Chancellor challenges cuts before state House members

While a mass of more than 200 students protested proposed budget cuts on the steps of the… While a mass of more than 200 students protested proposed budget cuts on the steps of the capitol building in Harrisburg yesterday, the leaders of the four state-related universities testified inside against the budget proposal.

Both students and administrators voiced concern with new Gov. Tom Corbett’s plans to cut more than $900 million in education spending for the next fiscal year, and legislators seemed generally sympathetic to the cause.

“We will do everything we can to help cushion the blow that our in-state students in particular would feel that cuts of this magnitude might impose,” Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg said after a hearing with state lawmakers.

The proposed cuts come at a time when Pennsylvania faces a $4 billion revenue shortfall and after Corbett, a Republican, has pledged not to raise taxes or fees of any kind in the state. Under the new spending plan, Pitt would receive about $80.2 million, as opposed to about $165 million it received this fiscal year. That’s a reduction of more than 50 percent, and university leaders said reductions of that level would mean tuition increases and cuts to a wide swath of programs.

Nordenberg was among those leaders who participated in a panel discussion with the House Appropriations Committee to discuss the issue. Others present included Graham Spanier, president of Penn State University; Lisa Staiano-Coico, provost of Temple University; and Ivory Nelson, president of Lincoln University.

Together, these four schools educate about 200,000 students per year.

The majority of questions from the Appropriations Committee members were directed toward Spanier and Nordenberg. The focus of the meeting lay in spelling out the implications the cuts will have for in-state students and universities.

Members of the Appropriations Committee will use the information to propose amendments to the proposed budget, which must be passed by both the state House and Senate. The deadline to pass a budget is June 30.

Committee members also asked questions about the implications of the cuts for the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency and about what students would do if they could not afford increased tuition rates.

Spanier reported worries that his university took on 14,000 additional students over the last few years and is set to lose its federal stimulus money alongside the appropriation cuts.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the levels of these cuts,” Spanier said.

University leaders fought hard to explain to the House that the state’s investment in education is a sound one.

Nordenberg cited the benefits of Pitt’s research facilities, which have attracted $5.5 billion of research funding into the state’s economy. He also cited the impact of Pitt’s medical programs, which gave the world a number of its surgical techniques and drug therapies. Additionally, Pitt sent 76,000 new graduates into the economy in the last decade.

“It would be hard to find a better economic stimulus in the commonwealth,” Nordenberg said of Pitt.

The discussion then turned to the affordability of education for the average Pennsylvanian in the event of drastic education cuts.

“You’re going to increase cost of tuition anyway, despite 50 percent cuts,” Rep. Cherelle Parker, Subcommittee Democratic Chair on Health and Welfare, said to the four university leaders. “It doesn’t matter to some because those people who can afford to pay can simply write a check. Increasing cost doesn’t bother them because they’re fortunate enough to be born into an environment where cost doesn’t matter.

“The issue now is between the Haves and Have Nots,” Parker said.

One representative commented that universities might want students to stay longer to increase revenue, but Spanier quickly refuted that claim.

Nordenberg was then asked the question, “Why can’t you take money out of endowment and absorb drastic hits?”

He responded that endowed funds have two restrictions limiting their use. First, the University makes basic agreements with donors that specify how their money can be spent. Second, there are restrictions in the law that of the endowment the University can use in a particular year.

“At Pitt, a large percentage of our endowments are driven by interest in medicine and prevention and treatment of disease. These are dollars that are not fungible. Other dollars are invested in hopes of scholarships,” Nordenberg said.

Lincoln President Ivory Nelson explained that tuition rates might financially overwhelm students. Lincoln’s operations are tuition- and fee-driven, so appropriations cuts will directly affect tuition decisions.

“If I raise tuition too much, I’m already priced out of a marketplace. This affects enrollment, revenue stream drops and students are dependent on tuition and fees,” Nelson said.

Rep. Ron Waters, D-Philadelphia, sympathized with the universities.

“Everyone on this committee is not insensitive to your needs,” Waters said. “Some of us get it, some of us understand and believe there is a better future for our children.”