NCGOP leaders defend ASU cuts
by Lauren K. Ohnesorge
As university officials prepare to haggle with state officials over budget cuts, House Republicans are defending their decision to cut higher education spending.
The cuts, according to UNC President Tom Ross, "would inflict real and lasting damage to the academic quality and reputation of the University of North Carolina.
"No amount of flexibility could offset the impact of permanent net cuts totaling nearly $491 million (17.7 percent)," he said in a prepared statement.
At Appalachian State University, officials are looking at the possibility of more than 200 job cuts, tuition hikes and cuts to financial aid.
District 86 Rep. Hugh Blackwell, chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on education, said universities can handle the cuts.
"It won't necessarily be comfortable and they will have to make some hard decisions, but just as the classes in K-12 are having to increase class sizes ... I would expect that this would result in an increase in the size of the classes," he said. "It might mean the delaying of some projects, but hopefully, we'll get through this economic downturn and, hopefully, look back at where we need to spend more money. We haven't been able to spend it for two years."
ASU officials say it's more than class size increases and project delays.
"It's going to affect people's jobs," Susan McCracken, ASU director of external affairs and community relations, said Thursday.
With 8,328 students of the 17,222 currently at ASU utilizing need-based aid (48 percent of the total population), McCracken is also concerned about the cuts to financial assistance.
Blackwell said tuition receipts and donations will help lessen the blow.
"My understanding is they use a significant amount of their tuition receipts for scholarship assistance," Blackwell said. "Obviously the university, as is the community college system, as is the K-12 system, they're all concerned about reductions in funding that they would prefer not to have, but unfortunately the federal government has sort of pulled the rug out from under us by taking or stopping the monies they were giving the university and K-12 system."
The state, he said, did not develop a contingency plan for what would happen when federal dollars went away.
"We are trying to get back to a point where our revenues are sufficient to cover the expenses," he said. "The universities will not be exempt from being made those adjustments. But they are in good shape, financially. I think they are pretty well situated to handle this, at least in the short term."
Repeated calls to Jonathan Jordan, the representative for the area that includes Appalachian State University who voted for the House budget, had not been returned at press time.
The Senate has yet to finalize its budget, but is paying close attention to House debate. Speaker Thom Tillis is pleased, at least, about the flexibility of the cuts, his communication director, Jordan Shaw, said.
He said the reason cuts to the university system were more significant than K-12 schools is financial durability.
"Higher education does have more than one source of funding," he said. "They're not wholly dependent on the state."
Shaw said decisions had to be made and to expect cuts in the state's version of the bill.
"There were no easy decisions," he said. "North Carolina is blessed with the best, in my opinion, the best higher education system in the nation and there are no easy targets. We didn't sit down in January and say, 'This program is worth cutting. This program is worth keeping. This system has a lot of fat to trim.' That's not how it happened. Every decision that was made is a tough one."
Continued tax increases, one option to lessen cuts, would not be "responsible," he said.
"We were elected to make tough decisions," he said. "Maybe a few years down the road we can restore this funding."
State Sen. Dan Soucek said he has been having weekly conversations with ASU officials and hopes, in his capacity on the appropriations subcommittee on education in the state Senate, to give the region a voice.
"ASU is one of the most important entities in the district and so I have been trying to find out exactly what their needs are," he said.
The cuts, according to UNC President Tom Ross, "would inflict real and lasting damage to the academic quality and reputation of the University of North Carolina.
"No amount of flexibility could offset the impact of permanent net cuts totaling nearly $491 million (17.7 percent)," he said in a prepared statement.
At Appalachian State University, officials are looking at the possibility of more than 200 job cuts, tuition hikes and cuts to financial aid.
District 86 Rep. Hugh Blackwell, chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on education, said universities can handle the cuts.
"It won't necessarily be comfortable and they will have to make some hard decisions, but just as the classes in K-12 are having to increase class sizes ... I would expect that this would result in an increase in the size of the classes," he said. "It might mean the delaying of some projects, but hopefully, we'll get through this economic downturn and, hopefully, look back at where we need to spend more money. We haven't been able to spend it for two years."
ASU officials say it's more than class size increases and project delays.
"It's going to affect people's jobs," Susan McCracken, ASU director of external affairs and community relations, said Thursday.
With 8,328 students of the 17,222 currently at ASU utilizing need-based aid (48 percent of the total population), McCracken is also concerned about the cuts to financial assistance.
Blackwell said tuition receipts and donations will help lessen the blow.
"My understanding is they use a significant amount of their tuition receipts for scholarship assistance," Blackwell said. "Obviously the university, as is the community college system, as is the K-12 system, they're all concerned about reductions in funding that they would prefer not to have, but unfortunately the federal government has sort of pulled the rug out from under us by taking or stopping the monies they were giving the university and K-12 system."
The state, he said, did not develop a contingency plan for what would happen when federal dollars went away.
"We are trying to get back to a point where our revenues are sufficient to cover the expenses," he said. "The universities will not be exempt from being made those adjustments. But they are in good shape, financially. I think they are pretty well situated to handle this, at least in the short term."
Repeated calls to Jonathan Jordan, the representative for the area that includes Appalachian State University who voted for the House budget, had not been returned at press time.
The Senate has yet to finalize its budget, but is paying close attention to House debate. Speaker Thom Tillis is pleased, at least, about the flexibility of the cuts, his communication director, Jordan Shaw, said.
He said the reason cuts to the university system were more significant than K-12 schools is financial durability.
"Higher education does have more than one source of funding," he said. "They're not wholly dependent on the state."
Shaw said decisions had to be made and to expect cuts in the state's version of the bill.
"There were no easy decisions," he said. "North Carolina is blessed with the best, in my opinion, the best higher education system in the nation and there are no easy targets. We didn't sit down in January and say, 'This program is worth cutting. This program is worth keeping. This system has a lot of fat to trim.' That's not how it happened. Every decision that was made is a tough one."
Continued tax increases, one option to lessen cuts, would not be "responsible," he said.
"We were elected to make tough decisions," he said. "Maybe a few years down the road we can restore this funding."
State Sen. Dan Soucek said he has been having weekly conversations with ASU officials and hopes, in his capacity on the appropriations subcommittee on education in the state Senate, to give the region a voice.
"ASU is one of the most important entities in the district and so I have been trying to find out exactly what their needs are," he said.