February 28, 2002
UW responds to budget crisis
| Steve Hill |
| University Week |
The UW is chipping in to keep a bad state budget situation from getting worse.
What was thought to be a $1.2 billion budget deficit when the Legislature opened Jan. 14 in Olympia grew to $1.6 billion last week. The bad news started Feb. 19 when the state’s economists predicted revenue would fall by $247 million more than previously expected. That news was followed by a new caseload projection that showed increases of legally required spending for K-12 and Medicaid between $119 and $155 million for the remainder of the 2001-03 biennial budget.
In response, Gov. Gary Locke on Feb. 21 announced a hiring freeze in the state agencies under his direction. He also asked that presidents of higher education institutions — in addition to state boards and commissions, and other elected officials — impose similar restrictions.
The UW responded with an e-mail from Provost Lee Huntsman that directs academic administrators to limit the hiring of faculty, staff and students supported on non-state designated operating funds (DOF) and state general operating funds (GOF).
“Given the severity of the state’s fiscal problems, it’s important to reduce expenditures now, even before the Legislature finishes its work,” Huntsman said. “The hiring freeze is an initial step toward such reductions, but it will be lifted as soon as we are able to tell academic and administrative units what their revised budget will be.”
The situation currently affecting the UW is part of a larger trend. The slowing national economy has created deficits in 41 states, with a number of those deficits exceeding $1 billion. Governors and legislatures in those states have responded with proposals that include higher than expected tuition hikes, hiring and travel freezes, and budget cuts.
In Washington, as in other states, that leaves the Legislature with some difficult choices. UW officials expect the solution will be one of “shared pain” in all state agencies, with reductions in funding for programs and administrative support. And in addition to the tuition increases on campus, it’s likely the cost of faculty and staff benefits will increase too.
The Office of the Provost will consider possible exceptions to the restrictions. Among the possibilities include positions that a dean feels are necessary to ensure that an academic program will be able to meet its commitment to students. Deans have already begun discussing implementation of the directive.
Positions that have already been offered to faculty and staff can still be filled, according to Huntsman’s e-mail. However, staff position requests currently being processed by the Office of Human Resources will be put on hold while deans, vice presidents and vice provosts conduct a review to see if the positions are still warranted.
“We’re trying to be as prudent as possible with all expenditures and especially with hiring employees,” Vice Provost for Planning and Budgeting Harlan Patterson said.
The governor has also restricted travel. The UW will limit travel on DOF and GOF budgets to trips determined essential by deans, vice presidents and vice provosts. The restrictions aren’t applicable to travel on self-sustaining, grant and contract, or hospital budgets, according to Huntsman.
The limitations similarly apply to equipment and supply purchases.
As of now the only budget bill that has been issued came from the governor’s office in December. That bill was working under the assumption of a $1.2 billion deficit. A proposal from the Senate is expected within the next week.
“This is a very difficult financial period for the state and we are looking at a situation in which small solutions will not solve the problem,” Director of Government Relations Dick Thompson said. “It does look like higher education will not be immune from the reductions.”
Once the Legislature has passed a budget, University administrators will have a better sense of what they are faced with and how they will need to respond internally. But a budget isn’t guaranteed to pass within the short session and could conceivably extend into at least one 30-day special session.
