Budget Committee Meeting

Floyd Promises not to Squeeze Students
MICHAEL WALSH

The chairs of Washington State University’s Budget Committee, President Elson S. Floyd and Provost Warwick M. Bayly, hosted a public question-and-answer forum Tuesday evening, regarding the University’s budget at the CUB Auditorium. About 100 people attended the second of two meetings, the first being earlier in the afternoon.

The committee was formed in response to Gov. Christine Gregoire’s request for the university to give back more than $10 million from the last biennial budget and her proposed budget for the coming biennium which includes a $31 million reduction for WSU.

“I am determined that we will come out of this fiscal crisis stronger than we went into it,” Floyd said. “We will come out of it much more focused about our direction, much more focused about our goals and much more focused about our priorities.”

While the president exuded confidence about the state of the university, most of the audience was more concerned about what is going to be done in the meantime and how the institution will make it to the future, much less a stronger future.

First and foremost, Floyd made clear that the $10 million shortfall in the current budget has already been made up for. Then the attention turned to questions and suggestions about how the university can further trim spending to meet the expected new budget cuts. The president said nothing is off the table, but noted one potential solution that would not be exploited if at all possible.

“We cannot and we will not balance our budget on the backs of our students through the payment of excessive tuition and fees to our institution,” Floyd said. “It is unfair to do that.”

The president has guided the university through a number of changes to reduce spending in many different areas. He said 41 percent of the reductions to date have come from the administrative level and more cuts could still await that area.

Floyd spoke of one ongoing process that will help determine where spending can be reduced. He asked all academic and administrative units to compile budget scenarios totaling 12 percent less than their current budgets. The committee will gather these proposals by the middle part of February and try to determine which budgets can be cut and where money can be saved while sacrificing the least from the university’s three main missions; to enhance research enterprise, increase graduate education and maintain quality undergraduate instruction.

The committee is focused on resolving the financial crisis, while not directly harming the students, Bayly said.

Audience members seemed disgruntled at the notion that the education would not be compromised. The prevailing thought was, even if the students are not directly affected –as in personally carrying the burden of a struggling economy with higher tuition and fees –there would be a major indirect impact on them due to a decreased quality of education.

Elizabeth A. Siler, an instructor in the English department, commended the president for his devotion to not hiking up rates to students, but said there is a potential downstream effect that is being ignored. Siler said one of the money-saving ideas within her department is to cut back on the use of paper and move to a more web-based learning environment. Ultimately, though, those ideas will cost students money because they will become responsible for printing and a personal computer would practically become a requirement.

That is why, Floyd responded, each department will submit a proposal. When the committee reviews them, they will take into account each suggestion and discount those which could lead the university down an unwanted path, Floyd said. Even if that means some budgets go untouched.

“I am not a fan of across-the-board reductions,” Floyd said. “The only thing that does is to promote mediocrity in our university.”

Part of achieving the long-term savings plan may, Floyd and Bayly said, may include spending money now to save it in the future, especially if the university moves to strictly electronic modes of communication. Floyd said if WSU stops using paper for internal communication, there would be a need for kiosks or computers around campus. Another example was to install timers in classrooms that shut the lights off after a certain amount of time.

No matter how much money can be saved by cutting salaries, saving energy or using fewer resources, there will still be changes to the educational structure at WSU.

“You will see, ultimately, fewer majors,” Floyd said. “We are already seeing fewer course offerings, and we will see larger sections than before. Those are three manifestations of what will undoubtedly occur.”

The biennial budget is currently before the Washington State Legislature which went into session Jan. 12, and is expected to be finalized by March or April. To stay updated on the happenings with the WSU Budget Committee, visit its website at http://budget-committee.wsu.edu/index.html.