Monday messages

Budget Concerns

As finals week arrives and the academic year comes to an end, I want you to know how proud I am of the faculty and staff of the University of Kansas.

We have all been tested this semester by the legislative and fiscal uncertainties that face public higher education in our state.  Question marks remain concerning next year's budget.  With the Legislature back in session, literally anything could still happen.

Also uncertain are next year's tuition levels.  Following months of discussion, our proposal is about to be presented to the Board of Regents. It will be introduced on May 15 but final action won't occur until the end
of June.

In my legislative testimony this spring, I've been as straightforward as I know how to be.  The message has been: "Deep budget cuts will certainly hurt us and hurt Kansas, but we are committed to doing the best we can with the resources we have. We hope higher education can be funded at least at last year's level."

The wrap-up session of the Legislature began May 1.  The House and the Senate narrowly passed the conference committee version of the state budget.  The bill cuts our base budget slightly, and it does not provide any operating grant increase or any faculty salary increase.  The bill does come close to providing a flat budget in operating terms, but leaves KU short about $7.1 million because it fails to fully fund our unavoidable fixed employer costs, even though all other agencies received funding for such costs.   

For even this budget to work, the Legislature must now approve a substantial package of revenue enhancements.  That, too, is most uncertain. Since November, we've been saying that a tuition increase is necessary and inevitable.  I believe the same is true of tax increases. 

Governor Graves supported tax increases in his proposal of March 22.  On April 11, at a business/higher education event in Wichita, the leadership of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a group of former Regents also expressed their support for "a state budget that protects public higher education and includes revenue enhancements."

These kinds of endorsements are important.  I'm convinced the state cannot cut its way out of this budget crisis.  Some long-term investment is possible and necessary, even when the economic situation seems grim. 

A positive example is HB 2690, the University Research and Development Enhancement Act, which will provide $120 million in bonding authority for research buildings and equipment at KU, Kansas State and Wichita State.  The bill is now on its way to the Governor's desk.

That investment, I'm convinced, will pay off for Kansas in terms of federal research grants, high-paying employment, and even spin-off companies.  It's an investment that will help position Kansas for growth once prosperity returns.

Despite these political uncertainties, KU has much to be proud of this year.  Some examples can be found at www.ur.ku.edu/News/Rotary.html. It's a list of top achievements, a good reminder of some of the wonderful things our students and faculty have done recently. These achievements reflect positively on the whole KU community. 

In a time of crisis, such as this, we must demonstrate our personal courage and bolster each other's morale. 

We must also do everything possible to assist our students, because they and their parents will be spending more for tuition and fees next fall. Despite that increase, KU will remain a university that anyone can afford to
attend, with tuition that is well below that of surrounding states.  In addition, we will set aside 20% of any tuition increase to help provide financial aid to lower-income students.

Finally, we need to show each other, and our students, and all those who rely upon KU throughout our state, that even in difficult times we listen and we care and we are true to our mission.  To a remarkable degree, you have done that this year, and I am grateful for your courage in the face of this difficult challenge.

I want to take note of another kind of courage displayed this year, that of KU graduate Christine Pelton.  She resigned her teaching position in Piper, Kansas over an action taken by her school board concerning student plagiarism.  The incident has received local and national attention, and the board has acknowledged that it violated the state's open meetings laws.

It goes without saying that blatant plagiarism is contrary to what we believe in as a university.  KU is devoted at its core to academic honesty and scholarly integrity.

It is not appropriate for me to pass judgment on the Piper School Board, but it is appropriate for me to thank Christine Pelton for her display of personal courage, at a time when teaching positions are being cut all over Kansas for budgetary reasons.  Her conduct in this difficult situation is one more thing to be proud of at KU this spring.