction for two years.
The federal credit has now been expanded to up to $2,500 per year for four
years.
3.
Allocate federal stimulus
dollars equitably across the higher education sector.
The budgets of the four-year universities like WSU helped
the state qualify for federal stimulus dollars to backfill budget
cuts. But a disproportionate amount of the stimulus funding,
including millions of dollars that should have come to WSU, was
allocated by the House and Senate budgets outside the four-year
university system.
The federal formula (tied to 2006 state appropriations levels)
should have provided at least enough funding for WSU to receive an
additional $29 million or more in the House budget and $6 million or
more in the Senate budget.
4.
Allow institutions maximum flexibility to manage their budget
reductions.
WSU and the other four-year institutions are urging legislators not
to specify how the universities must manage cuts.
This was the approach taken by the governor in her budget.
5.
The building fee that students
pay as part of their tuition should remain at the institution they attend.
The House budget diverts $15 million of WSU
student fees into the general fund to be spent anywhere in state government. The
Senate budget allows these fees to be spent only at WSU. In fact, the Senate
capital budget permitted those fees to be bonded toward construction of
buildings. Students pay $308 per year in building fees as part of their tuition.
The governor’s call for more higher
education funding had support today from House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler,
D-Grays Harbor.
The House Ways and Means Committee passed the House budget without substantial
changes to university funding today. However, Kessler said she wanted to work on
improving university funding and supported authority to raise tuition up to 14
percent.
Gov. Gregoire initially tried to hold tuition at 7
percent per year. As the financial situation worsened, she suggested a temporary
tuition “surcharge” above 7 percent. The surcharge was temporary. Therefore,
funding from the increased tuition could not go to support salaried positions
like faculty members. And in addition, temporary tuition increases could leave
the university with future budget deficits.
A Welcomed Cut in the
House Budget -
WSU sought and
received a $427,000 cut in the House budget today in base funding for storm
water permitting. The House budget had provided the funding to cover a portion
of $1.2 million in expenses the university will encounter from the new
permitting requirements set by the state Department of Ecology for the City of
Pullman. Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, offered an amendment to delay the
permitting process until 2012, making the $427,000 unnecessary. The amendment
won the support of House Ways and Means Chair Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, and
was adopted by her committee today. Also speaking for the amendment in committee
was Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia. A similar amendment is under consideration in the
Senate.
What’s
Next -
The House and Senate are still trying to resolve the differences between their
respective budgets. Negotiations from the House side are led by House Speaker
Frank Chopp, D-Seattle. The House budget is now in the House Rules Committee,
where it could be readied for a vote on the House floor. On the Senate side,
Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, leads discussions
For the status of bill
affecting WSU -
http://www.olympia.wsu.edu/Status/2009_Shortlist_April6.aspx
Olympia Update is produced for persons interested in state
government developments affecting Washington State University. For more
information, go to
www.olympia.wsu.edu.
Contact: Larry Ganders, Assistant to the President, 360-956-2165. From WSU
campuses, dial 8-2165. If you wish to subscribe to Olympia Update directly by
email go to
www.olympia.wsu.edu/Update.aspx
