THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601210050
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 143 lines
Virginia's college presidents have banded together to ask legislators for an additional $330 million in state aid for higher education for the next two years. The money would go primarily for faculty raises, computers and financial aid.
Gov. George F. Allen includes a $475 million increase for colleges in his $3.1 billion budget for higher education in 1996-98. But the presidents, echoing other critics, say the plan provides only $105 million more in day-to-day expenses for state-supported colleges. They say the remaining money either goes for construction, which is separate from daily expenses, or had already been promised to them last year.
``We're not complaining about what the governor has done,'' said Old Dominion University's president, James V. Koch. ``We just think we need more.''
Harrison B. Wilson, president of Norfolk State University, said: ``We can't keep patching up higher education and expect the universities to do the job. We need the state to make a commitment that they're serious about higher education. These are the things that are going to be needed just to catch up.''
The presidents' request establishes the upper limits in the debate over higher education funding, which is expected to be among the top budgetary issues facing the General Assembly. The presidents themselves cannot submit amendments to Allen's budget, but friendly legislators are expected to soon file amendments that reflect the presidents' thinking.
The General Assembly could then choose Allen's version, the presidents' plan or, most likely, something in between. With support mounting for some increase in higher education funding, after years of cuts, the legislators are unlikely to reduce the amount Allen has proposed.
``There certainly has been a hue and cry, and legitimately so, that higher education's gotten the brunt of cuts over the last six years; it's really put them at a competitive disadvantage,'' said Sen. Warren E. Barry, R-Fairfax, the chairman of the Senate Education and Health Committee and a member of the Senate Finance Committee.
Barry said he supports adding money for such items as raises and computers, but added: ``The bottom line that we're confronted with is, where does the money come from? Even though funding of education has become the popular issue, we're going to have address what the real needs are on a priority basis.''
State Education Secretary Beverly H. Sgro and Allen's press secretary, Ken Stroupe, could not be reached Wednesday.
The presidents' plan does not say where the extra money would come from. It dovetails with that of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council, a coalition of business leaders led by Northern Virginia developer Til Hazel.
Hazel has been pushing for a $435 million increase for higher education in 1996-98. That, he says, would elevate Virginia to the Southern average in per-student funding. In the past seven years, Virginia has fallen from 28th to 43rd in the country in funding per student.
Most of the college presidents' recommendations also coincide with those of the State Council of Higher Education, Virginia's agency overseeing colleges, which had asked Allen for bigger funding increases.
The $330 million increase supported by the presidents would come in five areas:
Faculty raises. The presidents want to increase the amount allotted for faculty raises from $14 million to $100 million. Allen's proposal would give faculty a 4 percent bonus, but no raise, in 1996-97 and an average raise of 5 percent in 1997-98. Koch said the presidents' plan could provide raises of 7 percent each year.
That would mean that average salaries at individual institutions in the state would exceed those at 60 percent of similar colleges in the country. Most Virginia colleges were at that level in the late '80s, but after years of small raises, they have fallen to the bottom third of the rankings.
``We think that's the major item right now,'' Wilson said. ``We can't ask them to do a good job unless we can give them a raise; they haven't had much of a raise in the last five years.''
Financial aid. Allen has not budgeted additional money for financial aid for students at state-supported colleges. The presidents want an extra $31 million.
That, Hazel said, would allow Virginia to meet 50 percent of students' financial-aid needs, which the state council has listed as its goal. With double-digit tuition increases in the early '90s, that percentage has fallen to 35 percent.
The presidents would not touch the $9 million increase Allen has proposed for Tuition Assistance Grants, given to Virginians who go to private colleges in the state.
Technology. Allen has proposed a $50 million bond program for computers and another $1 million in funding. The presidents want $99 million more in cash. That, Koch said, would pay for networking campuses and more microcomputers.
Hazel warned, ``If Virginia's institutions do not make substantial technological advancements in the next two years, we will be playing catch-up for a very long time.''
Equipment. Allen, Koch said, would discontinue the Higher Education Equipment Trust Fund, but colleges still need that money to buy equipment that isn't high-tech. The presidents are seeking $36 million.
Individual items. Allen's budget lists $14 million in additions for particular colleges. The presidents would add $78 million.
It would be up to the legislators to decide what individual institutions received. Some of the money could go, for instance, to Norfolk State University, which is seeking $5 million to redress historical inequities, or Tidewater Community College, which wants $4 million to pay for start-up costs for its Norfolk campus.
``We want to thank the governor,'' Koch said. ``But we think we have some other needs; we think the funding circumstance for higher education has deteriorated over time. This is one way to repair the situation.''
Virginia Commonwealth University's president, Eugene P. Trani, recently sent a memo to the college presidents and to Gordon K. Davies, director of the State Council of Education, outlining their agreed-upon numbers. Trani leads the Council of Presidents representing state-supported schools.
The memo also said the presidents would coordinate a series of presentations to the legislature's finance committees to press their case.
Koch said he couldn't say whether the majority of the General Assembly would support the entire plan. But he added: ``Certainly, the atmosphere for higher education is more friendly now than for some years, particularly in terms of faculty salaries. Many people understand the battle we've been running into.''
He also noted that two-thirds of the members of the General Assembly signed on to Hazel's pledge to increase funding for higher education before last year's election. However, that did not specify an amount.
CRITICS AGREE ALLEN'S PLAN COMES UP SHORT
How did Gov. George F. Allen's $475 million increase for higher education turn out to be barely more than $100 million?
Til Hazel says the true amount of Allen's increase in terms of day-to-day needs of state-supported colleges is about $108 million. And the presidents peg it slightly less, at $105 million.
Here's what Hazel, in a recent budget analysis, deducts from the Allen plan and why:
$210 million in savings from ``restructuring'' and an employee buyout program. Hazel and college leaders say the schools had been told they could keep the money.
$127 million for construction and renovation of buildings. Hazel says that isn't ``operating money'' for day-to-day expenses and isn't used in national calculations of per-student funding.
$22 million to complete 1995-96 raises. Raises are given every December. Hazel says that should not be considered an increase since the raise already was approved.
$8 million for Tuition Assistance Grants. They go only to students at private colleges.
KEYWORDS: COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES VIRGINIA GENERAL
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