THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 23, 1995 TAG: 9506230498
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Old Dominion University's board Thursday approved a $180 million budget for 1995-96, reflecting a $1.2 million drop in state aid.
But an early retirement package and other cost-cutting measures should blunt the effect of the state reduction, university officials said.
``Through a combination of circumstances, we've been able to deal with this,'' President James V. Koch said in an interview.
Old Dominion's annual state allocation will drop to $46.9 million next school year. That allocation includes a $1.5 million increase for ``earmarked'' appropriations, for such items as faculty salaries and the Teletechnet distance-learning program. That means funding for all other university operations declines by $2.7 million.
Last fall, university administrators had feared that state aid for so-called unrestricted programs would be cut at least $3.6 million, and they warned that they might have to resort to faculty layoffs and departmental closings to make up the difference. But during the winter General Assembly session, ODU persuaded legislators to give them an extra $1.5 million for 1995-96.
An early retirement program for professors will reduce costs by about $1 million next year, Koch said. Eighteen professors signed up for it. Only one-third of them will be replaced, generally by lower-paid faculty members.
The university's decision to contract for food services with a private company will save an additional $500,000, said David F. Harnage, vice president for administration and finance. And a consolidation of the admissions and financial aid offices and a reduction in ODU's tuition subsidy for employees will save $175,000.
An increase of $1 million in tuition revenue will help make up the difference in lost state aid, Harnage said. In April, the Board of Visitors approved a 2.7 percent increase - from $3,885 to $3,990 - in annual tuition and fees for undergraduates from Virginia.
``I don't think they will see any difference'' in services, Koch said of university students. If anything, they may see improvements in the fall because the budget for instruction will grow from $60 million to $66 million, he said.
Also at the meeting:
University officials reported that their last state audit turned up few problems. The audit, for the 1993-94 school year, listed three deficiencies, including undetected errors in employees' retirement accounts, Harnage said. Five years ago, the state found 38 problems at ODU.
``This is a home run in my book,'' said J. Michael Pitchford, a NationsBank executive who is chairman of the board's finance committee. ``It's a great report.''
University officials reported that 7.5 percent - or $2.3 million - of their contracts went to minority businesses in 1994-95, up from 1 percent in 1993-94. by CNB