Further budget cuts for Emporia State University have raised the specter of layoffs, furloughs and tuition increases, but President Michael Lane said the school will do whatever possible to avoid them in his address to more than 50 Emporia State University students and faculty members Monday in a town hall meeting.
Lane said despite the current crisis, the 2008 budget ended with a 3.2 percent increase over the preceding year, allowing the school to offer pay increases to classified staff and to work on deferred maintenance projects.
“But as you became aware quickly after that, things changed in a hurry,” Lane said.
Because of a sharp decrease in state revenues, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in January directed Regents schools to plan for a 3 percent budget reduction for 2009 and an additional 4 percent for 2010.
Lane said the school was able to absorb the 3 percent cuts, and could manage the 7 percent total cuts for 2010 by reducing operating expenses and leaving a number of vacant positions unfilled. The school recently instituted a hiring freeze to cope with the governor’s recommendations.
“I need to point out that these are all one-time savings,” Lane said. “They do not carry over into the next year.”
And the cuts could go deeper. Senate Ways and Means Committee chairman Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg, recently raised the possibility of 5.7 percent in additional cuts for 2010, a total of 12.7 percent.
In addition to budget cuts, the economic slump has caused a 19 percent drop in the value of the ESU Foundation’s endowment.
“It’s hard to believe that less than a year ago, economists were still talking about whether or not this country was in a recession,” Lane said.
To plan for the 7 percent reductions, Lane said the school will save $826,000 by leaving 20 unclassified positions open, $125,000 by leaving open three to five permanent and seven temporary positions, $148,000 in undergraduate student contracts, and $98,000 by leaving open 14 graduate assistant positions. In all, the school plans to save almost $2 million in salary and wages and $1.3 million in non-salary expenditures.
If an additional 5.7 percent, or $4.5 million, were to be cut the school possibly would have to make up for it by cutting 24 additional unclassified and 12 classified positions.
If the cuts remain at 7 percent, Lane said there would be no need for layoffs or furloughs.
“The bottom line is, if the reduction goes above 7 percent, then we’re going to have to look at everything as possibilities, and that brings furloughs and layoffs back on the board for consideration,” Lane said.
The Board of Regents could qualify for $40 million in federal stimulus money for 2010 and $40 million for 2011. Lane said there is a maintenance of effort requirement in the law in which the state would have to maintain the same level of funding for the Regents that it allowed in 2006. To do so, the Legislature will have to come up with an additional $747 million for Regents schools in 2010 and 2011.
“We don’t know whether we’ll end up there, but if we don’t end up at least that high, we will not be eligible for any federal stimulus dollars,” Lane said. “So we’re hoping the Legislature moves us at least to the level so funding will be at $747 million.”
Lane said the stimulus money could translate into an additional $1.5 to $2 million for ESU.
It’s still unclear what the specific spending requirements for the stimulus money will be, Lane said, but it will be available for capital expenditures such as infrastructure improvements and deferred maintenance.
“This is also one-time money,” Lane said, “So we don’t want to use it to create expenditures that will continue to cut into our base budget and then have to start making cuts again in 2012. We want to use it very carefully.”
Lane said it’s possible to put stimulus money back into temporary faculty lines so the school could offer more classes. The money will not be available for tenure-track lines because it will go away after 2012.
Lane then addressed concerns about the possibility of raising tuition.
“This recession is hitting students and their families pretty hard,” Lane said, “and I don’t think, from a reasonableness perspective, we can look at a substantial increase in tuition and expect it not to have a significant negative impact on enrollment.”
In addition, the Board of Regents has instructed schools that they cannot recover the shortfall through tuition. In the case of any tuition increases, schools must notify the Regents what that money will be spent on.
Lane also addressed the Memorial Union renovation project. He said he often is asked why the school is continuing with the project in the face of budget cuts and staff reductions. He gave four reasons why the project is moving forward.
For one, Regents policy forbids the school from using state money for the renovation, and state law requires a student referendum to raise fees to pay for the project.
“There is no other source for that money, and there is no other possible use of that money,” Lane said.
And since the project is to be paid for with fees, it will have no impact on ESU’s operating budget. Also, Lane said it’s the perfect time to start construction projects because prices are so low.
Lane emphasized the fact that, compared to other states, Kansas isn’t faring too poorly.
“We’re actually doing quite well compared to many other states,” Lane said. California has instituted a mandatory two day per month furlough for its employees; Arizona is looking at 20 to 25 percent budget reductions; Florida took fifteen percent this year and is looking at 20 percent next year, and the list continues. “On the whole, I think Kansas is in a little bit better shape than the average,” Lane said.
Still, students and faculty at the school are feeling the pinch.
Amy Sage Webb, associate professor of English, described how her department is dealing with the cuts.
“We have two unfilled lines,” she said, “and we were already in the search process for those. It’s caused some uncertainty. ... I guess the short answer is that it’s been stressful.”
Despite the stress, Webb showed a hint of optimism.
“But I think we are getting through it with dialogue and looking to each other to see what we can do,” she said.
Stebbins (anonymous) says...
The crowd was closer to 200-300.
March 11, 2009 at 8:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wildcatnurse (anonymous) says...
If the American People and the US Government would've listened to Ron Paul a long time ago, this all could've been avoided. He predicted this years ago.
March 11, 2009 at 12:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )