Thursday, May 20, 2004
Warner hopes $275 million will help education
Most colleges will still receive less from the state next year than they did in 2001.
After two years of declining state support, college administrators are busy planning pay raises for faculty and restoring some of the courses and staff positions lost during several rounds of state-imposed budget cuts. When the dust finally settled in Richmond, the General Assembly had approved about $275 million in additional spending on higher education during the next two years. Approximately $176 million of that will go toward achieving "base adequacy," the government's term for parity with the schools' out-of-state peers. Virginia colleges are underfunded by an estimated $400 million annually.
Most colleges will still receive less from the state next year than they did in 2001.
Radford University will see its biennial state appropriation increase by more than $10 million, or roughly 14 percent. Virginia Tech will receive an additional $20.7 million, a 7 percent increase, while Virginia Military Institute will see its funding increase by $1.1 million, or 5 percent.
Speaking at a meeting in Radford on Wednesday, Warner told several hundred spirited audience members that he hopes the additional money will patch some of the fiscal wounds caused during the recession.
"I believe we were at a tipping point in higher education," Warner said. "I believe we have in Virginia the nation's best public system [of colleges and universities] ... but I also think we were on the verge of losing that distinction."
Statewide, colleges have reported losing an unusually high number of faculty members during the past several years to schools offering significantly higher salaries. Average faculty salaries in Virginia now rank in the lowest one-third of their peers nationwide.
Virginia Tech lost several top-notch researchers at a time when the university is trying to increase its national research stature. At the College of William and Mary a recent survey found that nearly 30 percent of faculty had applied for jobs elsewhere in the past two years.
The budget passed earlier this month includes money for 3 percent pay raises for faculty and all other state employees. Many schools plan to supplement those raises.
The Tech Board of Visitors recently reviewed a report that proposes a 5.7 percent salary increase for faculty, although university spokesman Larry Hincker said the exact figure has not been approved. David Burdette, vice president for business and governmental affairs at Radford, said administrators there also hope to add to the state's share of $875,000 for faculty raises.
Included in Radford's additional $10 million is $3 million the first year and $5.2 million the second year to address base adequacy issues, plus $417,000 each year for financial aid. Earlier this month, Radford's governing board increased tuition and fees for in-state undergraduates by $622, or 15 percent.
Virginia Tech, which has yet to announce the size of its tuition increase, will receive $4.2 million the first year of the biennium and $8.3 million the second year for base adequacy. The budget also includes more than $2.5 million to replace critical Virginia Cooperative Extension positions lost during the budget cuts.
