By Eugene Vilensky
Commonwealth fiscal crisis impacts higher education, everything else
Under an “unprecedented” revenue shortage, the Commonwealth of Kentucky is to face a budget shortfall of $509 million through mid-2004.
Although Governor Patton had repeatedly stressed his commitment to funding education, without tax increases, vital state and educational programs would require drastic cuts to keep spending in line with revenue.
The state spends roughly $1.1 billion on postsecondary education, and an estimated 5.2% reduction would impact state universities and community colleges by $74.8 million.
The University of Louisville, which is dependent on state appropriations for 55% of its general fund and 34% of its total budget for 2002-2003, is not as vulnerable as some schools. Murray State, for example, is dependent on state funds for more than 50% of their total budget.
The university has already faced a mandated 2% reduction in state-appropriated funding for 2001-2002, a cut which was carried through to 2002-2003.
Faculty and employee salaries received no increases for 2002-2003, after three years of 5% increases beginning in 1999-2000. (The university’s budget for 2002-2003 reads: “In this year, selected faculty and staff did receive permanent catchup adjustments.”)
Tuition revenues were expected to total $95,155,500 during the 2002-2003 budget period, an increase of $8.7 million or 10.1% over the previous year. The university’s budget attributed the expected increase to “tuition rate increases and some from planned enrollment changes.”
Between 1998 and 2003, tuition has risen by $1162, an increase of 39%, and is scheduled to increase $262 to $4344 for 2003-2004, an increase of 6.4% over the year before.
U of L’s average annual increase of 9.4% between 1999 and 2001 was nearly double the 5.2% average increase of Kentucky’s state institutions. U of L has the highest tuition of Kentucky’s public universities, beating second-highest UK by $524 a year for 2001-2002.
At a meeting of trustees on January 9, President James Ramsey reiterated the commitment to quality education and research at U of L, and stated that it must not suffer despite the state’s fiscal issues.
“Our sole focus is on Bucks for Brains 3,” said Ramsey. Bucks for Brains offers state-matching funds to privately raised research dollars. It has helped U of L achieve a record of more than $120 million in research funds.
Ramsey also named continued focus on the Challenge for Excellence, a roadmap that lists a $1 billion endowment among its goals for 2008. The endowment shrank from $503 million to $478.9 million in 2001-2002.
According to a statement released on the university’s website, U of L is mounting a daily lobbying campaign in Frankfort.
“From February 4 until the assembly ends its 2003 session sometime in March… U of L representatives will go to Frankfort each day of the session to make sure legislators don’t forget the university’s needs and its contributions to the state,” reads the statement.
Such representatives include top-level school officials, deans, vice-presidents, researchers whose work is state-funded, and students with positive U of L experiences to share with their hometown legislators.
