University faculty and students are bracing for financial losses and resulting cuts on campus when Gov. Ted Kulongoski makes his budget forecast Friday.
The Oregon House and Senate Joint Ways and Means Committee recommended cutting the state education budget for the 2007-09 biennium by 5 percent, which would equal a 20 percent reduction in the higher education budget for the remainder of the year, through June 30. Geoff Sugarman, spokesperson for House Speaker Dave Hunt, D-Clackamas, said the legislature has recommended the decrease but nothing will be decided until after the governor announces his budget forecast.
The University was allocated more than $72 million for its general fund for the current biennium, an amount it will no longer receive in full.
The Ways and Means Committee, which sets the state budget, met Thursday in Salem to open the budget discussion to the public. Members of the audience didn’t like what they heard.
ASUO Sen. Carina Miller said representatives from all levels of education in Oregon were concerned, and she fears the University would cut classes and financial aid for its students as a result of what she considers to be drastic budget cuts. So far, the University has not announced plans to do either. The state has cut funding for financial aid by reducing the Oregon Opportunity Grant awards, but the University helped pay to cover the cost.
Pell Grants will receive $15 billion in increased funding under the federal stimulus package President Barack Obama is expected to sign Tuesday.
There is no indication that the University intends to cut classes. No departments on campus have announced any cuts. Jim Bean, senior vice president and provost at the University, said in a media release that the top priority for the University when making cuts is to “protect the academic core – make relatively fewer cuts that have direct impact on teaching and research.”
However, Bean also said the third-most important criteria to consider is to “protect excellence – make relatively fewer cuts to units that are renowned.” In other words, the more obscure the class or program, the more likely it may be affected by budget cuts.
The budget cuts that will likely come after Kulongoski’s announcement will probably affect faculty more than students. His budget forecast from December did not allow for cost-of-living increases for faculty, and the provost has already asked departments to be conservative in hiring practices. He has also asked them to prepare for the possibility of faculty positions being cut.
Miller and ASUO Chief of Staff Jory Card saw a bleak future for students at the University. “It’s really unfortunate it’s come to this,” Card said, adding that funding for education always seems to get cut. “We’re going to be directly impacted.”
Miller had a stronger opinion. “If you look at the administration’s priority issues, it has a lot to do with construction that’s not necessarily student priorities.”
Sugarman said Oregon’s revenue shortfall amounts to $800 million, and the legislature hopes the federal stimulus package will help the state’s situation.
Although the University has not yet decided what actions it will take in the face of the budget crisis, it knows cuts are inevitable.
“The cuts have not been made yet, but there will be cuts,” Sugarman said. “The question is, how deep will they go?”
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Budget forecast: Outlook not so good for state education
Daily Emerald
February 15, 2009
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