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PUBLICATIONS
Inside
Illinois Vol.
25, No. 16, March 2, 2006
MORE MONEY
Governor proposes increase to higher education funding
By
Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
217-244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu
Fiscal Year 2007, which will begin July 1, may be a slightly better
year for the UI if the budget proposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich is approved
by the Illinois Legislature before it adjourns in April.
In his Feb. 15 budget address, Blagojevich proposed a $10.1 million
incremental increase in the UI’s general funds appropriations,
to $708.2 million. Blagojevich proposed increasing funding for higher
education by $18.3 million next year, including a 1.48 percent increase
in general funds appropriations for public universities.
Any increase was welcome news for UI president B. Joseph White. “After
four years of cuts or no growth in operating funds for public universities in
Illinois, this additional revenue will allow us to provide more of the access
and excellence in instruction and public engagement that Illinois citizens expect
from their flagship public university and our three campuses,” White said
in a statement responding to Blagojevich’s budget message.
The UI’s FY07 budget request to the Illinois Board of Higher Education
called for a 7.05 percent increase over its FY06 base, including $34.8 million
for salary and benefit increases, $4.3 million for recruitment and retention
program of faculty members, and $5.4 million to cover utility price increases.
Blagojevich recommended that the UI receive $10.7 million for capital projects
in its state appropriations, more than $6.2 million of which would be for projects
at the Urbana campus. In its operating budget request, the UI had asked for about
$10 million to address deferred maintenance and for operating and maintaining
new facilities, such as the Alumni Center, the Institute for Genomic Biology,
the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory addition and the State Natural History
Building, all at the Urbana campus.
The UI requested a capital budget of more than $335 million, with its top priorities
being repairs and renovations to facilities and reducing the $900 million backlog
of deferred maintenance projects. Other high-priority capital projects at the
Urbana campus for which the university requested but Blagojevich didn’t
propose state support were the Lincoln Hall remodeling project and the South
Farms relocation and construction project. The UI also had asked for $30 million
in private matching funds to construct a new Electrical and Computer Engineering
Building at Urbana.
“The Board of Trustees has approved a two-step jump start to the
deferred maintenance program paid for with bonds, and projects are being developed
this spring,” said Randy Kangas, assistant vice president for planning
and budgeting in the University Office of Planning and Budgeting. Officials at
the Urbana campus also are discussing the possibility of issuing bonds to fund
other projects, such as the Lincoln Hall renovations.
Blagojevich’s budget proposal contained good news for students, as he recommended
increased funding for financial aid programs, including an additional $7.6 million
for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission’s Monetary Award Program.
The governor also announced plans to offer a $1,000 tax credit for freshmen and
sophomores who maintain B averages or better at Illinois colleges.
However, Blagojevich also proposed selling off all or part of the state’s
secondary student-loan portfolio, which could potentially raise hundreds of millions
of dollars for the state but has drawn opposition from the Illinois Student Senate
and other groups that fear that privatizing the student-loan system may increase
interest rates and fees, burdening students with more debt. The Illinois Student
Senate is supporting a bill co-sponsored by Rep. Naomi Jakobsson that would require
a private entity who bought ISAC’s student loans to offer equivalent or
cheaper interest rates and fees.
The UI’s tuition and fees for the coming academic year have not been set;
a proposal probably will be made at the next UI Board of Trustees meeting in
April. White’s strategic plan for the university, which also is slated
for discussion at the April meeting, calls for 10 percent increases in tuition
annually for the next five years.
White and Chancellor Richard Herman have said that securing new funding sources
and reallocations will be necessary during the next fiscal year to help cover
rising operating costs, salary increases and other initiatives, such as those
contained in the strategic plans.
After several years
of state budget deficits, Blagojevich was able to increase state appropriations
in part by reducing state employee headcount and because of the pension
reform legislation passed in 2005, that allowed the state to reduce pension
contributions for its employees by more than $2 billion during FY06 and
FY07. However, Blagojevich said in his budget presentation that he planned
to strengthen the state pension system in FY07 by contributing funds
from the sale of the state’s 10th casino
license and surplus property to the pension system, by creating incentives
for employees to work longer, and by identifying new sources of revenue
that would provide a steady flow of funding for the pension system.
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